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Stamford, Conn. – April 29, 2013 – AmeriCares delivered $4.5 million in grants and donated relief supplies to help more than 400,000 storm victims recover from Hurricane Sandy, according to a new report from the global health and disaster relief organization. The six-month report, published today on sandbox.americares.org, details the progress of AmeriCares Hurricane Sandy Relief Program in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
As soon as the storm made landfall, AmeriCares immediately began delivering medicines and relief supplies to shelters housing displaced families. It also dispatched its mobile medical clinic to allow nonprofit health care clinics to continue serving the poor and uninsured despite power outages and storm damage. The mobile unit was on the road for 95 days between four New York locations.“Our relief workers were on the ground within hours, assessing needs and coordinating large-scale aid deliveries,” said AmeriCares President and CEO Curt Welling. “Six months later we are still filling unmet needs, helping disabled storm victims return home and ensuring there are primary care providers and mental health professionals ready to assist devastated communities.”
In the months following, the program was expanded to include:• Support for volunteer teams cleaning and repairing storm-damaged homes• Counseling services for children displaced or traumatized• Funding for primary care services in communities with damaged health care facilities• Assistance to help disabled residents return home
In all, AmeriCares delivered 1.4 million relief supplies, including a three-day supply of water for 75,000 people, 3,500 sleeping bags for families without heat, diapers for 17,000 babies and more than 2,700 doses of vaccines. The organization also awarded $2.1 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, including hospitals and clinics, in affected communities.
“Restoring access to health care is crucial after any disaster, but especially this one that affected so many people and damaged so many health facilities,” Welling said.
Going forward, AmeriCares Sandy Relief Program will continue to support health services in hard-hit communities and help health care facilities prepare for future emergencies. To read the full report and learn more about AmeriCares Sandy response, click here.
AmeriCares has provided medical relief and humanitarian aid to millions affected by natural and man-made disasters for more than 30 years, including earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia and Hurricane Katrina in the United States.
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