Coastside Hope’s mission is to offer basic life necessities with dignity and hope to all mid-coast residents. We are designated by San Mateo County as the primary provider of safety net services for the area between Montara and Half Moon Bay, collectively known as the mid-coast. Coastside Hope continues to operate according to our guiding principle of “Necessities for Today, Opportunities for Tomorrow.” We have a strong balance sheet and operate efficiently, relying on volunteers who give ... Lire la suite
Coastside Hope’s mission is to offer basic life necessities with dignity and hope to all mid-coast residents. We are designated by San Mateo County as the primary provider of safety net services for the area between Montara and Half Moon Bay, collectively known as the mid-coast. Coastside Hope continues to operate according to our guiding principle of “Necessities for Today, Opportunities for Tomorrow.” We have a strong balance sheet and operate efficiently, relying on volunteers who give more than 5,000 hours of service every year. An investment in Coastside Hope is an investment in the future success of our neighbors in need.
Our most frequently used service meets a necessity for today: food. In fiscal year 2014, we provided over 394,000 pounds of food to our neighbors in need. Food is provided free to clients, but eligibility is restricted by income. Our three programs are:
1) Emergency and supplement food pantry: The main users of this pantry are families with children. New clients visit the pantry during their first visit to the office. Regular clients may visit the pantry up to twice monthly. Our pantry is stocked with fresh healthy produce, frozen & refrigerated foods, and shelf stable foods.
2) Monthly Family Harvest food distribution: This once-monthly program provides fresh healthy produce, frozen foods, and shelf stable foods to 70 families in a four-hour period.
3) Weekly Senior Brown Bag food distribution: This weekly program provides fresh healthy produce and proteins to 65 seniors weekly. Home delivery is provided each week to about 20 seniors with severe mobility limitations.
Non-food services vary widely, depending on the needs of the client.
Services providing necessities for today include:
1) Emergency Rental and Utility Assistance programs stabilize families and prevent homelessness when a temporary financial crisis arises.
2) Application assistance for CalFresh (food stamps), Medi-Cal (Medicaid), unemployment, and other programs helps clients navigate complex systems.
3) Referrals to other agencies give clients access to services we do not provide.
4) Our Christmas Adopt-A-Family program provides new clothing and gifts to local families and seniors. During the 2013 Christmas season, the program served 368 low-income families and seniors, totaling 1,331 people - including 723 children.
Services creating opportunities for tomorrow include:
1) Free Income Tax preparation services help clients file their taxes in a timely and accurate fashion. Our tax volunteers prepared 381 tax returns in 2014, refunding $467,000 to local residents whose average income was $19,610.
2) Free Citizenship Classes: Coastside Hope offers free citizenship classes every Wednesday night. Citizenship creates opportunities for tomorrow, fulfilling life-long dreams for students. 46 students became citizens in FY 2014.
3) Low-Cost Immigration services: Our BIA accredited immigration paralegal has over 15 years of experience and is well known and trusted on the coast. Our immigration services are the only services for which we charge fees.
4) Financial education courses: In FY2014, we offered a free “secure futures” course for the first time, helping our clients create their own opportunities for tomorrow.
Coastside Hope is well known in our community. When neighbors need help, they know they can come to Coastside Hope. We help clients through the crisis by providing necessities for today. Once the crisis passes, we help them create opportunities for tomorrow.
Geographic Area Served:
Coastside hope helps low-income persons and families living on the San Mateo County mid-coast. This includes zip codes 94037, 94038, 94018, 94019 and parts of 94020. Towns included in this area are Montara, Moss Beach, El Granada, Half Moon Bay and parts of La Honda. Our emergency food pantry is located at our office at 99 Avenue Alhambra, El Granada, CA 94018. Our weekly senior Brown Bag food distribution takes place at 801 Arnold Way, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019. Our monthly Family Harvest food distribution is at our warehouse in Princeton Harbor, 214 Harvard Ave, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
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