In 2019, a team of educators and community members came together with the goal of supporting more students to continue their education after high school. Dozens of interviews focus groups, and surveys with students, parents, and educators showed a need to engage more of the community in helping students to learn about their options. Bright Futures, the Center for Community Advocacy, and Mujeres en Acción created Mi Vida Mi Futuro to help parents and students learn together about options after high school and how to achieve a promising career. MVMF is a pilot Promotores model project created to empower and support families and students as they develop a culture of promising careers among friends and family. Mi Vida Mi Futuro is a series of workshops that give information that will help youth and parents take the necessary steps for a Promising Career, and they are COMPLETELY FREE! The workshops are conducted by youth and parents who are Promoters of Education in Salinas, Soledad, and Castroville.

Provides outreach and program education regarding CalEITC and free tax preparation services to low-income families who may be eligible for child credit and free tax preparation. The specific target population for this program is for residents in Monterey County, Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) filers, Culturally diverse low-income eligible populations in multiple languages, Young adults ages 18-24, High School students intending on attending College/University, Seniors age 65 and older, Self-Employed, Farm working families, Workers with incomes up to $30,000 who are o individuals and families whose low-income does not require them to file taxes or Californians who have never claimed the CalEITC, regardless of whether they filed taxes previously.

The purpose of the project FFN is to build a strong culture of community outreach in Monterey County and the capacity of Family, Friends, and Neighbors caregivers by giving them access to resources that support child development, education, and other helpful health and human services. FFNs specifically are engaged in four target communities: Salinas Gonzales, Greenfield, and King City. Grassroots leaders identify FFNs in their communities and make available learning materials, early childhood development activities, and websites, and refer to other supportive early care and education (ECE) resources, programs, and services. Making smart referrals for FFNs for other services that build FFN capacity to deliver high-quality early care and education and achieve economic self-sufficiency.

The purpose of Breathe’s project is to help people quit smoking by providing assistance to those who use tobacco and also those who do not smoke avoid being passive smokers as much as possible. This program provides help with problems related to secondhand smoke. It also offers home visiting services for Asthma: education, Asthma training, Asthma management, correct use of medications, identification of respiratory risks, and home EPA evaluation.

VIDA project provides education, prevention, testing, and vaccination support along with many other resources for individuals impacted by COVID-19 to help them to safely self-isolate or quarantine. In December 2020, the county of Monterey Board of supervisors approved $4.9 million to support hiring 100 community-based health workers in Monterey County to decrease the COVID-19 infection rate in disproportionately impacted census tracts. Community health workers (CHWs) are trained to be present in high-risk communities. The VIDA project is intended to reduce the spread of the virus by identifying residents that are infected and using case management to identify needs, quickly connect them to the resources they need to successfully isolate/quarantine, and also support vaccination through education and outreach programs.

Mujeres en Acción will hold a series of emergency response workshops for farmworker communities in Monterey County. The workshops will provide CPR training, first aid training, and general emergency response and disaster readiness information. The main desired outcome of this project is to provide this community with these vital resources in a format that is most beneficial to them. The community members who take this training will leave equipped with vital CPR and first aid knowledge, as well as an awareness of the resources that have become available to them. Mujeres estimates between 50-75 people will attend disaster preparedness training. These people will be better prepared to deal with any emergency, from a major disaster to a personal health crisis.