Los Angeles, CA. Project Ropa is a nonprofit foundation based in Los Angeles serving the homeless community. The nonprofit works to restore dignity by bringing clean clothing and hygiene kits directly to people experiencing homelessness. According to the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority, there are a total of 63,706 people homeless and 46,090 still in need of shelter. Over the past year, there has been a 12.7% increase in homelessness in LA County alone. Community members who are experiencing homelessness do not have easy access to bathrooms let alone showers.
Like many organizations, Project Ropa has seen a massive decline in monetary donations as a result of the global pandemic. While the monetary donations have declined by 75%, there has been a 300% increase in clothing donations.
Overhead has not declined but rather increased for the organization during this time. Project Ropa’s storage units are at full capacity, so the organization had to acquire a third unit for the influx of supplies.
Project Ropa has more than doubled weekly donations. Prior to the pandemic, the organization directly provided hygiene kits and clothing to 200 people directly on a weekly basis. Today after teaming up with local nonprofits they are serving over 5,000 people a month. Caitlin Adler Founder and Executive Director says, “We expect that number to continue to grow. We have figured out a way to increase capacity with less money.”
As a result of Covid-19, the demand and quantity for hygiene kits has substantially increased. With social distancing mandates in place getting essential personal protective equipment together has had its fair share of challenges. Due to hygiene regulations and sanitation recommendations, clothing is quarantined for 7-days prior to distribution. With major pivots implemented (i.e. quarantine of shoes and clothes, halted entry into mobile hygiene vans, and meeting sanitation standards etc.). Volunteers are no longer able to assist in the vans and volunteer opportunities have been cut in half.
With the elevated health risks associated with the virus, Project Ropas partnership with Saint Francis Center has been a saving grace for thousands of people.
During this time there are no holiday events planned.
Volunteers are encouraged to engage in Project Ropa’s virtual volunteer opportunities. Where individuals go out into the community to collect a list of items. Merchandise can be dropped off at the facility and or pick-up can be coordinated at a nearby location.
From Project Ropa:
It is in times like these that your donations are needed the most. Find out more at Project Ropa. Monetary donations can be made on Donor Box here and to our Venmo account @ProjectRopa.
Mission
Project Ropa helps restore dignity, rekindle optimism, and empower lives by providing clean clothing, hygiene kits and job opportunities to people experiencing homelessness.
Our Mailing Address
4712 Admiralty Way #1226 Marina del Rey, CA 90292
Our Warehouse Address
12681 W Jefferson Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90066
Donation Drop-off Information
We accept clothing donation drop-offs at our warehouse by appointment only. Email us: [email protected]
About Us
Project Ropa was founded in 2016 by Caitlin Adler to address the challenges that homeless people face in obtaining and keeping clean clothes. Though homelessness is accompanied by many deprivations — from food, to shelter, to safety — one of its greatest indignities comes from the absence of hygiene services.
When you’re homeless, it doesn’t take long to look that way, and the world and your options in it shrink. Access to hygiene services is a human right yet for many people experiencing homelessness there are often significant barriers to proper hygiene. Most homeless people literally have only the clothes on their backs. Access to clean clothing is essential to the overall well-being of a person and can be the key to opening doors to employment and housing.
We believe everyone deserves to be treated with respect. How you look affects how you feel about yourself and how others treat you. Now, because of the health threats posed by the coronavirus, the need to overcome those challenges has become ever greater. People who are experiencing homelessness often wind up wearing dirty and wet clothes for long stretches of time, making them vulnerable to the spread of transmissible diseases, including Covid-19.
No one should have to wear dirty clothes or clothes that are ill-fitting. It is more important than ever that our homeless neighbors have access to new and gently used donated clothing in a safe, humane and dignified setting.
That’s where we come in.
