IN THE NEWS

New partnership will strengthen ALAS's (Ayudando Latinos A Soñar) digital strategy and help share the stories of Latino farmworkers and families with a broader community of supporters and advocates. For more than a decade, ALAS (Ayudando Latinos A Soñar) has been a beacon of hope for Latino farmworkers and essential workers on California's Coastside. What began in 2011 with a simple but powerful vision—to honor the hopes and dreams of Latino families through culture and commu

By: Alise Maripuu Published: June 30, 2026. Belinda Hernandez Arriaga, founder and CEO of Ayudando Latinos A Soñar (ALAS), cuts the ribbon on a new mural in downtown Half Moon Bay on Friday, June 26, 2026. It was painted by Rafael Blanco, a muralist whose public art can be seen throughout the country. (Jeff Regan via Bay City News) A crowd of farmworkers, city officials, residents, and members of Half Moon Bay’s immigrant community recently celebrated the completion of a vibr

By: Alise Maripuu Published: June 29, 2026 ALAS Board President Lili Rey; mural artist Rafael Blanco; state Sen. Josh Becker representative Gabriella Morales; Supervisor Ray Mueller representative Marisol Escalera; Beatrice Hernandez; ALAS founder Belinda Hernandez Arriaga; a Ballet Folklorico dancer; Felix; and Half Moon Bay City Manager Matthew Chidester cut the ribbon on the new mural. A crowd of farmworkers, city officials, residents and members of Half Moon Bay’s immigra

By: CBS News Published: 27 de Junio

By: Warren Pederson Published: June 27, 2026 Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga, founder and CEO of Ayudando Latinos A Soñar, speaks Friday at the unveiling of a mural commemorating the Latino community in downtown Half Moon Bay. The strength and spirit of the Latino community resonated Friday evening with the unveiling of a mural in downtown Half Moon Bay. The mural wraps around the headquarters of Ayudando Latinos A Soñar and depicts themes that define the community organization’s m

By: Desiree Luo Published: June 24, 2026 A new mural, commissioned by Ayudando Latinos A Soñar, features a folklórico dancer. It will be unveiled Friday, June 26, (ALAS) Half Moon Bay is getting a new public art installation. The nonprofit organization Ayudando Latinos A Soñar plans to unveil a mural celebrating Latino culture at its downtown headquarters Friday, June 26. Created by Spanish-born artist Rafael Blanco and produced by filmmaker Oscar Guerra, the artwork spans th

ALAS Unveils New Mural Celebrating the Beauty, Strength, and Spirit of the Latino Community on the Coastside

From June 11–14, ALAS had the privilege of participating, for the second consecutive year, in the international gathering Migrants and Refugees in Our Common Home, held in Tenerife, Canary Islands. The event brought together organizations, university professors from across the globe, and individuals united by a shared purpose: to build a world where migrants and refugees are welcomed with dignity, compassion, and hope. This year's gathering took place in Tenerife, a particula

By Bay City News PUBLISHED: May 7, 2026 555 Kelly Ave. affordable housing project in Half Moon Bay, Calif. (Image: City of Half Moon Bay) (BCN) — The Half Moon Bay City Council voted Tuesday to approve a ground lease with the developer of an affordable housing facility for older farmworkers, marking a major step in moving the years-long project forward. Councilmembers Robert Brownstone, Patric Jonsson, and Vice Mayor Deborah Penrose voted in favor of the lease agreement while

By KPIX | CBS NEWS BAY AREA PUBLISHED: May 6, 2026

By Bay City News Service PUBLISHED: May 6, 2026 Supporters of an affordable housing development for older farmworkers celebrate after the Half Moon Bay City Council approved the project’s lease agreement in Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (Alise Maripuu/Bay City News) The Half Moon Bay City Council voted Tuesday to approve a ground lease with the developer of an affordable housing facility for older farmworkers, marking a major step in moving the years-long pr

