Exclusive: Funding for safety net services is evaporating in Santa Cruz County. Can local nonprofits soften the blow?

Exclusive: Funding for safety net services is evaporating in Santa Cruz County. Can local nonprofits soften the blow?

APTOS — When MariaElena De La Garza was growing up in Watsonville, her mother had a phrase she’d often repeat when times were tough: “Cada quien pone su granito de arena,” Spanish for “Everyone contributes their little grain of sand.” That mantra has been top of mind for De La Garza in the wake of seismic policy shifts at the federal level that have already begun to drain millions of dollars from the budgets of numerous government agencies and n…