At the urging of Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action (COPA) leaders in Monterey County, the County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the creation of Esperanza Care 2.0—a county healthcare program for undocumented adults, launching with 500 people and a commitment to expand.

This win builds on years of organizing. In 2015, COPA leaders met with the County Health Department after seeing families pushed into emergency rooms for preventable crises—like children having asthma attacks with no access to basic treatment. What started as a small effort to distribute inhalers became a larger fight for lasting solutions, leading to the creation of Esperanza Care, which began in 2017 with 500 people, and at its height served thousands before it sunset.

Now, the urgency has returned. With new attacks on immigrant healthcare access, including restrictions and freezes on Medi-Cal enrollment for undocumented people, families are being pushed further into instability and fear. COPA leaders refused to accept that reality. Starting in November, they demanded the County restore Esperanza Care, mobilized urgently to help as many people as possible enroll before new restrictions took effect, and pushed officials to treat this as a crisis that required action, not delay.

Esperanza Care 2.0 is a concrete step toward protecting the dignity and safety of immigrant families at a time when those rights are under attack. COPA is committed to shaping the program and holding elected leaders accountable on their commitment to grow participation to 2,000 people over the next year and a half.

County of Moneterey Relaunches Esperanza Care for Undocumented Immigrants, KSBW Action News 8 [pdf]