In the months since Hurricane Sandy devastated the Northeast, AmeriCares has provided over $5.3 million in assistance, benefiting more than 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:

• $3.1 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. In six months, we provided a more than 2.4 million individual relief items to support the work of clinics and shelters serving the ill, injured, powerless and displaced.
• $2.2 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 cleanup for survivors in Staten Island and Far Rockaway, grants for mental health counseling 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: On March 11, our clinic deployed to the Bronx to help Access Family Health Center treat patients in need. The mobile medical unit has served several health centers that were damaged or are rebuilding due to the storm. Previously, beginning on December 17, the unit was stationed in Rockaway, Queens, to help the Joseph P. Addabbo Health Center deliver care to families in need. From December 3-16, it was stationed at Long Beach Hospital. Immediately after the storm, the clinic operated in three locations in Staten Island, where patients received primary care, tetanus and flu vaccines.
• 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.

“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.