by Julia Rajkovic | Nov 10, 2020 | Feature, General, News
Los Angeles, CA. Social distancing requirements due to the Covid-19 pandemic are making it difficult for volunteers to do their typical hands-on work. Now an organization called L.A. Works is helping both nonprofits and volunteers find ways to help the community. Through a program called “Make Room For Caring in Social Distancing,” L.A. Works shares five ways volunteers can make an impact. Those options include the following: volunteer at a COVID-19 testing site, volunteer for in-person hunger relief, volunteer from home, join the Red Cross, or make a donation. For those who are healthy and able to do so, important programs such as COVID-19 testing and hunger relief are desperate for hands-on volunteer workers.
Volunteer working at COVID-19 drive-thru testing site
For those who would prefer to volunteer from home, L.A. Works offers hundreds of engaging virtual volunteering opportunities such as doing a Zoomba class with special needs youth, virtual tutoring with underprivileged children, and fitness class fundraisers. L.A. Works has also started the #MillionMaskChallengeLA which is a volunteer project challenging Los Angeles residents to sew as many masks as they can and donate them to those in need. Program administrators write, “At L.A. Works, we are proud to see our community at its best, working together while staying apart. We know, now more than ever, we are in this together and we must respond together.”
BLM protesters participate in June protest
In addition to promoting safe volunteering options, L.A. Works also dedicates part of its volunteer efforts toward the Black Lives Matter movement. L.A. Works makes it easy for volunteers to become involved in the movement, whether this means becoming educated on systemic racism or volunteering to help close the education gap. This goal is stated on the nonprofit’s website: “Creating volunteer programs and experiences infused with discussions, learning, and advocacy to advance social change is at the very core of our mission.” To achieve this goal L.A. works offers volunteers the opportunity to join an advocacy program on racial justice, volunteer to tutor disadvantaged children, and feed the homeless.
From L.A. Works:
Founded in 1991, our mission consists of three principal pillars: INCREASE volunteer participation in community service projects; PROVIDE our nonprofit partners with access to volunteer labor and other RESOURCES; and EDUCATE and encourage people to engage in the broader social issues affecting the greater Los Angeles Community.
by Sydney Mathews | Nov 10, 2020 | Feature, General, News
Los Angeles, CA. The Healthy LA Coalition was established by a number of nonprofit organizations looking for solutions to the hardships caused by COVID-19 in the LA County area. (Above photo is of volunteers at Maywood YMCA for LA Regional Food Bank).
“We actually came together for the first time on the evening of March 12th,” said David Levitus, one of the original co-organizers of Healthy LA, “I ended up putting together the Healthy LA website for two hours on Saturday on the 14th, got it published, put up a Google form to collect signatures, and it just snowballed from there.”
It started with twenty-five people on a conference call discussing how they can help with pushing legislation that will help the community affected by the pandemic. After the creation of the official website, Healthy LA would quickly grow from a network of twenty-five in March to 335 by the end of the summer. While the majority of organizations that were added to the website were nonprofits, thirty-five religious congregations/denominations and twenty-eight regular businesses had also joined the coalition via application through Levitus’s Google form.
The rapid growth of the Healthy LA Coalition over the course of a few months allowed the network of organizations to develop thirty different legislative proposals to the board of supervisors for LA County.
“We just knew that the crisis was so big that even on the economic side, we needed nothing less than really bold proposals,” Levitus stated.
Twenty of the thirty proposals Healthy LA presented to the LA City Council and County Supervisors were enacted through immense lobbying efforts and communicating to the general public about the proposed legislation. The proposals covered a wide array of protection for the community including the unhoused, undocumented, and incarcerated individuals in the county.
Levitus considered their collective effort to increase worker protection was one of the most significant victories for Healthy LA as it guaranteed fourteen days of sick leave for an additional 440,000 LA workers. These city and county workers were not originally eligible for the federal paid sick leave policy as they worked in firms with over five hundred employees.
The initial website banner for Healthy LA and its main proposals which have nearly all been passed by the LA City Council and Board of Supervisors.
One of the proposals that have proved to be more challenging to pass on both a county and state level is a robust moratorium for foreclosures and evictions. There are currently protections for tenants who are unable to pay for their rent that has recently been extended to March 2021; however, if tenants are unable to pay the minimum 25% of their regular rent in the coming months, they can be evicted as early as February 1. Considering that the moratorium could have been extended as far as 2024, Healthy LA continues to advocate for tenants who face eviction in the next year.
