These are complicated times — for our world, for our country, and most certainly for our West Marin community. We recognize the deep anxiety that many are feeling right now amid the radical shifts and funding cuts happening in the federal government. There is massive uncertainty in the nonprofit sector around having adequate resources for essential services. There is fear and anxiety around potential immigration enforcement actions and what might happen if individuals and families in our communities are targeted. And we are experiencing profound changes taking place here in West Marin as a result of the January 2025 settlement regarding the management of ranching in Point Reyes National Seashore.
Despite these challenges, we are witnessing a remarkable wave of community response that is building across the region. Community members are mobilizing and speaking out in support of people’s safety, their livelihoods, and housing security. Government leaders, philanthropic partners, and community organizations throughout West Marin, Marin County, and Sonoma County are collaborating around immigrant rights, affordable housing solutions, emergency housing, and other support services.
As we move forward with the work before us in 2025, we want to share an update on West Marin Fund’s role in developing solutions, where we are providing leadership and support, and how you can help during this period of significant change in our region.
The Need for Housing Solutions Deepens
The January 2025 settlement between three environmental groups, the National Park Service, and the nearby farm and ranching operations will result in the closure of 12 ranches within Point Reyes National Seashore over the next 15 months. As a result, it is estimated that more than 100 Latino farmworkers and family members — many of whom work on the ranches and in the community — will lose their homes, and for many, their jobs, despite having lived on the ranches for years. All of them were left out of settlement negotiations.
This settlement further exacerbates an already critical shortage of safe, affordable housing in West Marin. Many agricultural workers and service employees were already enduring substandard living conditions, with mold, rodent infestation, inadequate water and heating, and structural damage posing serious health risks. On the Martinelli Ranch near Point Reyes Station, about 40 residents — all of whom but one are Latino — live in dwellings that were red-tagged by the county last May as unsafe to occupy. In Bolinas, some 60 people, including 18 children, continue to face daily challenges in the temporary RV Park in anticipation of long-term homes.
The combined impact of these displacements on our community, our schools and local businesses, and our region’s overall housing shortage creates an unprecedented challenge that requires immediate and creative solutions.
Multiple Efforts Underway
In this critical time, West Marin Fund is actively engaged with our community partners on multiple fronts:
- Advocating for Change: The Committee for Housing Agricultural Workers and Their Families — a diverse coalition of housing, agriculture, philanthropic, county and community stakeholders that oversaw the housing study released last September, is transitioning into a broader coalition with working groups focused on action-oriented solutions. In partnership with West Marin Community Services and Marin Community Foundation, West Marin Fund provides the Committee with backbone coordination and continues to maintain the www.wmhousingsolutions.org website with up-to-date news and action opportunities.
- Emergency Interim Housing: We are exploring ways to expand interim housing solutions, including the possibility of local residents offering temporary housing to families facing instability for 6 to 18 months. Similar models have been successful in other rural California communities, where individuals at risk of eviction are paired with hosts providing safe, free housing on an interim basis as they transition to permanent housing. We are in conversation with several homeowners who are interested in offering their homes as temporary housing for our neighbors in need.
- Supporting Latino Voice and Community Organizing: Latino members of the West Marin community have organized to form the Circulo de Esperanza (Circle of Hope), a committee that is advocating for greater voice in decision making related to relocation efforts in the wake of the January park settlement. West Marin Fund provided initial funding to support the development of the group and to further its community organizing work.
- Advocating for Policy Changes: The Marin County Board of Supervisors is voting on March 11 to adopt a Shelter Crisis Declaration, a move that, when combined with changes to the building code, will enable the addition of emergency shelters such as homes on wheels. West Marin Fund is urging support for the Declaration to remove barriers to creating emergency housing solutions, particularly for people living and working on ranches whose lives are being disrupted.
- Providing Direct Financial Support: West Marin Fund established a Housing Action Fund in September 2024 to support housing solutions and resources for families facing eviction. The Fund provides grant funds for displaced families that are relocating but not receiving any settlement funds; for supportive transition services such as job training, legal aid, and health support; and for the West Marin Housing Collaborative to hire a planning specialist to advance new and rehabilitated affordable housing.
How You Can Help
This moment calls for a groundswell of community response. Each of us can make a difference:
- Attend the March 11 Board of Supervisors meeting, in person or on Zoom, to support the Shelter Crisis Declaration. You can access the upcoming March 11th agenda for details about the meeting agenda and how to participate. The staff report can be viewed here.
- Consider offering a safe home to a displaced family as temporary bridge housing. Contact Loretta Murphy at loretta@westmarinfund.org to learn more and get involved.
- Donate to the Housing Action Fund to provide emergency assistance to families who are losing their homes. Donations can be made on West Marin Fund’s website.
Thank You to Our Community and Donors
Your support over the past year continues to strengthen West Marin Fund’s ability to respond and advance action during this pivotal time. We remain committed to our mission of solving community challenges together for a just and thriving West Marin.
