Los Angeles Humanitarian Initiative Provides Relief to At-Risk Populations in Los Angeles
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:
