Contra Costa Voices Are Speaking
⚠ Sample dashboard — demo data
332 signals collected
Neighbors, workers, and families sharing what they're seeing across Contra Costa — so we can understand it together.
Last updated: June 13, 2026 · May 22 – Jun 13 collection window
— From the community
What our neighbors are
telling us right now
People across Contra Costa — nurses, teachers, pastors, mutual aid organizers, parents, workers — are sharing what they're seeing in their communities. 64% of signals connect to recent changes in Medicaid, SNAP, and housing programs. This is how we listen before the official data catches up.
Trust collapse
47%
Didn't try — gave up or
didn't know where to go
didn't know where to go
System failed
63%
Tried — referred, bounced,
waitlisted, or disconnected
waitlisted, or disconnected
Got something
11%
Connected to help that
actually worked
actually worked
Total signals
332
May 22 – Jun 13, 2026
📡
Federal cuts connected
64%
↑ from ~45% in Apr
⚡
Trajectory: Much worse
77%
Community workers: 82%
📉
Community workers reporting
60
Nurses, teachers, faith leaders…
👥
CSN
What's happening in your community right now?
Converging patterns
HIGH
Medi-Cal loss cascade
89 signals linked to Medicaid/Medi-Cal. Terminations creating downstream housing and food instability. Wave of redeterminations due Oct 2026.
HIGH
CalFresh work requirements
New federal rules cutting off gig workers, farmworkers, and parents who can't document hours. 68 signals. No appeals pathway working.
MED
Voucher landlord refusals
East County landlords refusing Section 8. Voucher holders losing coverage while searching. HACCC intake bottleneck worsening.
MED
Heat + no cooling access
Multiple climate signals from East and Central County. No cooling centers near transit. Richmond community pool closed June 1. Elderly at risk.
RISE
Worker trust collapse
47% of people with unmet needs didn't try to get help. Fear, immigration status, and prior failures are keeping people from the system.
Top failure points
Phone → voicemail
78%
Waitlist too long
65%
Program not real
52%
No docs / wrong docs
41%
Shelter rules
28%
Patterns — what the signals reveal
Across 332 signals from three sub-regions, four converging crises are visible months before they appear in official counts.
🏠 Housing & Displacement
Rent burden, evictions, voucher terminations, and displacement pressure — the core of the crisis across all three sub-regions.
148
signals
↑ Housing/displacement signals
44% of all signals
Can't afford rent
72
Eviction notices
30
Voucher loss
26
Living outside/vehicle
20
East County carries the highest housing signal density — 42% of all signals originate there. Landlords refusing vouchers is an emerging pattern unique to this sub-region.
🏥 Health & Benefits
Medi-Cal terminations, CalFresh cuts, and medication rationing — a federal policy wave hitting low-income households simultaneously.
157
signals
↑ Benefits disruption signals
47% of all signals
Medicaid/Medi-Cal loss
89
SNAP/CalFresh cut
68
Mental health access
24
Redetermination wave hits October 2026. Signals now are the leading indicator. Nurses and pharmacists reporting patients splitting doses and missing care.
🌡️ Climate & Environment
Heat, air quality, flooding, and wildfire risk — disproportionately hitting communities with fewest resources to adapt.
62
signals
↑ Climate/environment signals
19% of all signals
Heat / no cooling
22
Air quality / refinery
16
Flooding / drainage
13
Wildfire / evacuation
11
North Richmond and Rodeo: cumulative pollution burden in 99th percentile. No air monitors. Richmond community pool closed June 1 — peak heat season.
💼 Economic & Safety
Job loss, small business closure, credential gaps, and public safety gaps — the economic floor is shifting under working families.
85
signals
↑ Economic + safety signals
26% of all signals
Economic stress/job loss
50
Public safety
35
Gig workers, farmworkers, and self-employed people fall outside every safety net. 12 signals from refinery / industrial job loss in West County. Small business closures accelerating in East and West.
