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New mental health clinic opens in Salinas Valley to support migrant families and farmworkers
Published: October 1, 2026
A new mental health clinic has opened in Salinas Valley, providing services specifically designed for migrant families, farmworkers, and other underserved community members.
The nonprofit organization ALAS, which stands for Ayudando Latinos a Soñar—meaning Helping Latinos Dream—has been supporting migrant and farmworking families for over 15 years, primarily in the Half Moon Bay area.
The new clinic in Salinas was designed to feel welcoming and familiar, featuring bright colors, local artwork, and spaces intended to help patients feel comfortable seeking care.
Dr. Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga, founder of ALAS, said the inspiration for the organization came while she was treating farmworker families in Half Moon Bay.
"The pain, the stomach pain, the physical ailments that she was having but no one could really uncover a reason why, there was no medical reason but actually it was emotional, and when we uncovered her story that was so beautiful and painful all at the same time," Hernandez-Arriaga said.
She explained that the young girl she met was living with the constant fear of being separated from her parents, and the stress had manifested physically.
"And it was at that moment that I realized that this one-on-one mental health, while it was important and so needed, it was really more of an opportunity to build a space where more could come," Hernandez-Arriaga said.
From that moment, Hernandez-Arriaga made it her mission to expand mental health care for migrant families and farmworkers in communities that needed it most.
To bring that mission to Salinas, she partnered with local organizations, including the Monterey County Office of Education's Migrant Education Program.
"Being a migratory farmworker is challenging under any circumstances. You have temporary work, you have temporary housing, you have a lot of uncertainty with regards to your finances, with regard to food, clothing, shelter, transportation, medical treatment,"
Constantino Silva, senior director of migrant education with the Monterey County Office of Education, said.
To meet those needs, ALAS offers more than traditional counseling.
"We do provide the traditional, when you think of mental health. We do the individual therapy, we also do family therapy, couples therapy, as well as child/parent psychotherapy, but we also provide different other types of services. We do arts and culture, we have dance classes," Dr. David Martinez, director of mental health for ALAS, said.
According to ALAS staff, their services have helped normalize conversations about mental health within farmworking communities.
