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A Path Forward

On January 23, 2023, a man killed seven people and critically injured an eighth at two mushroom farms in the small coastal town of Half Moon Bay, Calif. The investigations following the shooting shined light on the brutal work and living conditions faced by farmworkers. As the Coastside community mourned, relief funds poured into the community and non-profits, farmworkers and community members worked together to heal. 

Over the following year, I documented grief, compassion and progress as Coastsiders forged a path forward after a horrible tragedy. 

Above: Cameron Palmer, left, and Mel Mello Jr., right, sit on the steps of the I.D.E.S. Hall on Jan. 24, 2023, as they wait for the start of a press conference regarding a mass shooting that occurred the previous afternoon in the small town of Half Moon Bay, Calif.

Below: A community member sets flowers on the steps of the I.D.E.S. Hall in Half Moon Bay after facing a flock of broadcasters on Jan. 24, 2023. The hall was used as a reunification center after the mushroom farm shootings. 

Slideshow photos (from left)

1. Congresswoman Anna Eshoo pauses to find the right words as speaks to the press and community in front of the I.D.E.S. Hall in Half Moon Bay on Jan. 24, 2023.

2. The families of victims and community members gather at Mountain Mushroom Farm off of Highway 92 in Half Moon Bay on Jan. 27, 2023, to observe San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone cleanse, reclaim, and bless the site of the mushroom farm shootings that occurred just days earlier. 

3. Over one hundred community members showed up to participate in an interfaith memorial and candlelit procession through Half Moon Bay on Jan. 31, 2023, to honor the victims of the mushroom farm shootings. 

4. A cyclist takes a moment at an altar for the victims in Half Moon Bay's Mac Dutra Plaza on Jan. 26, 2023. 

5. San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone sprinkles holy water on the families of victims during a reclamation and blessing of Mountain Mushroom Farm, one of two sites where the recent mushroom farm shootings occurred, on Jan. 27, 2023. 

Above: Dr. Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga, Executive Director and Founder of ALAS, sits in the brightly colored lobby of the ALAS office in downtown Half Moon Bay on Jan. 22, 2024. The non-profit ALAS has been dedicated to helping the Coastside farmworking and Latino communities for over a decade and proved to be a crucial community resource in the days following the mushroom farm shootings.

A heart shaped arbor stood in the driveway of the ALAS main office as the sun sets on Jan. 22, 2024. The arbor is part of the decorations for a remembrance event for the victims of the mushroom farm shootings.

Community members carry signs in a procession through downtown Half Moon Bay as part of a monthly housing vigil gathering hosted by the ALAS housing committee on Feb. 23, 2024.

Ángel Hernandez Avila carries a sign and chants with his mother, Rocio Avila, during a monthly housing vigil procession through downtown Half Moon Bay on Feb. 23, 2024.

WeHope staff check in clients at the grand opening of WeHope's weekly laundry service at Pescadero High School on March 8, 2023. The free laundry service is a collaboration with local non-profit PUENTE to help rural community members, many of whom are low-income farmworkers.

ALAS coordinator Cristhian Landaverde, left, unloads water and lunches for farm workers at the Half Moon Bay Nursery on Nov. 3, 2023. Every Friday, a team of ALAS staff and volunteers visit a different Coastside farm to bring lunches, water, and other donated items such as blankets and health/hygiene kits to farmworkers, while also informing them on how to access resources.

Antonio Romero, a worker at Half Moon Bay Nursery, digs into a sandwich delivered by the ALAS team during his lunch break on Nov. 3, 2023.

Mushroom farm shooting witness and survivor Yingze Wang, right, participates in an English class at Senior Coastsiders in Half Moon Bay on Jan. 18, 2024. Wang is now a regular participant in the English class.

American Red Cross volunteers Gale Carli, left, and Ayla Huhn, right, applaud a student practicing CPR during their training session at the first Farmworker Convention in Pescadero on March 17, 2024. The convention, which was hosted by PUENTE and Coastside Hope, offered workshops and discussions around labor rights, safety, emergency preparedness, and other important topics.

Survivor Pedro Romero practices before the start of a weekly free accordion class for Coastside farmworkers taught by well-known musician Hernán Hernández Jr. on Nov. 1, 2023. The classes are sponsored and organized by ALAS to provide a form of musical therapy to the farmworking community.

Musician Hernán Hernández Jr. helps students during free weekly accordion classes held at a farm near El Granada on Nov. 1, 2023. The classes are sponsored and organized by ALAS to provide a form of musical therapy to the farmworking community.

Mel Mello Jr. walks Yesenia Garcia Hernández, an employee of Cabrillo Farms, to the stage to receive the first ever Farmworker of the Year award at the annual Coastside Farm Day in Half Moon Bay on March 22, 2024. Farmworkers had rarely been included and never formally recognized in previous years' celebrations.

Marigolds, candles and decorated skulls cover the streets of downtown Half Moon Bay for a community Día de los Muertos celebration sponsored by ALAS on Oct. 28, 2023. Honoring the victims of the shooting was central to the event.

Community members pay respects to the seven farmworkers who lost their lives in the mushroom farm shootings at an altar dedicated by ALAS in Mac Dutra Plaza. Honoring the victims of the shootings was central to the 2024 Día de los Muertos celebration in downtown Half Moon Bay.

Community members who built altars hold photos of their loved ones as dancers with Xiuhcoatl Danza Azteca perform a blessing in the form of dance at the ALAS Día de los Muertos celebration in downtown Half Moon Bay on Oct. 28, 2023.

Above: Dancers with the San Francisco-based Xiuhcoatl Danza Azteca danced to honor the individuals on altars and offer a blessing to them and their families at the ALAS Día de los Muertos celebration in downtown Half Moon Bay on Oct. 28, 2023.

A year after the tragedy, local leaders, politicians and community members bow their heads in a moment of silence during a community memorial and art dedication event hosted by ALAS on Jan. 23, 2024, in Half Moon Bay.

A community memorial and art dedication event hosted by ALAS unveiled the sculpture "El Corazón del Campesino" by local artist Fernando Escartiz on Jan. 23, 2024 The sculpture will remain in front of the ALAS main office in commemoration of the 2023 farmworker shootings.

Written notes hang on a decorated arbor at ALAS's community memorial and art dedication event commemorating the 2023 farmworker shootings on Jan. 23, 2024.

Jenny Portillo and Tito Alvarez of Redwood City hold candles and reflect during ALAS's community memorial and art dedication event commemorating the 2023 farmworker shootings on Jan. 23, 2024.

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