Nonprofit Lumina Alliance welcomed a bilingual therapist this year to serve Spanish-speaking survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence when they call for help.
Increasing access to therapy and support programs with reduced wait times is one of Lumina’s goals. That milestone moved closer to reality thanks to a $963,000 initiative organized by Must! Charities.
“Right now, they have 145 people on their waitlist. With Spanish speaking [clients], that waitlist alone is six to 12 months.” Must! Charities Community Projects Manager Erika Martin said. “What we want to do is expand the bilingual program.”
Must! unites donors and pools together resources to invest in nonprofits. With donations that range from $10 a month to $100,000 a year, every bit of money stays within in the community.
For 2025, the Templeton-based charity designated $420,000 toward its partnership with Lumina. They will build on this sum over the next three years to reach the almost $1 million mark. Martin added that Must! is also working on five other projects, which the group hopes to announce over the year.
Donations will be directed to improve Lumina’s crisis call center too.
“Their system is extremely outdated,” Martin said. “What we’re doing is we’re helping update the crisis line to a more modernized system. It handles the call volumes that they are receiving. It’s just a continuity of care that people can receive, whether they’re in-person or on the phone.”
A three-year project like the current one with Lumina comes with multiple facets that require frequent communication.
“We also like … to be able to check in with our partners to … ensure that their needs are being met with the investment, but also to ensure that they’re meeting their milestones, that we can help come alongside and give them a hand up,” Martin said.
According to Must!, San Luis Obispo County reflects national trends in the prevalence of domestic violence. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projected that almost 41 percent of county residents will face sexual violence in their lifetime.
Must! mentioned in its press release that in the face of an escalating cost of living, scarce housing, and limited mental health resources, 2023 saw 774 reported incidents of intimate partner violence reported to law enforcement.
This is the second year in a row for a Must! and Lumina collaboration. Last year, the charity invested $478,000 in Lumina for its Paso Robles location.
“We helped them with 39 new clients, including 23 children,” Martin said. “They all lived in transitional housing around the county. But what we did, we converted the Paso Robles emergency shelter to transitional housing to house an additional 21 individuals.”
Visit mustcharities.org to donate and join its trust-based philanthropy model.
“Lumina Alliance is an organization that is serving our community in a multitude of ways,” Martin said. “When we create strong nonprofits, we create a stronger community.”
Visit luminaalliance.org to learn more about the organization. Reach the crisis and information line at (805) 545-8888.
Fast facts
• The SLO Beaver Brigade opened registration for its monthly Watery Walk tours, which will visit a beaver dam complex in SLO County. Participants learn about beaver signs and habitat along the way. The tour is free thanks to the 2023 Whale Tail Grant from the California Coastal Commission and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The first tour for the spring/summer session is scheduled for March 3 to the Salinas River. Sign up and find other dates at slobeaverbrigade.com.
• Environmental Center of SLO (ECOSLO) and SLO County Parks are organizing a tree-planting session in Oceano on March 22. The tree-planting is sponsored by PG&E, Cal Fire, the U.S. Forest Service, and California ReLeaf. Visit ecoslo.com/events to sign up. For more information about the session or ECOSLO’s other programs, contact Program Coordinator Grant Helete at (805) 710-8018 or email grant@ecoslo.org. Δ
Reach Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal at brajagopal@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Feb 20 – Mar 2, 2025.