This Week on the Central Coast
MPUSD partnered with The Equine Healing Collab, The Community Fund for Monterey County provides grants, Hijos Del Sol provides creative space, and a local SPCA tech assists with CA oil spill
MPUSD partners with Equine Healing Collaborative
For over a year now, students, teachers, parents, and many others have had to deal with a mixture of restricted in-class sessions and zoom classes. As a result, we have seen more and more struggle with their mental health. Now, Monterey’s school district is partnering with a local equine therapy group, called The Equine Healing Collaborative.
Jennifer Fenton, executive director, said she noticed a healing power simply by being near the horses. “As she massaged and released tension in her equine clients, she too released the tension of her day to day work”. Fenton has several certifications for working with many different types of patients, including veterans, at-risk youth, and special needs children, though anyone can apply.
Now that in-person classes are becoming the norm again, mental health specialists have noticed kids are struggling with managing their emotions in new situations. The increased screen time and lack of socializing has taken a toll on our community’s mental health.
Unfortunately, the article does not specifically say how to apply for the group therapy sessions and I could not find anything specific on MPUSD’s website. There is a directory of mental health services and The Equine Healing Collaborative is listed. The article also mentions that the group sessions are available “for people ages 13-17, the LGBTQIA community and Spanish-speaking women”, although the collaborative’s website doesn’t have any requirements for applying.
The Community Fund for Carmel Valley is providing grants this month.
Grants will be available to any organizations with projects that benefit the Carmel Valley/Cachagua area. A list of eligible projects are available on the website, including programs that benefit parks and schools and church-sponsored projects. The CFCV was conceived as a response to the Carmel Fire in 2020. With this in mind, the Fund will give priority to some categories of projects, specifically those that provide community development, expand on youth and senior services, or that support resident programs. Even more consideration will be given to applicants that help with the prevention or response to COVID-19 or fires. “Preference is given to locally based organizations that have less access to other sources of support, and where a small grant can make a meaningful difference.”
The parent group, Community Foundation for Monterey County, has numerous achievements in the past decade. Some of those include funding projects which support at-risk and underserved populations, expanding on adult literacy services, support for small nonprofits, support for programs that aim to reduce the amount of run-off pollution from the agriculture industry, as well as support for a program which addresses the health-care needs of our agricultural workers. “The CFMC provides a bridge between people and community needs.” The Foundation, founded in 1945, began as a group that focused on preserving the history of the adobes. By the 70s, it had expanded to helping a more broad range of subjects. Now, the CFMCbasically collects donations and manages the funds. It then distributes those funds to local services that need it most. In 2020 alone, it had granted $27 million.
Groups can apply for grants until November 5 at 5PM.
Hijos Del Sol is a nonprofit for artists
Jose Ortiz created his art-focused nonprofit, Hijos Del Sol, to provide art instruction and space for creation for “children and youth of underserved neighborhoods, including many that are homeless or in foster care, and families seeking a fresh start in the U.S.” He describes the nonprofit as a space for anyone who wants to create, explaining that a lot of kids don’t have their own space to do so. He started the program at seven years old and has been mentoring students of all ages for twenty five years. The name, “Hijos Del Sol”, means “children of the sun” and comes from Ortiz’ grandmother.
Local wildlife specialist joins the efforts in Southern California
Last Tuesday, there was a large oil spill in Southern California near Huntington Beach. The spill is directly affecting wildlife, mostly birds, and has been a huge humanitarian issue this whole week. Normally, volunteers would be welcome, but, due to the pandemic, the amount of help is being limited.
To assist with the rescue, a local SPCA rehabilitation technician, Laura Lockwood, made the trip down the coast. By Wednesday, she was on the scene catching animals and moving them to stabilization facilities where they will be evaluated, hydrated, and finally washed.
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