— The navigator-to-cliff problem
What happens when someone tries to get help
Called 211
"Called 211 and they gave me three numbers. Two were disconnected. One had a voicemail that was full." — East County, June 2
Rapid Rehousing
"Rapid rehousing said I needed to already have an apartment lined up. That makes no sense." — East County, June 7
Legal Aid
"Legal aid referral had a six-week wait. The eviction went through before I could get help." — Central County, June 5
Mitigation tracker
8 active response threads across housing, health, and safety. 2 stalled on system failures.
Active response threads
✓
Tally form live — English & Spanish
civicsignals.net collecting submissions
Complete
✓
Dashboard deployed to GitHub Pages
civicsignals.net live with real signal data
Complete
→
County H3 briefing prep
Compile June brief for homelessness strategy team
Active
→
LELI fellowship recruitment
10 fellows ages 18-26, Rodeo/Crockett/Pacheco/Vine Hill/Clyde
Active — July start
⊙
Medi-Cal appeals tracking
32 signals with active Medi-Cal disputes — need follow-up protocol
Pending
⊙
Heat / cooling center access brief
22 heat signals — nearest cooling centers inaccessible by transit
Pending
!
211 accountability push
Multiple signals showing disconnected / full voicemail numbers
Stalled — no response
!
HACCC voucher appeal backlog
5+ signals with active appeals — no callback in 3-6 weeks
Stalled — agency unresponsive
What's coming — early warning
These signals are the leading indicator for conditions that won't show in official data until late 2026 or 2027.
⚠
Medi-Cal redetermination wave
October 2026 — 89 signals already showing early losses. Official data lags 12-18 months.
Oct 2026
⚠
CalFresh benefit cliff
New work requirements hitting gig / farmworkers. No appeals pathway functioning.
Now
⊙
Fire season — East County hills
Brentwood/Oakley signals: driest hills in memory, no evacuation plans distributed.
Summer 2026
⊙
Small business closure wave
Multiple signals: commercial rent tripled, clients cut back. East and West County small businesses at risk.
Q3 2026
→
Displacement from SR conversion
Richmond landlords converting long-term units to short-term rentals. No city protections in place.
Active now
Organizing actions
What the signals say to do next. Six priority actions grounded in community intelligence.
📋
County H3 briefing
Present June signal brief to the county homelessness strategy team. Bring the navigator-to-cliff data — 211 failures, shelter rules, and HACCC backlog.
Audience: County staffThis month
👥
LELI fellowship launch
Recruit 10 fellows ages 18-26 from Rodeo, Crockett, Pacheco, Vine Hill, and Clyde. Train as signal collectors and community intelligence analysts.
Start: July 2026Recruiting now
📞
211 accountability push
Multiple signals show disconnected numbers, full voicemails. Document and present to 211 Contra Costa and county health services. Demand an audit.
Leverage: 8 signalsUrgent
🏥
Medi-Cal appeals clinic
Partner with La Clinica and community health workers to hold a Medi-Cal reinstatement clinic in East County. 89 signals, redetermination wave in October.
Target: East CountyBefore Oct 2026
🌡️
Heat resilience brief
22 heat signals — cooling centers inaccessible by transit, Richmond pool closed, no air monitors in North Richmond. Brief county climate team and PG&E.
Climate + equitySummer 2026
🗂️
Spanish QR flyer distribution
Print and distribute Spanish-language flyers with QR code to signal form at food banks, laundromats, clinics, and faith communities in East and West County.
Reach unheard voicesIn planning
— What system success looks like
✓ When it works
"Hope Solutions case manager helped me apply for rapid rehousing while I was in my car. Someone stayed with me through the whole process." — East County
✓ When it works
"A promotora at the community clinic helped me reinstate CalFresh and connected me to a local food cooperative. The personal help made all the difference." — Central County
✓ When it works
"RYSE Center in Richmond connected me with a paid internship that turned into a full-time job. They believed in me before I did." — West County
Signal geography
332 signals across three sub-regions of Contra Costa County. East County carries the highest signal density.
