WSFB’s mission is to end hunger in our communities by providing free, nutritious food through food acquisition and distribution, and by engaging the community and advocating for a strong food assistance network. We also engage in hunger relief coalition-building and advocate for public policies that alleviate hunger and poverty. WSFB addresses hunger in an area that is home to over one million people as the bulk 171 0 22nd Street
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Genevieve Riutort
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CAGE: Social Services or Program
wholesale food supplier for 60+ non-profit partner agencies that operate food assistance programs in West Los Angeles County. Roughly ninety percent of our food is distributed through partner food pantriesand WSFB mobile pantries. The remaining 10 percent is provided through shelters, transitional housingprograms, community kitchens, K-i 2 and college food distribution programs, and veterans’ programs.
We source, acquire, and distribute millions of pounds of nutritious food and other necessities on an annual basis to people in need through our 60+ partner agencies and our five mobile pantry programs. WSFB places an emphasis on acquiring nutritious perishable food, protein, and fresh produce to offset thenegative effects of hunger. Food distributed exceeds the guidelines of the USDA MyPlate plan, with less than four percent of the food we provide being high sugar, high salt foods. WSFB acquires food through a combination of donations and food purchases. Donated food comes from federal and state government programs, community food drives, and a statewide Farm to Family program that brings food directly from farms to food banks throughout California. Purchased food accounts for more than half of the food wedistribute and allows us to increase the nutritional value of donated food, ensuring a consistent supply of a wide variety of foods per our Nutrition Policy. The bare minimum of what is guaranteed to be in our warehouse at all times includes rice, beans, oats, pasta, potatoes, onions, frozen chicken, canned fish and meat, four types of fresh vegetables, three types of fresh fruit, and two types of canned fruit. We consistently offer an even greater variety of foods including fresh eggs, frozen ground beef, and a widearray of fresh produce items.
Partner agencies pick up bulk food orders Monday through Thursday from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm. Online orders are made for nonperishable food and supplies using our Primarius warehouse inventory system.
Orders are packed onto pallets and carts for pick up by agencies. During each agency’s 30-minute scheduled pickup window, they can shop for fresh produce, eggs, and frozen meats in our coolers. A small number of agencies have their weekly food orders delivered as part of a pilot delivery program. We provide food free of charge enabling our partner agencies to apply their resources to their programs that help people achieve security and self-sufficiency. We also distribute food through our mobile pantries in CulverCity, Santa Monica, West LA, and at the Veterans Administration Campus in West LA. We provide food toBackpack programs at seven schools in the Culver City Unified School District, to Weekend Bag programs at 12 schools in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, and to students at Mount Saint Mary’sCollege, Otis School of Design, Santa Monica City College, and UCLA.
Westside Food Bank is not the type of organization that can collect outcome-driven data because we are an output-driven emergency food distributor. We make reasonable assumptions that the people who receive our food experience economic and health benefits from receiving it through client feedback and research linking consistent access to nutritious food with better health, educational, and life outcomes.
Our overall goal is to reduce hunger and food insecurity among West Los Angeles County residents.
Quantitative changes we expect include:
Meeting or exceeding the FY 22-23 overall poundage of 4.9 million pounds of nutritious food distributed to adults, children, and seniors who access this food through our member agencies.
Meeting or exceeding the FY 22-23 percentage of fresh vegetables and fruits distributed against our total distribution, which was 48 percent.
Continuing to distribute the most nutritious food available, with less than four percent of our food beinghigh in sugar, and high salt.
Maintaining our list of 60+ partner agencies.
Our Primarius inventory tracking software helps us track when food is received, when it is distributed, and which agencies received the food. We track the number of active member agencies engaged and we note the number of food recipients they serve when the information is available in their monthly reports.
The timeline of this grant award would be our fiscal year July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025.3. Do you anticipate needing any No additional support or in-kind funding
from the City of Beverly Hills to
implement your proposed program?
2 4. Why are these services considered critical (e.g., enhance quality of life, improve public safety)? If you are a previous recipient, will you be providing new services this funding period? We are working hard to dispel the myth that food insecurity has improved since the pandemic when, in fact, the need is greater now than it was during the pandemic because of the loss of all of the extra supports that were available then. A Research Brief by the USC Dornsife Public Exchange reveals that 30 percent of Angelenos are food insecure, and overall, food insecurity in Los Angeles County is worse now than it was before the pandemic. Among low-income households, food insecurity is the worst it has been in ten years.
Local households are struggling to make ends meet with inflation increasing the costs for food and otherbasic needs as emergency relief programs have come to a close. When pandemic-era CalFresh food benefits expired in March 2023, individuals lost up to $82 in monthly food benefits, while families lost up to $300. The loss of those benefits came when families were still adjusting to the loss of $300 per month per child after the expiration of the temporary Child Tax Credit at the end of 2022. Eviction moratoriums in LA County have been suspended, further straining household budgets and putting families at greater risk of becoming homeless. Families are also burdened by the end of the student loan repayment pause.
Based on our experience during the 2008 recession, we are preparing for a recovery period that will span the next decade as we work to stabilize families and communities.
