The Mendocino Coast Children’s Fund steps up
The Mendocino Coast Children’s Fund (MCCF) has been a part of the community since 1992. It was formed by a group of volunteers to help the lowestincome children from Westport to Gualala. Annie Liner the executive director, has been involved since its inception. She says it’s “neighbors helping neighbors”.
Until recently the organization was all-volunteer, but this year they hired a full-time employee, Juliana Sanchez, to keep up with growing demands. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the non-profit has had more work than it can keep up with. In 2020 and 2021 they raised and spent one million dollars which is four hundred thousand more than the pre-pandemic years of 2018 and 2019. Unlike a government agency, MCCF has some leeway and nimbleness that can meet the needs of immediate crisis and prevent things from getting worse.
One of their efforts has been to work with families, impacted by covid, to keep them in their homes with short-term rental assistance and also help them apply for the State stimulus rental program. They had a single mother who worked in the hospitality industry and contracted covid. She couldn’t pay her rent and she couldn’t afford child care. They helped her through the crisis and kept her and her kids off the streets. Sanchez helps families apply for State funds which she says can take three to four months. She also works with landlords who are open to keeping people housed.
MCCF works with local school districts in Fort Bragg, Mendocino, and Point Arena as well as private and charter schools to provide services. Many of their referrals come from teachers, coaches, and school nurses. One example they gave was a young boy who wanted to play soccer, but his parents could not afford the fees and equipment. MCCF paid the expenses and also reserved sufficient funds to keep the boy in soccer in future years. It is one story among hundreds.
Fort Bragg Unified School District, Superintendent Beck Walker reports that MCCF has provided her students over $315,000 in assistance since the pandemic started. They have provided food, shoes, sleeping bags, clothing and hygiene, family crisis funds, school supplies, and facemasks.
According to Liner, the needs are great and unending. There are approximately 4000 children along the coast and MCCF spends most of its funds on those whose family incomes are in the lowest 20 percentile. She says that number has gone up in the last few years.
The health clinics also refer families who need medical or dental procedures that are not fully covered by government services. They paid for a child to get a root canal, which caused them to start handing out 100s of toothbrushes and toothpaste each year. Liner says it’s less expensive to teach the kids dental hygiene than pay for dental care. As covid continues to ravage the community, MCCF is developing programs to help families who have sick relatives. Many low-income families do not have the space to dedicate rooms to covid positive family members and hotel prices in this region are unattainable. So MCCF provides air mattresses to help families isolate sick patients.
MCCF also helps families access city programs that help with high winter utility bills and pays utilities in areas outside the city, if families are in need. They also provide winter clothing and shoes to children through local stores and sleeping bags so the kids can stay warm.
Sanchez is a local resident who grew up and went to school here. She is a volunteer firewoman in Westport. She was the president of the local early childhood education association for several years and was the head of the Fort Bragg Special Education Pre-school for the last ten years.
For more information about MCCF and to find out how you can help go to www.mccf.info or call (707) 937-6111.