SANTA CRUZ >> With about 400 workers affected by the closure of the Santa Cruz Wharf and numerous Santa Cruz harbor residents displaced by the high swell event of Dec. 23, the Community Foundation Santa Cruz County is taking donations to help the workers and harbor residents stay afloat during the disaster recovery.

“Over the last five years, we’ve seen how our community members respond when others are in need and we wanted to give folks a chance to help,” Community Foundation Santa Cruz County Chief Executive Officer Susan True said. “For folks that qualify for unemployment, that can take a while. So we wanted to create a safety net for people as soon as we could.”

Although some estimated that the wharf would be closed for weeks or longer, the city announced Thursday afternoon that the wharf was slated to reopen Saturday. However, wharf workers and business owners lost substantial income during the closure and could use the community’s help.

The Community Foundation’s Santa Cruz County Disaster Fund is dedicated to supporting residents impacted by extreme weather events in Santa Cruz County and the Pajaro Valley. All fund donations will be disbursed to local nonprofits as grants from the foundation to ensure they are given to those most affected.

“For the harbor, it’s a different situation where some people lost their homes, and we don’t need anyone else in Santa Cruz County to be without a home,” True said. “We want to provide some immediate assistance until things at the harbor stabilize.”

One of the grantee partners is Community Bridges, which is helping wharf workers and low-income residents of the Santa Cruz harbor displaced by the extreme surge event through their family resource centers across the county. Those affected making 80% of the area median income or less are eligible to receive a $500 Visa gift card. The nonprofit is prioritizing full-time wharf employees and part-time wharf employees with multiple jobs.

“We’re providing immediate relief in the form of $500 Visa gift cards that can be used to purchase supplies for people’s basic needs,” True said. “Over the last five years, in every disaster, we’ve built these trusted relationships with Community Bridges and Community Action Board, and Catholic charities who help to deliver the relief and provide case management that allows us to focus on the fundraising and them to focus on serving people.”

True mentioned that because so many were affected by the high swell event, the limited staff at Community Bridges is working as quickly as it can to provide relief to the hundreds who need it, but it may take some time.

Workers seeking aid should call Community Bridges at 831-423-5747 and community members that want to donate to the relief fund can go to cfscc.org/funds/disaster-fund.

“This whole thing comes together because community members come together,” True said. “And the more people that can help, the more we can do for the folks in the most difficult situations.”