WSFB saves families up to $300 a month on groceries. A recent state-wide survey conducted by the University of California, San Francisco Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative found that 70 percent of the survey respondents said a monthly subsidy of $300 to $500 would have prevented them from being homeless for two years. With the homelessness crisis in our community the worst it has ever been, WSFBis helping to keep families housed by providing free nutritious food that frees up their limited funds for other necessities like rent. WSFB is also growing to meet this historically high need, and having renewedsupport from the City of Beverly Hills will help us.
We have grown our services in response to the increased need for food in our Westside communitiessince the onset of the pandemic which required our food distribution, budget, and staffing to double. We increased our warehouse space from 5,000 square feet to 28,000 square feet, and continue to operate at this expanded level in direct response to the sustained record-high need.
Last year the RAND Corporation conducted a study on our behalf to map food insecurity in Los Angeles County generally and in Westside Food Bank’s service area specifically. The findings confirmed that thereis a high need for food assistance in Westside Food Bank’s current service area and areas directly adjacent. Recommendations included partnering with less traditional public partners such as schools, libraries, and healthcare providers as a means to increase access to nutritious food for vulnerablepopulations in a convenient way that reduces stigma. We are currently exploring partnerships with severalhealthcare organizations, including programs at the UCLA Medical Center, to pilot a “Food as Medicine” service delivery model. We would also like to expand our school food programs to additional districts. At the Human Relations Commission meeting last December, our CEO began a conversation about implementing a program to provide supplemental nutritious weekend food for the nearly nine percent of students in the Beverly Hills Unified School District who are eligible for free and reduced-priced meals. We hope to continue the conversation and start a distribution project during the upcoming grant period. 5a. What percentage of your proposed program is currently utilized by Beverly Hills residents?Please explain what evidence or data you have to support this claim. Do you anticipate any change in utilization for FY 2024-2025? If this data is unavailable, please explain how you will track this information if awarded a grant?
It is difficult to know the exact percentage of our total emergency food distribution efforts that are currently utilized by Beverly Hills residents because most of our partner agencies are volunteer-run food pantries that do not have the staffing capacity to track address and zip code data of the individuals and families who access their food distribution programs. The WSFB partner agencies most likely to serve Beverly Hills residents include the Bandini Foundation, Faith Tabernacle Church, New Directions, NourishLA, PATH Shelter, Salvation Army Transitional Village, SOVA (the food pantry of Jewish Family Service), St.
Augustine SAVES, Step Up VA 209, and UCLA Food Closet. Please see below for total pounds of food that WSFB gave to these agencies free of charge who then distributed this food to their clients during our 3 7/1/22 to 6/30/23 fiscal year.
-Bandini Foundation received 23,630 lbs. of food, equivalent to 19,692 meals-Faith Tabernacle Church received 75,432 lb. of food, equivalent to 62,860 meals -New Directions received 43,803 lbs. of food, equivalent to 36,502 meals-Nourish LA received 282,892 lbs. of food, equivalent to 235,743 meals-PATH Shelter received 12,609 lbs. of food, equivalent to 10,507 meals -Salvation Army Transitional Village received 4,897 lbs. of food, equivalent to 4,081 meals-SOVA received 416,040 lbs. of food, equivalent to 346,700 meals -St. Augustine SAVES received 97,312 lbs. of food, equivalent to 81,093 meals-Step Up VA 209 received 18,581 lbs. of food, equivalent to 1 5,484 meals-UCLA Food Closet received 39,826 lbs. of food, equivalent to 33,1 88 meals In combination, these agencies received a total of 1,01 5,021 lbs. of food, equivalent to 845,851 meals.
The evidence and data that supports this claim comes from our Primarius warehouse tracking software system
It is hard to anticipate a change in utilization during this grant period because it would be based on available funding. If we had more funding, we would provide equitable food access to more households ata time when 30% of Los Angeles County residents are experiencing food insecurity. Like most nonprofits today, we have experienced a dip in fundraising from private sector and government sources. We are also challenged in that just over half of our $5.5 million operating budget’s expenses go toward food purchasescompared to most food banks where purchased food comprises no more than 20 to 25 percent of their budgets with some allocating as little as 1 0 percent of their expenses to food purchases.
The main reason that WSFB’s food expenses are 50 percent of our operating budget is because we have occupied the same 5,000 square foot rental warehouse for the last 30 years, have been constrained by this small space, and could not accept large quantities of donated food or take advantage of strategically timed purchases of key items like canned chicken and tuna when prices reached a low point in the year due to space constraints. The pandemic changed everything when the need for food exploded and we rented a 10,000 square foot annex warehouse two doors down from our main warehouse from July 2021 to November 2022. We were then able to accept more donated food, and since 2020, our food distribution doubled, our budget doubled, our staff increased, and we added new partner agencies to better serve ourcommunity. When the lease on the 10,000 square foot annex ended, we began leasing a 28,000 square foot warehouse in February 2023 in order to keep up with our expanded operations. We are currently in the quiet phase of a capital campaign to purchase this 28,000 square foot warehouse that will serve as our main headquarters.