Levitus stated that the long-term goal for Healthy LA is a “just recovery” as there are often marginalized groups of people who are left out of recovery as seen in the 2008 Great Recession. He hopes to continue giving workers a voice; as well as, tenants because a recent UCLA study showed roughly 20% of city residents have struggled to pay rent on time.
Levitus believes there is still a lot of work to be done to help those who need it most and that drastic social reform as seen after the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement would make a positive difference to Los Angeles and beyond.
“We need a third reconstruction,” Levitus said in consideration to the coalition’s goals beyond COVID-19, “to transform our society that is racially and economically just, and I think we all share that perspective at Healthy LA so that’s really the long-term vision.”
From Healthy LA Coalition:
We are a network of more than 330 advocacy organizations, worker centers, labor unions, service providers, religious congregations, community groups, affordable housing developers, public interest lawyers, public health and safety organizations, and many more uniting to propose concrete solutions to the many hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
by Julia Rajkovic | Oct 31, 2020 | General, News
Los Angeles, CA. Griffith Park hiking trails are open, including Observatory grounds, as are most park roads and parking. Face coverings are required. However, Griffith Observatory is currently closed to the public as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Educators are doing their best to keep the public connected by offering several online exhibits and activities through its website. One of these programs is called All Space Considered. It’s a live, free program, broadcasted on the first Friday of every month over Griffith Observatory TV. The next will be November 2nd.
During this program, Observatory staff members educate viewers on the most talked about topics of space, including special celestial events and Apollo anniversaries.
Dr. Laura Danly, an Astronomer who serves as Curator to Griffith Observatory, said about their most popular programs, “We had over a million views. NASA used our feed for years before they finally did their own setup! I have been very proud of what we built with very few resources.”
Dr. Laura Danly, an Astronomer who serves as Curator to Griffith Observatory, (photo is from a TEDx Talk, Sep 26th, 2017.)
Danly has plans to retire from Griffith on December 5th and is unsure if she will be able to do another show beforehand. In addition to All Space Considered, Danly has created many other virtual features such as processing your own Juno images, a community photo gallery, detailed sky reports, and more. Before her departure, Danly plans to add the option to process your own Hubble images as well.
Griffith Observatory is a public observatory owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. While open and running, Griffith is one of the most popular informal education facilities in the U.S. and the most-visited public observatory in the world welcoming around 1.5 million visitors a year. The observatory is the living dream of a man named Griffith J. Griffith who donated the land for the park in 1896 and specified his vision for the park in his will. The observatory is home to several exhibits including public telescopes, an interactive and complete hall of the sky, and even a planetarium. Griffith J. Griffith believed “that if all mankind could look through [a] telescope it would change the world!”.
Griffith Hall of The Sky exhibit
Photography by Justin Donais
Samuel Oschin Planetarium Projector
© Griffith Observatory
To check out all of Griffith’s online offerings, go to its website: http://www.griffithobservatory.org/
From Griffith Observatory:
Griffith Observatory inspires everyone to observe, ponder, and understand the sky. Griffith Observatory is an icon of Los Angeles, a national leader in public astronomy, a beloved civic gathering place, and one of southern California’s most popular attractions. The Observatory is located on the southern slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park, just above the Los Feliz neighborhood. It is 1,134 feet above sea level and is visible from many parts of the Los Angeles basin. The Observatory is the best vantage point for observing the world-famous Hollywood Sign.
by Yasmin Vieira | Oct 30, 2020 | Feature, General, News |
Los Angeles, CA. Over the last forty years, The Downtown Women’s Center (DWC) has helped nearly 110,000 disadvantaged women with meals and housing. DWC was launched in 1978 because of the friendship between two women; Jill Halverson (pictured on the right above) created the nonprofit to help an inspiring homeless woman, and friend named Rosa (pictured above on the left). During the four decades that followed, DWC has grown into a nonprofit providing many vital services to disadvantaged women. DWC is the only organization in Los Angeles focused exclusively on serving and empowering women experiencing homelessness and formerly homeless women.
DWC representative Anita Vukovic says it’s hard to keep up with all the need, especially during a pandemic. “A lot of DWC work had to change due to consideration of social distancing measures, our community is especially vulnerable to COVID-19 due to underlying health conditions that many women experience. Our community is usually 55 years old and older,” Vukovic explained. DWC is able to provide more than 800 meals a day and offer on-site services in its parking lot, which enables social distancing. “Our health clinic also continues to operate Tuesday to Friday.”
