The Mental Health Client Action Network clubhouse has been shuttered since August. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local file)

SANTA CRUZ >> The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday are set to discuss the future of embattled mental health nonprofit Mental Health Client Action Network. They will also review potential replacements for homeless day services that local nonprofit Housing Matters is expected to shutter by the end of the month. But there’s not yet a clear path forward for either situation. 

MHCAN abruptly closed in August and employees who are still owed paychecks were left without jobs. Every member of the organization’s board of directors quit in late 2025, but the organization has since secured a new board president, county staff wrote in a report ahead of Tuesday’s meeting. The organization remains unable to reopen services, and its building needs repairs, they wrote. 

County staff recommend the board cancel the remainder of a contract with MHCAN to free up about $350,000 to fill county budget gaps this year or next. In February, the Santa Cruz City Council voted to cancel planned funding for MHCAN and reroute the money to new hygiene services.

On April 1, nonprofit Housing Matters is set to shutter day services — including mail, showers and bathrooms — at its campus on Coral Street in Santa Cruz. County staff plan to redirect $70,000 in cancelled funding to Housing Matters and provide mail service for homeless people receiving public benefits at 1020 Emeline Ave. in Santa Cruz and 500 Westridge Drive in Watsonville. The money will also be used to prepare for upcoming work requirements for CalFresh food benefits.

The board is also set to discuss:

• New standards for Collective of Results and Evidence-based investments, or CORE. The program annually allocates about $5 million for nonprofits and community organizations. This year, the money will undergo a “triage approach” to focus on crucial services like food and housing in anticipation of a county budget shortfall and slashed federal funding for social services. Applications for funding and evaluations by county staff will be public. 
• The establishment of a Youth Commission with 11 teens aged 14-18 to advise the board on policies affecting young people.

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