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We recently shared easy ways to lend a hand in our local community of West LA and Santa Monica in this time of crisis and immense need.
To go a step further, we thought it was important to give some love, recognition, and support to an organization we already had a working relationship with helping out in the local area, but that is now tackling COVID-19 relief head on.
LA Family Housing has proven their value to the community time and again, making our neighborhoods and streets a safer and more compassionate place well before COVID-19. But of course, right now they need our support more than ever.
LAFH donations coordinator Terry Lotka on the current crisis: “I am very proud of our LA Family Housing team’s early and swift action to respond to this COVID-19 public health crisis while continuing our critical work fighting our community’s homeless health crisis. There’s no cure for coronavirus, but housing is the best protection. Our collective efforts with the County to quickly move people inside, into hotels, and ultimately getting them home will be the lasting impact when this crisis ends. By working aggressively on bringing our vulnerable neighbors indoors, practicing social distancing and using PPE in all of our workplace and residential programs, accelerating our maintenance protocols throughout all of our properties, and regularly communicating with each other about best practices has helped flatten the curve in LA County and will undoubtedly save lives.”
Advertise Purple is happy to donate and provide a platform for groups like LAFH, and we are proud to support their open and transparent plans to prevent COVID-19 from spreading more than it already has in the Los Angeles area.
Not to mention, besides just the spread, they are assisting those in need. There are certainly people in our community and outside of it who deserve more help.
That said, to speak to that transparency, here are some clearcut ways they’ve actively worked to flatten the curve:
- They are partnering with the County on Project Roomkey to open four motels as new shelters for people who are at risk of or are already infected with COVID-19.
- They are providing 1,300 meals to families and individuals impacted by COVID-19.
- They are following important social distancing guidelines.
- They are communicating daily with staff and participants on important safety protocols.
- They have created distanced volunteer activities to limit exposure and protect our vulnerable participants.
So, what can you do to help? Glad you asked.
Now more than ever, your support will allow LAFH to help our neighbors experiencing homelessness remain safe, healthy and on track to achieving housing stability.
Here’s a link to their donation page:
By making a gift today you can help LA Family Housing:
- Increase disease prevention supplies for people living outdoors
- Equip their outreach teams with protective gear
- Create quarantine areas for sick individuals
- Provide meals to those in need
If you prefer to donate items, they have instituted a curb-side drop-off program at 7843 Lankershim Blvd., from 9-11 am Mon-Fri. Please call 818-220-6936 at least a half hour prior to drop-off.
Hygiene supplies: shampoo, conditioner, body wash, razors, feminine care products, adult diapers
Protective gear: masks, hand sanitizer, gloves
Activities: puzzles, coloring books (adults and children), coloring supplies
You can also donate through their Amazon Wishlist.
It’s unsafe at the moment to volunteer in person, but these are some socially distanced ways to volunteer from afar:
More words from Terry: “I as a volunteer and the Donations Coordinator work at LA Housing because I want to help people. I am AMAZED at our collaborative efforts in providing our participants with food, hygiene, safety equipment and other household supplies that they are unable to obtain during the stay order. While I am normally a hands on employee, I am now working remotely to provide these necessities. I am proud and blessed to be a part of the LAFH Team!!
Each year we’ve given out roughly 12,000 hygiene kits to people who are unhoused, living in interim housing, and to families that have recently moved into a place of their own. During the COVID crisis, we find we are needing an additional 3,000 kits each month to meet the need. Donations of hygiene kits really help us support our most vulnerable neighbors in a meaningful way, and help them feel clean, safe, and on their path to housing stability.”
Thank you to LAFH and thank you for reading this. We hope for a better future for our wonderful city and for things to be safer and more secure again, and I’m sure you do too. Taking action can get us there faster and bring us back stronger than before.