Today, DWC manages 119 units of permanent housing across greater Los Angeles (like the apartment seen above) and has grown to serve more than 5,400 women annually.
DWC was recently selected as one of the 2020 California Nonprofit of the Year by California Senator Holly Mitchell of the 30th Senate District. DWC is one of over a hundred other nonprofits that will be honored by their state senators and assembly members for their contributions. State leaders want to honor DWC staff and volunteers, because they provide women with access to basic needs and resources, housing assistance, trauma-informed case management, mental and physical healthcare, job readiness and workforce development, and advocacy training and resources. “As our services expand to meet the community’s growing needs under COVID-19, we are deeply humbled to be recognized as a 2020 Nonprofit of the Year,” said DWC Chief Executive Officer Amy Turk. “DWC’s decades-long relationship with Senator Mitchell has always been a special one, and we are thrilled to continue working with her to bring greater visibility and resources to women experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles and across California.”
Women’s Health Center Clinic, DWC.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also made it difficult for DWC to use outside helpers.
“Volunteers have been the heart of our community in everything we do and how we are able to serve women,” says, Vukovic. DWC is still looking for opportunities to get their volunteers together. In September DWC had a three-week virtual campaign. “We saw a lot of positive feedback and engagement with that, people were really excited to be able to engage. We are looking into actually continue with that into the future.”
From Women’s Health Center:
How can you be informed on Housing First and Trauma-Informed:
- Access to basic needs and resources through our Day Center, where women can receive three daily meals and access to showers, restrooms, mail, laundry, and telephones.
- On-site housing and supportive services, with our 119 units of permanent housing across two residences making us one of the largest housing providers for women in the country.
- Community-based housing services, provided in partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, and various private foundations and corporations.
- Health and wellness services, including individual and group counseling, medical care, mental health services, preventive screenings, Trauma Recovery Center services, and enrichment activities.
- Job readiness and employment training, as well as job placement services and transitional jobs at MADE by DWC, in partnership with LA:RISE.
- Advocacy training, to empower women to become successful advocates for themselves and others by participating in press interviews, public policy meetings, lobby visits with legislators, fundraising events, press conferences, and more.
- Public education and volunteering, with a volunteer program that engages over 5,000 individuals annually.
- Research and evaluation, to continue to push the envelope on creative solutions to ending homelessness by providing real-time data on needs and impacts (see the DWC 2019 Los Angeles City Women’s Needs Assessment here).
We envision a Los Angeles with every woman housed and on a path to personal stability. Our mission is to end homelessness for women in greater Los Angeles through housing, wellness, and advocacy.
by Shelbrena Payne | Oct 22, 2020 | Feature, General, News
Los Angeles, CA. “It has been a difficult time, to say the least,” says Silvio Orlando, CEO of Optimist Youth Homes & Family Services. During the beginning of the pandemic, purchasing personal protective equipment was no easy feat. Still, resident students have been able to stay on campus while taking classes remotely. Prior to the pandemic, they’d walk from class to class, as seen above. Online learning is one of the many challenges faced by the organization. However, Optimist Youth Homes & Family Services remains devoted to the mental, educational, and physical wellbeing of all the foster children, young adults, and families they serve.
Welcome to Optimist Youth Homes & Family Services
Covid-19 continues to impact the lives of millions of American schoolchildren, including the at-risk and foster youth at Optimist Youth Homes & Family Services.
Optimist Youth Home & Family Services is still serving the community for many years.
In June of 2020, Optimist Youth Homes & Family Services was forced into lockdown when several students and staff members became infected. “The virus not brought in by a student but a staff member,” says Silvio. Continuously educating the staff on Covid-19 and how to prevent the spread remains a top priority. Since the outbreak staff have become more compliant. Working with the Public Health Department and County to ensure the health and safety of students and staff has been a tremendous success. The Public Health Department stated Optimist Youth Homes & Family Services was “doing great.” There have been no outbreaks since.
Foundation grants have been made more readily available and leniency has been given during this time. While cash donations have not seen an increase, non-cash donations have. The non-cash supplies have included face masks and hand sanitizers.
Optimist Youth Homes & Family Services have a lot of committed mentors and volunteers who work with and for the students. Unfortunately, “volunteers would like to be involved at this time,” says Silvio but due to the safety measures put in place for the children and staff, no volunteers have been allowed.
