Encompass Community Services

12/12/2025

The holiday season is a time to gather withfriends, families and loved ones, whether to be at a party or over the dinner table.We want to thank all those in our community that have helped NG in our mission of nourishing the next generation.

Encompass Community Services MidPen Housing Live Oak School District

12/03/2025

It's Giving Tuesday, a global celebration of generosity, community and collective positive impact. If you are planning a Giving Tuesday donation or end-of-year contribution, we hope you’ll consider supporting Encompass. Your generosity is helping us not only deliver essential care, but also empower lives, strengthen families, and build a healthier, more equitable Santa Cruz County. Donate today at https://bit.ly/48c7aKY. Thank you for your support! 💓

11/11/2025

Thank you, courageous veterans, for your service to our country. Encompass will be closed today in honor of Veterans Day. 🇺🇸

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11/05/2025

Attention South County Head Start families: Encompass has partnered with Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) to temporarily operate our early child development programs at several Encompass Head Start Watsonville sites. This partnership ensures that children can continue to benefit from education and nutrition services during the federal government shutdown and affected teachers and assistants will have access to employment opportunities.

Parents of enrolled Head Start and Early Head Start programs are encouraged to call the PVUSD Child Development Department at 831-786-8270 for more information on locations and registration.

This effort reflects Encompass and PVUSD’s shared mission to support Santa Cruz County children. While this collaboration helps bridge services during the federal shutdown, it is important to clarify that PVUSD is not taking over Head Start operations, nor is Encompass relinquishing its federal grant. Encompass will continue advocating for the release of federal funding so it can reopen classrooms and restore early education services as soon as possible.

Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/4nDSFUM.

10/30/2025

Don't forget! Join us in the parking lot of the Encompass Thrive Hive this afternoon at 3pm for a Trunk or Treat! Can't wait to celebrate with you! 🎃👻

10/14/2025

It's almost Halloween! Join us on Thursday, October 30th from 3-5pm at the Encompass Thrive Hive parking lot for a trunk or treat! Bring the whole family, wear your costumes, and celebrate Hallo-Eve with us! See you there!

10/10/2025

It's World Mental Health Day. At Encompass, we are proud to provide mental health counseling to youth, teens, adults, and families across Santa Cruz County. If you are interested in learning more, visit encompasscs.org or call 831-469-1700 today. Taking care of your mental health is just as important as taking care of your physical health.

10/07/2025

GREAT NEWS! Thanks to the swift collaboration of the County of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Faris Sabbah, and First 5 Santa Cruz County, Encompass Head Start and Early Head Start will remain open through October 31!
Together, these partners identified and secured critical bridge funding to keep our 15 classrooms open while long-term funding solutions are pursued. We are sincerely grateful to these partners as well as to our Board Chair, Elaine Johnson, for stepping forward so quickly to protect these vital programs.

Encompass continues to advocate with our federal representatives, including Congressman Jimmy Panetta, and the federal Office of Head Start to reinstate our full five-year grant and release previously approved carryover funds for next fiscal year. The government shutdown creates more complications, so please continue to contact your federal representatives to advocate for our full 5-year grant amount so that we can continue to serve and enroll over 250 children and families across the County. Thank you for your help and advocacy so far!

Read the full details here: https://bit.ly/47dIQYy.

10/02/2025

Make your voices heard! Call your representatives and urge them to fund your local Encompass Head Start program.

Joel Ryan, the executive director of the Washington State Association of Head Start, shares how proposed government funding deals could impact families depending on government assistance programs.

10/01/2025

We need YOUR HELP! Encompass' Head Start and Early Head Start programs are facing an immediate funding crisis due to sudden federal policy changes. Unless funds are restored, Encompass will be forced to close 15 classrooms, and lay off 95 staff, leaving hundreds of local children and families without critical support. How can you help? Use your voice! Call your federal representatives and urge them to have federal funding unblocked ASAP and restore the budget for next fiscal year to keep this vital community program going. Learn more by clicking on the link in our bio.

09/28/2025

Last weekend, our Si Se Puede staff attended Assemblymember Gail Pellerin's Care Fair in Santa Cruz. This community event is focused on mental wellness, connection, and healing in honor of Su***de Prevention Awareness Month. It brings together neighbors, advocates, and providers for a day dedicated to mental wellness, community support, and healing. Thanks to everyone who attended and stopped by our table to say "hi"! If you or a loved one is in need of behavioral health services, call Encompass at 831-469-1700. We're here to help.

09/27/2025

The fourth Friday in September marks California Native Day. This day is intended to celebrate our Indigenous community members and bring awareness to the issues and triumphs faced by the Indigenous peoples of California. California is home to a wide variety of tribal groups, and each tribe has a rich and varied culture and history with a common thread of resilience and survival.

Today the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band represents the surviving descendant families of more than 20 distinct groups who lived in what is now the counties of Santa Cruz, San Benito, Monterey, and Santa Clara.

If you find yourself at the Cotoni-Coast Dairies, where hiking and biking trails were recently opened to the public, know you are enjoying the ancestral lands of the Cotoni Tribe (pronounced chuh-TOE-knee). The Bureau of Land Management, which manages the site, collaborated with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and other community partners to develop the site and provide educational material to visitors.