By Alise Maripuu, Bay City News PUBLISHED: April 30, 2026 Rendering of a proposed affordable housing development for older farmworkers at 555 Kelly Ave. in Half Moon Bay. (City of Half Moon Bay via Bay City News). Nearly two years after first approving a plan for an affordable housing development for older farmworkers, the Half Moon Bay City Council on Tuesday introduced an ordinance to approve a lease agreement with the developer. The special meeting to evaluate the proposed

By Mark Sayre PUBLISHED: March 30, 2026 The Brief Gov. Gavin Newsom has threatened legal action against Half Moon Bay for failing to produce a state-approved housing plan. The city has 30 days to comply with state mandates before facing potential legal action. City officials say that since their community is entirely within the coastal zone, it's harder to HALF MOON BAY, CALIF. - Gov. Gavin Newsom is targeting Half Moon Bay, the only city in Northern California that has faile

By Ryan Macasero PUBLISHED: March 29, 2026 | UPDATED: March 31, 2026 Interstate Grading and Paving, Inc. owner Craig Caron shows the parcels where housing traillers will be installed on the Stone Pine Cove Farmworkers Housing Project in Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Of the 15 cities Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened Wednesday with legal action over housing law violations, only one is in the Bay Area: Half Moon Bay. As the state

By John Ramos PUBLISHED: March 29, 2026 The deadline for cities to submit their plans for building more housing has come and gone, and last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom gave what he called a "final warning" to 15 cities that are not yet in compliance. One of them, the only one in the Bay Area, was Half Moon Bay. It's important to know that there has been some construction in Half Moon Bay. The neighborhood of modular homes known as Stone Pine Cove was recently completed to house l

By: J.K. Dineen Published: March 27, 2026 Farmworker Ramon Sonoqui, 70, sits for a portrait with his wife Maria Carrillo, 73, at 555 Kelly Ave. in Half Moon Bay, Calif., the site of a proposed and stalled housing development for senior farmworkers. Juliana Yamada/For the S.F. Chronicle Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga thought that construction of the senior farmworker complex in downtown Half Moon Bay would be well under way by now. After all, it has been two years since the City C

By Ryan Mense PUBLISHED: Mar 26, 2026 (KRON) — Governor Gavin Newsom put 15 California communities on blast Wednesday as Notices of Violation were issued over what the governor’s office said is a failure to plan for housing that meets the needs of all residents’ income levels. Half Moon Bay on the San Mateo County coastline is the only Bay Area city that received a final warning from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). State housing law requi

A recent news report highlights ALAS’s vital advocacy for safe, dignified, and affordable farmworker housing at the 555 Kelly project in Half Moon Bay. Watch the full segment to see how we are building community equity.

By Holly Rusch PUBLISHED: Mar 20, 2026 | UPDATED: May 6, 2026 Rendering of the proposed senior farmworkers housing at 555 Kelly Ave. in Half Moon Bay. Half Moon Bay is fleshing out its affordable housing and lease agreements for 555 Kelly, an affordable housing development slated for senior farmworkers that was originally proposed in 2022 and has stalled in the negotiations and development phase. The 555 Kelly Ave. project was originally proposed months before a deadly shooti

By Mark Sayre The Brief A Bay Area nonprofit, ALAS (Ayudando Latinos A Soñar), traveled to Minnesota to provide crisis support and resources to immigrant communities amid a surge in federal immigration enforcement. Group members said their experience responding to tragedies such as the 2023 Half Moon Bay mass shooting prepared them to help Minneapolis residents, where they visited a memorial for a U.S. citizen killed by ICE and witnessed strong community solidarity. ALAS plan

Half Moon Bay, CA — February 6, 2026 — A Bay Area–based delegation led by Ayudando Latinos A Soñar (ALAS), in partnership with Bay Area Border Relief, Latino Community Foundation, and faculty from the University of San Francisco, has returned from Minneapolis, Minnesota, where they stood in solidarity with Twin Cities communities responding to the ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) crisis. The delegation included social workers, psychologists, educators, art

One major development is finished, which brought 50 new units to the coast for farmworkers.