One of the most essential ways the Welcoming Network assists our immigrant neighbors is by helping them obtain health care. This includes accompanying them to Health & Human Services offices where they can apply for coverage and helping them find dentists, doctors, therapists, and specialists at nonprofits like Santa Cruz Community Health and Dientes. In the months ahead, access to health care is expected to become even more difficult as provisions of HR1 take effect and cut Medi-Cal coverage. In response, we have formed a new Health & Benefits Team to ensure we can continue supporting our neighbors to get the care they need.

The Welcoming Network is expanding our work to accompany more families directly impacted by the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts, as many of our longtime neighbors are now being made into refugees within their own communities. In response to current realities, we are focused on strengthening legal and financial support for asylum seekers and other refugees, supporting families affected by ICE abductions, and activating community partnerships. This work is being led by a new Solidarity Team, which helps coordinate efforts and mobilize resources to build a stronger collective response.

As ICE efforts intensify to deport thousands of immigrants, many local parents are living with constant fear—fear of being taken, fear of family separation, and fear of what will happen to their children if they cannot be there to care for them. In response, Welcoming Network volunteers and partners have stepped up to help families complete Childcare Safety Plans (CSPs), a free bilingual tool that allows parents to designate trusted caregivers and protect their children from sudden exclusion from school, medical care, or community life. More than 1,000 local children are now covered by a CSP.