Half Moon Bay Review
By August Howell
The city of Half Moon Bay last week announced a partnership with a local nonprofit that will run a four-month pilot to replace armed San Mateo County Sheriff’s deputies with mental health specialists for certain types of nonviolent emergencies.
The city will work with El Centro de Libertad, a nonprofit that runs a drug and alcohol addiction rehab center in Redwood City but has had a Half Moon Bay branch since 1999. Though the new Crisis Assistance Response and Evaluation Services, or CARES, program will only cover Half Moon Bay initially, the consensus of the subcommittee is that the city should look for more funds to eventually expand to Moonridge or other areas of the Midcoast...
The city is looking for grants from the county and state that could keep the program going and expand its hours to 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Staff is eyeing opportunities from the California Department of Social Services, which has a new grant program established through Assembly Bill 118 and co-authored by Sen. Josh Becker, whose district includes the Coastside. It gives grantees a minimum of $250,000 per year to fund community-based alternatives to law enforcement by January 2023.