The Mental Health Client Action Network clubhouse has been shuttered since August. (Jesse Kathan — Santa Cruz Local)

Now, the entire board of directors of the embattled nonprofit has resigned, even as county staff have spent months trying to help the organization re-open, according to a staff report to be discussed at a Dec. 16 Board of Supervisors meeting. The nonprofit is contracted by the county to provide services to people with serious mental illness, many of whom are without housing. The building, where the program provided meals, showers, mail and computer access to dozens of people each weekday, remains shuttered. 

A meeting between former MHCAN board members and county staff is scheduled for Dec. 15, staff wrote. Depending on the outcome, county staff may recommend that the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors terminate the contract, which included up to $477,939 in compensation for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026.

MHCAN’s governing board of directors quit in November following the loss of the nonprofit’s insurance and fears of legal or financial liability, according to multiple sources familiar with the organization. 

Danette Lawrence, the former president of the board, did not respond to questions about the status of the organization, the plans for its future, who now controls its financial and legal obligations, or what plans are for the nonprofit-owned building at 1051 Cayuga St. Other former board members also did not respond to requests for comment.

The Mental Health Client Action Network clubhouse has been shuttered since August. (Jesse Kathan — Santa Cruz Local)

“We are trying to solve some problems internally, and we are working to get those problems solved so that we can serve our community,” Lawrence said in an interview in early September, weeks after the organization abruptly shuttered. “Give us a couple weeks, I should have a lot better idea of what we’re doing.”

Former staff who did not receive wages for months before closing have still not received back pay — even after the board received thousands of dollars in donations, multiple sources said. Sources requested anonymity for fear of  retaliation.

One former client and volunteer said he’s asked for more clarity on the organization’s status and future, but hasn’t received any. 

“I’m concerned for sure,” he said of the board’s financial decisions. Board members have told former volunteers that they were prioritizing paying the mortgage and other bills, multiple sources said, but now the organization may be planning to rent out the building to recoup their costs.

Meanwhile, for clients who have relied on MHCAN’s services for years or decades, “it’s trauma,” the former volunteer said. In “one moment, they lost everything.”

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