Goleta nonprofit works to help Haiti, Northern California and the South
Goleta-based Direct Relief is working to respond to several major disasters.
The nonprofit this week is sending aid to Haiti, where the death toll continues to climb after the 7.2 earthquake on Aug. 14. As of Monday, the number of deaths exceeded 2,000.
Direct Relief also has worked on efforts to assist Northern California, hit by wildfires, and Tennessee and North Carolina, impacted by flash flooding.
“A combination of existing relationships with disaster response agencies, safety net health clinics, and government agencies, as well as data analysis and pre-positioned supplies, have enabled Direct Relief to respond efficiently and precisely to requests after each incident,” Direct Relief said in an emergency update published Monday at www.directrelief.org.
To help Haiti, Direct Relief is preparing to send more than 192 pallets of medical aid, totalling $12.8 million.
Direct Relief plans to send a FedEx charter plane, full of supplies, on Thursday to the Caribbean nation. The nonprofit said the aid will include 140 pallets of antibiotics, wound care items, personal protective equipment, diagnostic supplies, medical-grade freezers, IV fluids, medical relief packs and essential medications.
In addition, six pallets of Direct Relief’s emergency backpacks, tents and hygiene kits will arrive early next week by private charter to the Colorado Haiti Project in Petit-Trou-de-Nippes. That’s near the earthquake’s epicenter.
In California, Direct Relief is assisting with aid for the Dixie Fire, which has burned more than 730,000 acres and is the second largest fire in the state’s history.
Direct Relief has committed an initial $1 million to help safety net clinics and responders.
It also is making supplies available for its partners in Northern California. Those supplies include 1.3 million KN95 masks, 20 wildlife health kits, insulin, oxygen concentrators, psychiatric/mental health medicines, hygiene kits, backpacks, inhalers, steroids, tetanus vaccine and personal care products.
Direct Relief also has worked on public and private data sources to map and analyze the wildfire risk, social vulnerability and population movement in the fire-affected areas.
And Direct Relief is monitoring the flash floods in Tennessee and North Carolina.
As of Monday, 40 people remained missing in Tennessee, where heavy rainfall over the weekend caused flash floods, killing at least 21 people.
“Direct Relief has been in communication with the Tennessee Primary Care Association, the Tennessee Red Cross and the Tennessee Emergency Management Association to assess current medical needs and offer support,” according to Direct Relief’s website.
The Goleta nonprofit has reached out to health center partner facilities in Tennessee and plans to respond to requests.
In North Carolina, Direct Relief is helping with efforts to deal with Tropical Storm Fred, which has killed at least two people and caused severe flooding across much of the western part of the state. As of Monday, 20 people were missing.
Direct Relief said its Hurricane Preparedness Packs are pre-positioned in coastal North Carolina.
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August 24, 2021 at 07:58PM
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Direct Relief helps during disasters - Santa Barbara News-Press
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