How to help the families of the Half Moon Bay victims
There is a fund set up to support the families impacted by the tragic events at Half Moon Bay on Monday.
source: KRON4’s Gayle Ong was at Alas on Tuesday, which is one of the nonprofits helping the victims’ families.
The tragedy hit close to home for the Alas team.
They know the victims, their families, and the suspected shooter.
Volunteers were at one of the farms just an hour before the shooting.
“It’s such a tragedy — a senseless tragedy because of gun violence,” said Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga of Alas Half Moon Bay.
Hernandez-Arriaga is heartbroken about the mass shooting. She is the founder of Alas, a nonprofit that’s been helping coastal farm workers since COVID-19.
There were the recent floods and now a mass shooting. A family member confirms that a husband and wife from China are among the farm workers killed. Their son is flying out to the Bay Area.
Volunteers filled an SUV with blankets, bottled water, clothes and flowers from the community.
On Tuesday, a relief fund was set up to help the victims’ families.
“We’re hearing the most concern is, you know, they’re not working. They’ve already not been working because of the flood and now this, so the economic relief we’re going to have to help some of the families with funeral support, with immediate clothing, basic of needs and just ongoing to see what’s going to be out there for them,” Hernandez-Arriaga said. [photo below].
Gov. Gavin Newsom stopped by Alas in the afternoon. He met with the victims’ families and asked local leaders what support is needed.
“We were really able to stress the changes that we hope to see with more mental health across the state for farm workers, better living conditions, and more resources for them so they don’t go through the stressors they’ve been going through,” Hernandez-Arriaga said.
Volunteers have been shuttling donations to the families of the victims.
If you wish to donate, click HERE.
More ways you can help:
County officials have said that those looking to make donations to the affected families can do so by giving to ALAS or Coastside Hope.
Details on ALAS’s HMB Strong Fund can be found here; and information on how to donate to Coastside Hope is available here.
On its end, GoFundMe has verified a fundraiser created by Servando Martínez, brother of Marciano Martínez Jiménez, who was killed in the shooting. T
he money raised will be used to pay for funeral costs and transport Martínez Jiménez’s body back to Oaxaca, Mexico. You can access this fundraiser, and learn more about the life Martinez Jiménez led in Half Moon Bay, here.
The Farmworker Caravan, a mutual aid collective that provides emergency supplies to agricultural workers across California, has organized a food and clothing drive this week to deliver to ALAS. The drive took place on Wednesday in San José, but the group is looking for volunteers on Thursday to sort through and pack the donations at the San José Woman’s Club on 75 South 11th Street. You can sign up to volunteer here.
Latest updates:
3 victims of Half Moon Bay shooting confirmed Mexican nationals.
The General Consulate of Mexico in San Francisco confirmed that three of the victims of the mass shooting in Half Moon Bay on Monday were Mexican nationals.
Two of the deceased victims were Mexican nationals, as well as the recovering victim who is being treated at a hospital in Palo Alto.
“Consulate General of Mexico Regrets to inform that in the shooting that occurred in the town of Half Moon Bay, in San Mateo County, it has been confirmed that 2 of the deceased persons are of Mexican nationality. Another person identified with a Mexican nationality is being treated in the hospital in the city of Palo Alto;
Consulate General staff in San Jose are already assisting the person,” read a statement from the Consulate. Half Moon Bay mass shooting suspect threatened to kill his former boss: court documents
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs extends its condolences to the relatives for their irreparable loss and will continue to provide assistance and consular protection to affected people,” officials with the Consulate added.
Local law enforcement said the eight victims, seven of which are deceased, were a mix of Hispanic and Asian men and women.