East County
140
signals · 42% of total
Antioch · Pittsburg · Bay Point · Brentwood · Oakley
Top issues: rent burden, voucher loss, outdoor homelessness, CalFresh cuts. Highest intensity sub-region.
West County
110
signals · 33% of total
Richmond · San Pablo · El Cerrito · Pinole · Hercules · Rodeo
Top issues: refinery job loss, air quality, Medi-Cal loss, housing displacement, mutual aid overload.
Central County
82
signals · 25% of total
Concord · Martinez · Walnut Creek · Pleasant Hill · Clayton · Pacheco
Top issues: income cliff (too much to qualify, too little to survive), condo conversions, heat, wildfire risk.
— Invisible communities
Pacheco has no grocery store, no bank, no pharmacy within walking distance. The bus runs twice a day. Multiple signals — zero county response visible.
— Displacement corridors
"I moved to Pittsburg from Oakland because it was supposed to be more affordable. The gap has closed completely. There's nowhere left to run." — East County
— Environmental burden
North Richmond: cumulative pollution in the 99th percentile. No air monitor in the community. Residents tracking air quality themselves with $40 devices.
Research view
Signal validation, community voice archive, and active research threads. For organizers, analysts, and county staff.
Signal corpus — June 2026
332
Total signals
60
Community workers
64%
Fed cuts linked
23
Days of collection
🔍 Medi-Cal termination patterns Active
89 signals. Three termination mechanisms visible: address mismatch (data error), income reporting window failures, and undocumented immigrant program reviews. No appeals pathway working for address errors.
🔍 CalFresh work requirement cliff Investigating
68 signals. New federal rules cut off gig workers (can't prove consistent hours), farmworkers (cash jobs), and parents of young children (exemption narrowed). Upload portal not functional on mobile. Affects lowest-income households hardest.
🔍 Shelter access barriers Confirmed
Consistent across East and West County: no pets, no couples, sobriety requirements, gender-binary bathrooms (LGBTQ+ exclusion documented), curfews incompatible with work. System designed for a profile of unhoused person that doesn't match the actual population.
🔍 Worker trust collapse High priority
47% of signals from people who didn't try to get help. Reasons: immigration fear (documented), prior negative experiences, watching neighbors fail, shame. This is the most undercounted dimension of the crisis — invisible to PIT counts and service data.
Community voices
"I'm a postal carrier in Martinez. On my route I see distress signals every day — mail piling up, lights off, curtains closed. I've started keeping a list. I don't know who to give it to."
POSTAL CARRIER · CENTRAL COUNTY · JUN 5
"My mother is 74 with dementia. Her Medi-Cal was cut. Without it she loses her home health aide hours. I can't provide 8 hours of daily care myself and work full time."
FAMILY CAREGIVER · EAST COUNTY · JUN 8
"I've been in my car in Richmond for four months. I have a job. I shower at the gym. I eat at work. I save everything I can. I can't get a deposit together fast enough because the market keeps outrunning my savings."
WORKING RESIDENT · WEST COUNTY · JUN 10
"I'm a hospice chaplain in Contra Costa County. I'm visiting patients dying in substandard conditions because their housing deteriorated alongside their health. Death with dignity requires stable housing."
HOSPICE CHAPLAIN · CENTRAL COUNTY · JUN 10
"I'm transgender and was turned away from a shelter in Antioch for using the wrong bathroom according to staff. The county's LGBTQ resources are all in Oakland or San Francisco."
EAST COUNTY RESIDENT · JUN 12
"I run a community fridge in Richmond. We refill it twice a day. It's empty within two hours every time. Six months ago it lasted four to six hours. The need has doubled."
MUTUAL AID ORGANIZER · WEST COUNTY · JUN 12