Project Ropa provides a curated selection of new and gently used high-quality men’s and women’s clothing, shoes and accessories, along with personal hygiene products — all donated by local manufacturers, retailers and nonprofit partners — which we bring to locations throughout the city each week in a retrofitted van that acts as a mobile walk-in closet. At the same time, the people we serve can take a shower offered by another service provider with whom we work in tandem.
The need to provide clean clothes to our homeless neighbors has never been more urgent. Read this article to learn more about what makes our service different. For additional information about why it is so important to provide people experiencing homelessness with access to clean clothes in a safe, humane and respectful way read this article.
We believe in second chances for people who want to turn their lives around. Our vision is to help break the cycle of homelessness by restoring dignity and creating living-wage job opportunities for people with barriers to employment.
Los Angeles, CA. Anthony Anderson, star of the hit tv show Black-ish and ambassador for Mercedes-Benz teams up with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank to deliver 40,000 meals to families in the L.A. area. Mercedes-Benz started a Curbside Caring initiative at the start of the pandemic to offer money, food, and medical supplies to those in need. As an ambassador for Mercedes-Benz, Anderson helps contribute to its mission through acts of charity. Growing up in Compton, Anderson witnessed many people struggle with hunger in his community. Today, Anderson does everything he can to try and fight hunger in Los Angeles.
The pandemic has worsened food insecurity across the nation, forcing people to skip meals including Thanksgiving dinner. With donations from the L.A. Food Bank and the help of Anderson and Mercedes-Benz, 40,000 people in the L.A. area enjoyed Thanksgiving meals this year. Families were shocked to be handed full turkeys, a gesture that clearly made their day.
A woman overwhelmed with joy after receiving a turkey for Thanksgiving
Los Angeles, CA. With Thanksgiving fast approaching, Los Angeles Mission is working hard to make sure every homeless individual in LA can have a hot meal this year. On November 20th, the nonprofit distributed 1,500 food boxes to citizens in Watts as seen above.
The Los Angeles Mission provides nearly 1,500 hot meals every day at its 303 East 5th Street location.
Staffers believe it will be an extra busy holiday season this year. Statistics on homelessness are up:
53,195 people in Los Angeles County are experiencing homelessness
22% increase in people aged 62 and older who are experiencing homelessness
Three out of four people experiencing homelessness remain unsheltered
6% of people experiencing homelessness are currently fleeing violence
9,322 people over the past year are experiencing homelessness for the first time
We provide both residential and emergency services to the community, including meals, showers, clothing, academic courses, employment workshops, job search assistance and referral services.
Contact us at (213) 629-1227 ext. 347 for information.
Residential Life Recovery Program
The recovery oriented systems of care programs provide a host of services designed to be client driven such as individual, family and conjoint counseling; Life Skill courses such as anger management, domestic violence, parenting and smoking cessation; discipleship and academic classes such as GED preparation, computer literacy, ESL, and tutoring; employment readiness workshops, job search assistance; group sessions; socialization; vocational training; transitional housing; psychiatric referrals and other relevant services to assist students in becoming contributing members of society.
Mommy and Me is a unique Anne Douglas Center program catering to the needs of struggling moms who are experiencing homelessness or living in other shelters and missions in the area. On Saturday mornings, women and their children can receive a hot breakfast while “shopping” for clothing in the Mission’s donated-clothing room. Mommy and Me offers a wonderful opportunity to help, encourage, and connect with these hurting women and children while providing them with food, clothes — and hope.
Urban Training Institute
Life Skills classes such as Anger Management, Domestic Violence, Smoking Cessation and Parenting are taught by certified instructors and are open to the public.
Please contact Ana Ceravolo at (213) 627-1227 ext. 387.
Food Baskets
Los Angeles Mission has a long history of providing emergency food baskets to those in need. However, in the last six years, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of requests for emergency food. Each week, we prepare about 40-50 baskets, filled with items donated from local markets including Albertsons. Each basket includes nutritious ingredients for preparing a balanced meal.
For more information about our Emergency Food Basket Program, call the Anne Douglas Center at (213) 614-0743.
