COUNTY PARTNERSHIPS WITH BOYS & GIRLS CLUB AND OTHER LOCAL AGENCIES BRING MEAL PROGRAMS TO PUBLIC HOUSING RESIDENTS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Youth and Seniors are Among the County’s Most Vulnerable Public Housing Populations Being Served

Lomita, CA, April 2, 2020, The Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA) is proud to team up with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor (Boys & Girls Club) and other public and private partners to provide onsite services to youth living at the County’s Harbor Hills Public Housing community.

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, many families with limited means, including the residents of the Harbor Hills Public Housing community, are left to navigate a financial uncertainty while still providing in-home care and nutrition for their children who are no longer accessing school meal programs.  Further, senior residents who lack transportation, or are adhering to the County’s Safer at Home guidelines, may not be able to go out and pick up groceries or meals. To respond to the needs of these families, the Boys & Girls Club, whose 20^th site opened at Harbor Hills in January 2020, quickly implemented a grab-and-go lunch program providing over 200 public housing youth, between the ages of five and 18, with nutritious lunches, Monday through Friday.  This program supports one of the Boys & Girls Club’s focuses to develop healthy habits that emphasize good nutrition and regular physical activity.

“Now more than ever, the LACDA is deeply committed to our residents and their well-being,” said LACDA’s Acting Executive Director Emilio Salas.  “While several of our partners have provided ongoing support to the County’s youth, families, and seniors, the COVID-19 events have emphasized the contributions these partnerships make in our residents’ everyday lives.”

With nearly half of the agency’s public housing residents being seniors, partnering with other agencies such as the County’s Workforce Development, Aging and Community Service Department, provides necessary support through programs like daily food service delivery. The County is also thankful to partners such as the Office of Samoan Affairs; the YMCA; Women In Action Reaching Out, who began a weekly distribution of 150 food bags to residents of the Carmelitos Public Housing community in Long Beach; Panera Bread, who graciously donated pastries and bread for the residents of Marina Manor located in Marina Del Rey; and Shelter Partnership, who donated 150 bars of mini-soaps for distribution to public housing residents.

For more information on the LACDA’s programs, please call (626) 262-4510.  All media may contact Elisa Vásquez, Public Information Officer, at (626) 586-1762.