Project HOPE has an emergency response team on the ground actively distributing hygiene kits and procuring high-need items for shelters and health clinics, including personal protective equipment (PPE) with a focus on high-quality particulate-filtering masks to reduce smoke inhalation. Our team continues to assess conditions at shelters and health clinics across the greater Los Angeles area, while coordinating with government officials and local organizations to identify the greatest health and humanitarian needs.
Our team is also coordinating with our longstanding partner, the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics, to assess outstanding needs at local health clinics who primarily serve under-resourced communities. One clinic our team visited does not have any practitioners on duty right now because they have either lost their home, evacuated, or are awaiting potential evacuations.
As with any U.S.-based emergency response, we are focused on how best to support those who are most vulnerable during disasters, including children, women, people with disabilities and chronic illnesses, and historically marginalized communities.
As the impacts of this crisis unfold, Project HOPE is prepared to provide additional support related to mental health and respiratory health needs, which we expect will have both urgent and long-lasting implications for impacted communities.
