About Community Human Services

Since 1969, Community Human Services has helped Monterey County residents access care, build stability, pursue recovery, and find support during some of life’s most difficult challenges.

Through community-based programs in mental health, substance use disorder treatment, homelessness, youth, and family services, CHS helps individuals and families stabilize, strengthen support systems, build practical skills, and move toward greater independence.

OUR MISSION AND VISION
Community Human Services is a nonprofit agency dedicated to providing high-quality mental health, substance abuse, and homeless services to Monterey County residents to help them reach their full potential. Our vision is to have a community free of substance abuse, mental health challenges, and housing instability by providing ever-evolving programs and services that address the root causes of social problems.

WHO WE ARE
Community Human Services is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and Joint Powers Authority serving Monterey County.

This gives CHS a distinctive role. As a nonprofit, CHS is mission-driven, community-based, and focused on direct service. As a Joint Powers Authority, CHS is governed by a Board of Directors with representatives appointed by participating cities and educational agencies.

Through this public governance structure, local agencies help guide CHS’s regional response to shared community needs, including mental health, substance use disorder treatment, homelessness, youth support, and family services.

WHAT WE DO
CHS programs are organized around three core areas of service:

Mental Health and Family Services

• • CHS offers outpatient counseling, family support services, parenting education, supervised visitation and exchange, domestic violence counseling, anger management services, and related supports for individuals and families.

Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery

• • CHS offers residential treatment, outpatient treatment, medication-assisted treatment, recovery housing, school-based prevention, adolescent treatment, and related services for individuals and families affected by substance use.

Homelessness and Housing Support

• • CHS operates street outreach, shelter, transitional housing, navigation, and housing support services for youth, women, families with children, and other people experiencing homelessness or housing instability.

Across all programs, CHS helps people stabilize, build practical skills, strengthen support systems, connect with resources, and move toward greater health, stability, and independence.

OUR HISTORY
Community Human Services began in 1969 as a community-led response to rising youth drug use in Monterey County. Concerned parents, community leaders, schools, and local public agencies saw the need for a more coordinated way to support young people, families, and neighborhoods affected by substance use.

In the early 1970s, a Monterey County Grand Jury report highlighted the need for a stronger, more coordinated local response to youth drug use and related community needs. Local cities and school districts then joined with CHS through a Joint Powers Authority structure, creating a regional model for shared responsibility that became a defining part of CHS’s identity.

Over time, CHS expanded from its early focus on youth substance use into a broader network of behavioral health, homelessness, youth, and family services. Another major milestone came in 2002, when CHS merged with the Family Service Agency of Monterey County, strengthening its ability to serve children, adults, and families across Monterey County. Today, CHS continues to evolve in response to community needs while remaining grounded in its original purpose: helping Monterey County residents build stability, recovery, connection, and hope.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Community support helps CHS respond to emerging needs, strengthen programs, and serve more people across Monterey County. Donations, volunteer support, public funding, grants, and public agency partnerships all help make this work possible.

Whether you give, volunteer, support a program, or connect someone to services, you help neighbors move toward safety, recovery, stability, and independence.