The year 2023 has witnessed more mass shootings in the U.S. than there are days in the new year (Gun Violence Archive). In California alone, over the past several weeks, 25 people have died in four separate mass shootings in Monterey Park, Half Moon Bay, the Central Valley farming town of Goshen, and Oakland. This span of violence included victims of varying ages, ethnicities, race, and gender, living in both urban and rural parts of the state. This disregard for life was only magnified with the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Memphis man who died three days after a police traffic stop. The Marin Community Foundation shares the sorrow of the aggrieved families and communities impacted by these tragic acts of violence.
While California ranks among the states with the strongest gun control laws, according to The Giffords Law Center and Everytown for Gun Safety, two prominent nonprofits working to end gun violence, these recent mass shootings remind us that there is more work to be done. Continued advocacy for tighter gun regulations is essential, with sustained focus on building unity across communities and racial lines to provide critical human services resources, especially for those facing barriers in obtaining support.
If you are interested in assisting the Monterey Park and California central coast communities affected by the recent gun violence, please see the nonprofit organization list below. For additional information on nonprofits working to end gun violence, please reach out to your Philanthropic Advisor directly.
Supporting California Central Coastal Communities:
ALAS (Ayudando Latinos a Soñar)
ALAS is dedicated to advocating for the social wellness of the Half Moon Bay community. ALAS’s Half Moon Bay Strong Fund directly supports the farmworker community and those that innocently lost their lives during the January mass shootings. www.alasdreams.com/
Should you wish to make a grant to this fund at ALAS, please include “Half Moon Bay Strong Fund” in the grant purpose line.
Coastside Hope
Established as a nonprofit human services agency to benefit the residents of the San Mateo County Coastside. Funds raised from Coastside Hope’s Farmworker Fund will go directly to individuals and families affected; for lost wages, funeral expenses, and any other relief and support that they may need – immediately and as they find their way forward from these horrific events. www.coastsidehope.org/
Should you wish to make a grant to this fund at Coastside Hope, please include “Farmworker Fund” in the grant purpose line.
Puente de la Costa Sur
Puente de la Costa Sur fosters wellness and prosperity in the San Mateo County South Coast communities of Pescadero, La Honda, Loma Mar, and San Gregorio by promoting and advocating for equitable access to education, health, and economic security. Funds provided to Puente’s Half Moon
Bay Community Fund will be directed to the Half Moon Bay families affected by the mass shooting tragedy. www.mypuente.org/
Should you wish to make a grant to this fund at Puente de la Costa Sur, please include “Half Moon Bay Community Fund” in the grant purpose line.
Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF)
SVCF’s Emergency and Disaster Relief Fund Support provides for immediate relief and long-term community recovery efforts when needs arise in their 10-county region, with priority relief and response in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. This fund will directly support those affected by the mass shootings in Half Moon Bay. www.siliconvalleycf.org/impact/emergency-response/svcf-emergency-disaster-relief-fund
Should you wish to make a grant to this fund at SVCF, please include “SVCF Emergency and Disaster Relief Fund” in the grant purpose line.
Supporting Monterey Park and Surrounding Los Angeles Areas:
Five Acres
Committed to strengthening children and families and empowering them within their Los Angeles communities. They offer a full continuum of care for children and families in crisis, including therapy and community-based mental and behavioral health programs. www.5acres.org/
Herald Christian Health Center
Provides high quality and affordable holistic health care to the low-income and underserved in the San Gabriel Valley community and beyond. As a non-profit community clinic licensed by the Department of Health Care Services, the center provides counseling services. www.hchcla.org/
Pacific Asian Counseling Services (PACS)
Provides culturally sensitive and language-specific mental health and other services, with expertise in immigrant Asian Pacific Islander populations. Their mental health program, Renewal Spaces, offers listening sessions after traumatic events and are led by trained API co-facilitators. www.pacsla.org/
South Asian Network (SAN)
A community-based organization advancing the health, emotional and mental well-being, and civil rights of South Asians in Southern California. SAN offers confidential safe spaces led by trained mental health therapists to support community members through their recovery from trauma, grief, and loss. www.southasiannetwork.org/
NOTE: If you would like to support directly the families of the Monterey Park shooting, you may make a donation with personal funds here: www.gofundme.com/c/act/monterey-park-shooting-help. Direct grants to GoFundMe are ineligible via donor advised funds.