“We are coping, and our spirits continue to stay high,” as the holiday season is around the corner and major events such as the Mentor Award Gala maybe postponed or canceled. “Major events that raise money are no more,” says Silvio. The decline in monetary donations has sparked the robust creativity by Annie Nuttall, Chief Advancement and Communications Officer and staff leading to new opportunities such as drive-in events, and this year’s Holiday Wish List.
Optimist Youth Homes & Family Services continues to combat the stigmas surrounding mental health. Highly trained therapists provide a variety of integral therapeutic services tailoring to each person’s needs. Offering a wide variety of residential and community therapy programs. These programs are essential to the development and well-being of the children, young adults, and families they serve. Outpatient therapists have been a vital resource during the pandemic. Therapy sessions over zoom have worked exceedingly well. Virtual therapy sessions are safer and some clients find the alternative more enjoyable. Optimist Youth Homes & Family Services is working to keep the virtual services and outreach on mental wellness, well into the future even after the pandemic.
Optimist Youth Homes & Family Services campus building.
From Optimist Youth Homes & Family Services:
With your help, Optimist Youth Homes & Family Services can continue to provide, care for and transform the lives of the at-risk foster youth, children, young adults, and the families in the community they serve.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to provide innovative and individualized treatment, education, and support services to children, young adults and families to better their lives.
OUR VISION
Optimist envisions a world where all children, young adults, and families will have the opportunity to receive the care and support they need to succeed.
Visit Optimist Youth Homes & Family Services for more information. Also, see their donation page, and this year’s Holiday Wish List.
by Julia Rajkovic | Oct 19, 2020 | Coming Up, General, News
Los Angeles, CA. The Los Angeles Humanitarian Initiative (LAHI) is a fairly new non-profit that was founded in response to COVID-19 in hopes of providing relief to at-risk populations in Los Angeles. Since COVID-19 started LAHI has worked hard to distribute resources to LA’s homeless population and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to frontline workers. “In some way, I’d like to think of LAHI as a product of my upbringing; my parents are the most loving and caring people I know and have inspired me to love and care for my community the same way they always have, especially during hard times like these,” says President and Founder Sandro Samaha.
LAHI has two main operations; Community Outreach and Healthcare. By partnering with homeless shelters and free clinics in Los Angeles, LAHI successfully caters to the needs of both of these sectors. Pictured below is the work of their Healthcare sector volunteers donating medical supplies to a local hospital.
LAHI volunteers donate 7,000 surgical masks to Centinela Hospital
Vice President Dana Aboukahlil explained, “Though LAHI began as an initiative to provide relief to those who have been most affected by the pandemic, we have since widened our mission. Since our foundation, we have not only provided PPE all across Los Angeles county, but we have also raised funds for further matters important to our members, such as the Beirut explosion, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and most recently the conflict in Armenia.”
On October 18th, LAHI partnered with the owner of Mindful Bodies Fitness to host a virtual fundraiser. The fundraiser was a workout class held over Zoom. Speaking on behalf of LAHI, Operations Director Kian Heiat shares, “We are extremely excited about this partnership and happy to provide the public with a way to give back to the community in a fun and healthy manner!”. All proceeds will be donated to Venice Family Clinic and Hollywood Sunset Free Clinic which are local free clinics that offer comprehensive medical services to those who may otherwise go without them. Heiat says that LAHI will also be hosting a virtual yoga class the following Sunday for those who cannot attend and would still like to donate and participate.
LAHI volunteers selling custom face masks and collecting non-perishable food donations outside of local Ralph’s
Another way LAHI raises money aside from fundraising and collecting donations is by selling custom LAHI face masks that can be purchased during a pop-up sale or through their website. All the money raised from these sales goes directly to local clinics, shelters, and hospitals.
“Being in LAHI has been extremely gratifying. Through this experience, I have become more familiar with the issues that are relevant to today’s society and have opened my eyes to the importance and power of helping others,” Aboukahlil reflects. LAHI is hoping to reach their goal of $60,000 in donations raised after this Sunday.
If you would like to make a donation to LAHI click here: https://losangeleshi.org/donate/
From Los Angeles Humanitarian Initiative:
Los Angeles Humanitarian Initiative (LAHI) is a community led non-profit organization that bridges the gap between donors and suppliers to support those in need of disaster relief. Inspired by the heroic actions of frontline workers, LAHI seeks to alleviate the pains of at-risk groups in the Greater Los Angeles Area affected by COVID-19.
