Marin County struggles to deliver social services to its far-flung coastal communities, where some residents must travel long distances to the Point Reyes Station service center for help enrolling in public assistance programs.
Fears of immigration raids have made access more difficult, heightening anxiety among members of the Latino community, many of whom live in West Marin’s rural corners.
Now, the county’s Health and Human Services department plans to roll out a custom-built mobile service vehicle to bring essential resources to those outlying communities.
The initiative, set to begin next year, aims to offer a discreet alternative for undocumented residents wary of immigration enforcement and others for whom the long distances are made more onerous by the lack of public transit.
Chloe Cook, West Marin’s Health and Human Services manager, called the mobile van “sort of a West Marin Multi-Services Center on wheels.” Over the summer, the Board of Supervisors green-lit around $500,000 in funding for the 34-foot van, which will take about a year to build.
Mobile outreach teams are increasingly used to fill care gaps in hard-to-reach areas nationwide. The Mobile Health Care Act, signed into law in October 2022, made it easier for community clinics to use federal funds to operate mobile units.
Elsewhere in the Bay Area, the Petaluma Health Center runs a roving mobile clinic that provides primary medical and dental care to residents at sites across West Marin and Sonoma County. And San Francisco’s Human Services Agency is aiming to launch its own mobile benefits center early next year.
While a detailed service schedule—or “van plan,” as staff have dubbed it—is still in the works, Ms. Cook said the vehicle will make weekly and monthly rotations through West Marin’s communities, including Tomales, Dillon Beach, Bolinas, Stinson Beach and the San Geronimo, Nicasio and Chileno Valleys.
County officials have long discussed how best to expand place-based services in West Marin. Although the department has successfully increased its outreach—working with nonprofits and offering limited satellite hours in Point Reyes Station—Ms. Cook told the Light those initiatives have not matched the capacity that the new mobile service vehicle will bring.
“Place-based services is the model to strive for. It’s the most client-centered,” Ms. Cook said. “I did a lot of preliminary research to make sure that we were moving in the right direction and spending people’s money wisely.”
Designed as a fully functional mobile office with two private interview rooms and a reception area, the van will travel through Marin’s remote regions to connect with individuals and families.
“A lot of our Latino families, if they go out, it’s just by necessity,” said Cristina Salcedo, a family advocate at Tomales Elementary School. “They watch the news, they see social media, they hear what their friends are saying. There’s a lot of concern.”
So far, no ICE detentions have been reported in West Marin. But some have occurred in neighboring Sonoma County, adding to an unease that has chilled turnout at community gatherings focused on housing and job assistance and at free health and wellness fairs. It has also led some families to withdraw from benefits for which they qualify, like Medi-Cal, California’s public health insurance program for low-income residents.
Beginning in 2026, Medi-Cal will freeze enrollment for adults 19 years and older who lack permanent legal status, part of the state’s effort to address a projected budget shortfall that some analysts estimate at nearly $20 billion. Those who are already enrolled would remain covered if they renew on time, while undocumented adults would still qualify for limited-scope Medi-Cal, which covers emergency and pregnancy-related care.
Although the mobile service van is not expected to arrive before the Medi-Cal freeze takes effect in January, when it does get up and running, Ms. Cook emphasized that helping undocumented community members recertify their benefits will be just as crucial as enrolling them.
For many Latino families, trouble maintaining health coverage is closely tied to housing and economic insecurity. A recent study of West Marin workforce families found that among the 150 households interviewed, half lacked documented legal immigration status, and most were living in homes that had major environmental and health issues that the Environmental Health Services division would consider a major violation.
“Medical care is a core benefit to accessing treatments across the board that could address some of the stress-related conditions our immigrant families are facing,” Ms. Cook said. “If we can make enrollment and continuation of benefits as easy and accessible as possible, then our whole community will be healthier.”
Medi-Cal recertification is just one of many services the new mobile unit will provide. Marin Health and Human Services plans to incorporate several of its divisions, such as Public Assistance, Aging and Adult Services, Children and Family Services, Behavioral Health and Substance Use Services.
Trained staff will conduct benefits assessments and process renewals, with a goal of seeing two families an hour over a six-hour day. Equipped with wifi and its own power source, the van is also intended to be deployed as a secondary responder in the event of an emergency.
Speaking with the Light, Marilu Cisneros, Shoreline Unified School District’s director of community schools, acknowledged the value of on-site support to strengthen trust in public services.
“Having trained professionals who are able to come and answer questions and provide enrollment services is very powerful,” she said. “Not only can you enroll, but I am here to enroll you right now.”