More than $6.5 Million in Sandy Aid

“We will stay until these communities recover. Restoring access to health care services for vulnerable populations is a top priority of our Sandy relief program”
— Garrett Ingoglia, vice president of emergency response at AmeriCaresIn the months since Hurricane Sandy devastated the Northeast, AmeriCares has provided more than $6.5 million in assistance, enough to benefit an estimated 450,000 people.One recent grant provides funding for mental health services to help survivors cope with trauma and loss. Additional grants are underway to help restore health services and prepare for future disasters. Meanwhile, we continue to work to help recovering communities in New York New Jersey, and Connecticut. Our response to date includes:

• $3.5 million in medicines and relief supplies to hard-hit communities.  12,050 course treatments of medication and 2,742 doses of vaccine, medical supplies, enough bottled water for 75,000 people, blankets, diapers for 17,000 babies, 3,500 sleeping bags. To date, we have provided a more than 2.9 million individual relief items to support the work of clinics and shelters serving the ill, injured, powerless and displaced.
• $3 million in funding to organizations, including a grant for the installation of modular ramps to help disabled survivors in New Jersey, a $250,000 grant to Long Beach Medical Center to care for poor and uninsured patients on Long Island, grants for programs to provide emergency warmth and disaster clean-up for survivors in Staten Island and Far Rockaway, grants for mental health services for storm-affected children in Staten Island, Brooklyn and New Jersey, a grant and medical aid to help Breezy Point emergency services, and a grant to help elderly and disabled survivors stranded in high-rise buildings in Coney Island.
• Mobile medical clinic: The mobile clinic was on the road nonstop after the hurricane, providing temporary space for storm-damaged health clinics serving the poor and uninsured. In March, 2013 the clinic was stationed in the Bronx Clinic —its fourth stop in four months. It was previously stationed in Rockaway, Queens, Staten Island and Long Beach, N.Y.
• Community Health Fair: On January 9, we co-sponsored Community Health Fair at the Joseph P. Addabbo Family Health Center in the Rockaways, providing free flu shots, dental care, blood pressure screenings, diabetic screenings, and information on post-disaster health and safety needs to help hundreds of people in the community.
• To brighten the Christmas holiday, we held a Christmas Eve dinner for residents and holiday party complete with toys for the children at Conover House in Brooklyn affected by HIV/AIDS.
• On Thanksgiving, a turkey dinner for 500 was served at a Nassau County shelter operated by the American Red Cross.

http://player.vimeo.com/video/53700317Video /Helping stranded survivors: Coney IslandAmeriCares issued a grant to Physician’s National Health Program to fund the work of volunteer doctors providing specialized care to ill and infirm hurricane survivors trapped in hi-rise buildings.http://player.vimeo.com/video/53103739Video /Breezy Point: Emergency Medical Aid“>We delivered a shipment of emergency medical aid to help support the needs of the Rockaway Point Volunteer Emergency Services team.“We will stay until these communities recover,” says Garrett Ingoglia, vice president of emergency response at AmeriCares. “Restoring access to health care services for vulnerable populations is the top priority of our Sandy relief program.”In the coming months, AmeriCares will continue helping health clinics and hospitals as they address long term health issues including mental health services for survivors, as well as local emergency preparedness.Learn more about our large-scale Hurricane Sandy response here.
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