As a result of the Safer at Home Order and State of Emergency, the Van Nuys Neighborhood Council has been unable to hold meetings, but been given the opportunity to use $5,000 in emergency funds from our budget for the community.

We started by designating emergency funds to support Van Nuys families in need of water. On Fridays, families were able to get up to 5 gallons of water at two select water dispensaries for a three week period. After that time, the dispensaries closed to take care of their families.

The emergency funds available to us increased and we then got approval to give $1, 526 to the Mid Valley Family YMCA, Hope of the Valley and the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission. Following is information on how each of those organizations benefit Van Nuys.

Mid Valley Family YMCA

The Mid Valley Family YMCA is a part of the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles, and now more than ever the Y is needed to meet our communities needs. The LA Y is responding in major ways but here is how your local Y is responding in the Van Nuys community.

  • We currently are providing 2,700 grab and go meals for our community members over two days on Monday and Wednesday and leveraged this meal program outreach to engage our community members with Census outreach, we will be adding to this by providing free delivery of produce and essential items to those community members that need us most.
  • In partnership with the American Red Cross we hosted a blood drive where 43 donors and 28 first time donors came together to collect 46 units of bloods which is enough to potentially save the lives of 138 people – we will be hosting another one on May 21st and May 28th
  • In partnership with Valley Presbyterian Hospital we launched a childcare site for the staff of the hospital, as well as we have reopened our preschool located at our site in Van Nuys to serve essential workers for free.
  • In partnership with the City of Los Angeles and Sanitation department we re-opened our doors to be able to provide hot showers to those members of our community who are unsheltered. I was also able to connect with 2 organizations a few weeks ago in order to provide 1,200 free towels to the 9 Ys that are providing the shower program as well as provide 2,500 pads and 2,500 liners to ensure that women can have the feminine hygiene products they need. On Tuesday we had a young lady who was walking out who stopped and just started to cry in our lobby we all asked her if she was ok and she just turned to us and said “you don’t know how happy this made me today, I am so thankful you guys are doing this”
  • While the stay at home order has been extended we are working on how we can be creative and still have our Annual Pancake Breakfast in partnership with Van Nuys Airport – some ideas include providing pancake making kits to our community members and engaging with them on social media to share how they are celebrating by making pancakes at home with their family.

A donation from the Van Nuys Neighborhood Council would help to enable the Y to continue the vital programs we are providing for as long as needed.

Hope of the Valley

For $1526 we would be able to purchase 744 meals and care for individuals experiencing homelessness. Hope of the Valley has opened numerous new shelters throughout the valley and is a staple in the Van Nuys community. They are an Access center for individuals who are homeless and do immeasurably good work.

The San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission

Established in an effort to serve the homeless in the greater San Fernando Valley, the roots of the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission grow deep, span over 40 years and were established as an outreach ministry of the Rescue Mission Alliance – a Christian based non-profit organization. Founded in 1998, the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission began as the Rescue Survival Outreach Services (S.O.S.) Program serving meals to the Valley’s homeless. In 2002, the Mission launched the Family Shelter program in a collaborative effort with San Fernando Valley area churches in response to the critical unmet need for a year round emergency shelter. The program has been designed to provide homeless men, women, children and families an opportunity, not only to obtain food, shelter, and basic life necessities, but also provides a foundation for individual and family restoration by developing a personalized plan based on their needs for achieving personal growth, employment, and housing.

We are grateful to these non profit partners for serving our community!