Outreach Services
Our Outreach Services provide ongoing support for those who have graduated from Mission programs. This keeps our graduates connected to a community where they feel accepted and nurtured in order to encourage and maintain the progress they have achieved. Outreach Services provide housing, referral services and assistance with addressing the various roadblocks and obstacles that often accompany re-entry into society.
For more information contact Antwone Sanford at (213) 629-1227 ext 347.
Los Angeles, CA. The American Red Cross stresses the importance and growing need for blood donations as COVID-19 cases skyrocket across the nation. By partnering with country music star Martina McBride and service company Suburban Propane, the Red Cross hopes to persuade potential donors, and particularly COVID-19 survivors to give blood. McBride reaches out to fans in a video encouraging them to donate blood to the Red Cross in order to help save lives this holiday season. Additionally, for those who donate blood, plasma, or platelet from November 15th to December 16th, Suburban Propane is offering a lucky winner a socially distanced outdoor living experience.
While all blood donations help, COVID-19 survivors are the most important donors because the antibodies in their blood are used by doctors to treat current coronavirus patients. The Red Cross tests every blood donation for COVID-19 antibodies and notifies donors of the result. Using antibodies found in the bloodstream to treat patients with coronavirus is a treatment called convalescent plasma which has been very successful. Red Cross shares a story of a 37-year-old woman who was hospitalized with COVID-19 and whose life was ultimately saved from plasma treatment. Patients respond to treatments in many different ways, and for some, convalescent plasma is the only treatment that helps them recover.
Donor gives blood to American Red Cross at the start of the pandemic (Staff Photo By Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
To ensure donor safety, the Red Cross administers temperature checks, social distancing, and face coverings for both donors and staff members at their blood drives. Donors are required to make an appointment beforehand and wear their facial covering the entirety of the appointment. They also must be at least 17 years old, weigh over 110 pounds, and be in good health. Appointments can be made on the Red Cross app, website, or over the phone at 1-800-RED CROSS.
Los Angeles, CA. All Peoples Community Center Executive Director Saundra Bryant talks about the difficulties young children are facing in a virtual academic setting and how the center has adjusted its programs to fit the state’s current public health guidelines. Annually, All Peoples hosts a “Back to School” night for youth. This year, to help with the adjustment to remote learning, staff distributed Back to School “remote learning” supply bags. 300 youth received school supplies for the upcoming school year, as seen above.
Bryant explains, “It’s trying to adjust to a new learning curve.” All Peoples Community Center primarily focuses on helping the local youth’s education and wellbeings with the center’s events and activities like extended child daycare, after-school programs, and summer camp.
Bryant notes that children between grades 1-4 had an especially difficult time with distant learning in comparison to other age groups. The staff has found over time that this age group is more focused and easier to help within scheduled one-on-one virtual tutoring sessions.
The organization had to make significant adjustments this year to provide opportunities to kids without risking the spread of the coronavirus in large groups. The staff started to understand the issues surrounding distance learning from contacting parents and the youth of the center’s after-school programs in the first months of the pandemic.
Bryant listed a number of issues exemplified by the parents that include a lack of access to reliable internet and not having responsive, functional equipment needed for virtual learning.
Additionally, while some households are able to function within a stay-at-home environment, other larger households aren’t able to afford the same luxuries.
There can often be multiple people in one household who all need to use their one or two computers for meetings and work at the same time. This can create difficulty for everyone in the household in maintaining a regular routine for school and work fairly.
There are a number of virtual tutors that reach out to specific areas of the center’s youth like beginner art lessons led by Teens Youth Coordinator Erick “Sen” Moreno who has a Youtube channel where he posts his art lessons online like the one seen below:
Bryant’s staff has come up with a variety of ways to keep kids of all age groups engaged in a virtual setting by adding in fun activities that emphasize the main lessons and have talked about starting a book club as well.
