Lives are literally hanging in the balance.
Each year, TrueCare serves about 70,000 patients across San Diego and Riverside counties, including seniors and individuals who face barriers to affordable health care. When potential federal funding cuts threatened patient care, the nonprofit leaned on the strength of its philanthropic support, ensuring its community health centers can keep services within reach.
Thanks to a $250,000 grant from the San Diego Unity Fund – a San Diego Foundation-led initiative created to stabilize nonprofits during periods of government funding loss – TrueCare can maintain its programming at least through the end of 2026. The Unity Fund support represents nearly 9% of the $2.9 million in total contributions and grants the organization received the prior year, according to TrueCare financial filings.
“San Diego Foundation is demonstrating what responsive, community-centered philanthropy looks like,” says TrueCare President and CEO Michelle D. Gonzalez. “Through the Unity Fund, they, along with their local partners, are helping to stabilize essential services during a period of significant federal funding reductions, ensuring San Diegans continue to have access to housing stability, food security, and health care when they need support most.”
Serving Communities Since 1971
TrueCare evolved from a small, mobile health operation into a major safety-net provider, with particular strength in serving agricultural workers, people experiencing homelessness, uninsured residents, and LGBTQ+ communities throughout northern San Diego County. The organization traces its roots to 1971, when local physicians in rural North County communities were unwilling to treat patients with low-incomes. Early services relied on contracted UCSD providers and mobile care in communities like Pauma Valley and Ramona. Its mission today is “to improve the health status of our diverse communities by providing quality health care that is comprehensive, affordable, and culturally sensitive.”
A recognized Live Well San Diego partner, TrueCare operates a network of health centers across northern San Diego and southern Riverside counties, regardless of ability to pay. It also organizes free food distributions, provides transportation to medical appointments, and helps residents enroll in health coverage and social programs. TrueCare also hosts culturally specific support groups for an array of populations. Among its initiatives:
- Agricultural Health Program. This outreach program brings medical, dental, and health services directly to agricultural workers and their families, along with health education on nutrition, HIV, and mental health, plus regular free food distributions.
- Street Medicine Program. Launched in 2025, this initiative brings care directly to people experiencing homelessness and others without a permanent address. Staff provide treatment for illness, minor injuries, immunizations, and behavioral health needs, then connect patients to TrueCare clinics for ongoing primary care.
- Coverage Enrollment Assistance. TrueCare was among the first North County health centers certified as a Covered California enrollment entity, offering bilingual consultations regarding Medi-Cal and marketplace plan selection.
Q&A
To learn more about the impact of the Unity Fund, we asked Michelle to take part in a Question-and-Answer session.
Q. How have recent federal funding cuts impacted TrueCare? What did you see on the ground that signaled, ‘We are entering a crisis moment’?
Federal funding reductions have directly strained TrueCare’s ability to meet rising patient needs across San Diego and Riverside counties. As resources decline, we are seeing more patients delay routine and preventive care, increased demand for primary and behavioral health services, and greater reliance on support programs tied to food access and mental health. It quickly became clear that without timely intervention, essential services that thousands of our patients depend on would be at risk.
Q. What is the most important thing you want the community to understand about what’s at stake with these funding cuts?
What is at stake is timely access to care that keeps people healthy and stable in their daily lives. When funding is reduced, it affects appointment availability, preventive care, and the support services that help people stay engaged in care. Over time, this results in more untreated conditions, increased use of emergency rooms, and greater strain on hospitals. The impact extends beyond health care. It affects families, workplaces, schools, and the overall strength and stability of the community. When people cannot access timely care, the effects ripple outward, making it harder for the entire region to remain healthy.
Q. What specific services or programs will the San Diego Unity Fund grant allow you to sustain or expand?
This funding will allow TrueCare to sustain essential services that help patients get the care they need and stay on track. That includes outreach to populations facing barriers to health care, insurance enrollment assistance, transportation to medical appointments, uncompensated care for patients without coverage, and food delivery programs that support patients experiencing food insecurity. These services are critical to ensuring patients can access care early and maintain their overall health.
Q. How will TrueCare measure and report the impact of this grant?
We will measure the impact through patient access and utilization metrics, including the number of patients served, enrollment support provided, transportation assistance delivered, and continuity of care outcomes. We will also incorporate qualitative insights, including patient feedback and stories, to better understand the impact of these services and identify opportunities to improve. Together, these indicators help us demonstrate how the grant supports access to care and improves health stability for the communities we serve.
Q. In your view, what’s distinctive about the Unity Fund compared to traditional grantmaking?
The Unity Fund stands apart because it is built to respond quickly with flexibility and collaboration at a moment when communities cannot afford delays. San Diego Foundation is working closely with nonprofits to respond to real-time challenges, support innovation, and ensure the region meets this moment together. We’re also grateful that SDF has supported TrueCare in other ways, including support for our literacy efforts, which reflects their long-term commitment to coordinated, effective community impact.
Q. How do you see philanthropy and public funding needing to work together to keep families housed, fed, and healthy in this moment?
Philanthropy plays a vital role in moving quickly, filling urgent gaps, and stabilizing organizations when public dollars are delayed or reduced. When the two work in coordination, families are less likely to lose access to housing support, food assistance, and health care during periods of uncertainty.
Learn More About the San Diego Unity Fund
