Behavioral Health & Recovery Services Blog

Staff lend a helping hand on Homeless Service Day. Left to right:  Diana Cervantes, Claudia Ramirez, Cristian Ruiz, Jamie Matter and Jennifer Acuna

On February 8, the Coastside Outpatient Mental Health Clinic participated in a homeless service day, coordinated by the City of Half Moon Bay and the Human Services Agency.

A heavily populated homeless encampment behind the Safeway in Half Moon Bay will be closed by early April. In contrast to other cities that have quickly removed homeless encampments with little notice, Half Moon Bay is taking a planned, phased approach. The goal of the service day was to connect homeless individuals on site to services to support them through this transition.

There were over 27 individual service providers and 14 county agencies and departments, including the Homeless Outreach Team, Adult Resource Management, Coastside Hope and San Mateo Medical Center. According to the City of Half Moon Bay, 37 individuals received general information, with some accessing and enrolling in services. Individuals accessed mental health, shelter and other services, like Dignity on Wheels.

The closing of the encampment once again highlights the lack of stable, affordable housing in San Mateo County, especially among the behavioral health population. In addition to the help they were able to provide on the service day, providers shared their feedback with the City of Half Moon Bay on potential long-term solutions to the issue of homelessness on the coast. They identified barriers, such as limited alcohol and other drug services, affordable housing, emergency shelters and transportation.

Thank you to all the ongoing work that is done by many teams to serve the homeless population in Half Moon Bay and throughout our county.

For more information, check out this article in the Half Moon Bay Review.