The community center hasn’t completely shut down as the 20,000-square-foot building allows for the staff and a select few children to practice social distancing effectively.
“In some cases, we’re able to actually have students to come in for the tutoring sessions,” Bryant said, “that’s been more effective for some of our youth.”
The other reason the community center has stayed open is due to the active participation in certain campaigns with other nonprofits like the Angeleno Campaign which provided thousands of prepaid cards for struggling families, assistance in the ERAS application process for those unable to apply at home, and a weekly food distribution program.
All Peoples will continue to make important decisions for events and programs as the holiday season approaches.
“Normally we would do a Thanksgiving dinner where we would feed between 800-1,000 people,” Bryant said, “we are going to cancel that and we talked about doing a major food giveaway instead.”
Bryant listed an additional concern for the community in February 2021 where several unemployed LA residents could become homeless as a result of the expiration of LA County’s Temporary Eviction Moratorium for Residential Tenants.
“The other major concern that we are focused on is really about the education of our young people,” Bryant explained, “we know that our schools aren’t able to open safely, so what we’re looking at is our young people will have lost a year to a year-and-a-half of education.
“We’re already in a community where there is a concern about the education that our young people are receiving and the support that they need to be able to compete and now they’re a year-and-a-half behind.”
All Peoples Community Center will continue to keep the center open under strict social distancing for the youth who prefer a classroom learning environment and assisting individuals in the community for certain social services and programs.
The center launched the All Peoples Senior Food Delivery Service in October and are currently delivering to more than 40 seniors a week.
The center is labeled by the city’s mayor as an essential services provider and has subsequently seen a large increase of families needing assistance with food and other living essentials. Their donation page is here if you have the means to assist the center to continue operations during this unprecedented time.
From All Peoples Community Center:
Our mission is to provide social services and programs that empower individuals and promote community respect and self-determination for all.
All Peoples Community Center has become a comprehensive community center, delivering a myriad of social and educational services and activities. Our services and activities are driven by the purpose of:
Helping Children Succeed at Each Stage in their Development
Strengthening and Supporting Individuals and Families and Building Community
Preventing Violence and Crime, in the Community and in the Home
Addressing the Root Causes of Gang Involvement
Providing Job Training and Creating Job Opportunities
Los Angeles, CA.“Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic: Resilience and Impact” is the theme for World Aids Day. This year, there will be no in-person gathering where supporters unite, as seen above, but there will the first-ever nationwide AIDS Memorial Quilt display. Each year, sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt travel to communities throughout the country for in-person displays. In 2020, that is simply not possible due to Covid-19. Organizers explain, “While nothing can replace the beauty of seeing the Quilt in-person, our hope is that this first-ever, 50-state AIDS Memorial Quilt virtual exhibition, helps use the power and beauty of the Quilt to help our nation heal and remember during these difficult times.”
The National AIDS Memorial has worked together with Quilt partners from across the country to create this exhibition which includes digital images from thousands of hand-sewn Quilt panels, each visually telling the story of loved ones lost to AIDS.
The exhibition is curated by state, allowing visitors to how people came together through one devastating pandemic to create a living memorial as a way to express their love, grief, pain and hope. Each display is hosted by a Quiltmaker, community organization or business and includes touching narratives that connect each display to the lives memorialized and their work around HIV/AIDS. The exhibition is free to the public through March 31, 2021.
On Dec. 1ST, World AIDS, there will be a virtual conversation with leading health voices about health justice, social activism, remembrance, hope and resilience.
Learn more World AIDS Day 2020 – A National Conversation. Click for updates https://bit.ly/35rSllV
Thank you to our Quilt partners for hosting this statewide display. Click on the organization name to visit its display or scroll down to view all the Quilt displays. Each Quilt display has the corresponding block numbers and the thumbnail images can be enlarged by clicking on them for a closer look at the details of the panels. A curated story is provided by each Quilt host, linking to their organization website to learn more about their work in the community. See the full list of displays by state and territory.
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