Crab Feed a big success
Last Friday’s Cioppino Feed at Pentecost Hall sold out three days before the doors opened. Mendocino Coast Clinics had three seatings that night and served 516 meals. The room was packed with people of all ages, and the aroma of shellfish and spices wafted through the room. Outward Bound students served and bussed tables handily. Volunteers, some returning for an eighteenth year, dashed about, keeping all comers happy.
In a room next door, dozens of silent auction prizes of all kinds filled three long tables. Hats, shirts and other merchandise lay in a display nearby. Another long table offered wines for sale. Beer tasting from three breweries was across the room, and for a small, extra fee, the cioppino crowd could sample their offerings.
More opportunity to give
On the following day, Saturday, a separate fundraiser was poised to begin. The general event of crab cakes and wine tasting under the big tent had sold out of all 300 tickets. the VIP “Claw Circle” had sold out an additional 120 tickets for an hour “early start” before the general event. A silent auction, conducted by former County Sheriff Tom Allman, was the main activity along with wines and desserts. Art, vacation packages and wine were among the items to bid on.
Also during this private hour was “Fund the Future,” an opportunity for charitable donors to pitch in and double the Coast Clinic’s seed money of $60,000. Last year the clinic had $25,000 to put up for matching funds. Lucresha Renteria, the Executive Director of the Coast
Clinics, recalled that VIP pledges exceeded what they hoped for. “What began as a small, local event about thirteen years ago,” said Renteria, “expanded to two nights and plenty of out-of-towners coming for wine tasting.” She was confident they would reach that goal again.
Mendocino Coast Clinics relies on a $1.7 million federal grant to provide medical, dental and behavioral health services to about 10,000 patients. Other funding sources come from patients’ private insurance, MediCal and Medicare. The clinic also offers lowincome patients a sliding fee scale for services.
Renteria pointed to the success of its expanded behavioral health program. A clinical psychologist, three social workers and a physician’s assistant offer psycho-therapy for patients beginning at the age of six.”One of the social workers,” said Renteria, “is also bilingual and bicultural.” Not only do the Coast Clinics treat patients at their facility, but they also provide basic care for the homeless once a week at Hospitality House in Fort Bragg and twice a month at the Mendocino Presbyterian Church. The staff attempts to keep street patients connected to the clinic to continue regular, preventive health care.
New services
Another new project is “Helping Us Open Doors,” a three-part plan to convert two office rooms into exam rooms and add a new service called “Open Door at MCC.” This service will focus on the needs of the LGBTQ community. A walk-in clinic will be available as well as a peer support group aimed at the teen population.