Now that we are no longer constrained to 5,000 square feet of warehouse space for the storage of bulk food items, we are working to acquire more food industry and community-based food donations, but this will take time as we build our staffing capacity and infrastructure to responsibly reduce food purchasing to a smaller percentage of our annual operating budget while we work to meet the increased need for food in the community.
If funding were not an issue, we would predict an increase in the utilization of services during this grant period.
5b. What percentage of the proposed services is utilized in the Los Angeles County SPA 5regional area? Please explain what evidence you have to support this claim. Do you anticipate any change in utilization for FY 2024 - 2025?
Based on the locations of our partner agencies, we estimate that upwards of 90% of our service isprovided in SPA 5, with some services also provided in SPAs 4, 6, and 8. We do not expect major changes in utilization for FY 2024 -2025 unless we receive a significant increase in funding to support continued service expansion.
4 6. To ensure streamlined service delivery to the Beverly Hills community, what is your agency’s plan to accept direct referrals from City staff and / or our contracted vendors as applicable? Westside Food Bank is happy to work with City staff and vendors to meet the needs of its residents and community members. We look forward to the opportunity to build on our experience serving weekend food programs at the Santa Monica and Culver City School Districts to pilot a similar model for Beverly Hillsstudents. Included among the attachments to this application is a list of food pantry locations, including WSFB’s direct-service mobile pantries, that City staff can provide to community members in need of food assistance. We will also gladly provide referrals to the services provided by our other partner agencies asneeded.
7. Are you a NEW or RETURNING Returning applicant?
7b. For returning applicants: The City takes pride in ensuring residents have access to thestrongest social services and cultural programming. Please describe what efforts yourorganization has taken to ensure you have maintained the highest standards of service delivery.
Describe how your organization has been responsive to community needs and has incorporated best practices to better serve the Beverly Hills community.
Westside Food Bank has continued to respond in an effective and timely manner to the increased need forfood in our Westside communities, including the City of Beverly Hills and its adjacent neighborhoods.
Some of the highest standards of service delivery that we employ include: not charging our partner agencies a shared maintenance fee on any of the food they receive from us; making it a requirement that our nonprofit partners serve low-income clients, do not engage in discrimination, do not have any religious participation requirements to receive food, and do not sell food; conducting weekly food deliveries through our Agency Delivery Program to partner agencies that have difficulty picking food up from us; having a Nutrition Policy that states less than four percent of the food we distribute can be food that is high in salt or sugar; and having fresh produce comprise nearly half of all the food that is distributed.
8. The funding year is July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. What is the funding amount requested?275,000
9. What percentage of your annual funding would the City’s contribution represent? 5 percent based on our current FY 23-24 operating budget, which is $5,500,000.
10. What is the ratio of your organization’s administrative operating costs? 4 percent
11. What other funding sources does your organization currently receive? Unaudited financials for our fiscal year that ended 6-30-23, 39 percent of our revenues came fromindividuals, 39 percent from foundation grants, 1 1 percent from government grants, 7 percent frominterest & dividend income, and 4 percent from corporations.
12. Provide any additional information that may be useful in evaluating your proposal.
We are pleased to share that we just purchased a 10,000-square-foot warehouse located at 1914 14th Street in Santa Monica to serve as our freezer, refrigeration, and overflow food storage site. We purchased this facility with funds from a $3.3 million state grant, which covered half of the purchase price. We plan to relinquish the lease on the 1710 22nd Street location in Santa Monica which has served as our headquarters for 30+ years and make the 28,000 square-foot warehouse at 11800 W. Olympic Blvd. ourmain headquarters. We began renting that facility in February 2023 and we are currently in the quiet phase of a capital campaign to raise the funds needed to purchase the building. This endeavor is a crucial step inour mission to continue to provide dignified, equitable, and consistent access to nutritious food for the next several generations of local residents at risk for hunger and food insecurity.
13. Is your grant or cultural funding over $75 000.00 request:
5 1 3b. If your request is over
$75,000.00, please submit most WSFB FY22-23 Unaudited an... .pdf recent financial statement reviewedby a Certified Public Accountant.
Additional Documents? Upload them
here. WSFB Client Stories Dennis K... .pdf
WSFB FY 22-23 Program Acc... . pdf
WSFB Nutrition Policy.pdf
6 Attachment 3
325 N. Maple Drive #1787
Beverly Hills, CA 90213
Together We Learn. Together We Grow.
Dear Council Members, June 4, 2024
Thank you for your continued support of the Beverly Hills Community Farm. Your kindness has allowed our partnership with BHUSD to expand, adding two additional hydroponic towers this school year. Additionally, we have one tower at the main fire station to help support their culinary program by growing fresh herbs and vegetables. Below is a statement from Sarah Zhang, president of the BHCF Club at BHHS. The additional support will allow this program to grow and give students and city employees the gift of fresh, hydroponic produce.
BHCF has provided BHUSD students with an incredible opportunity to engage in sustainable farming through the use of hydroponic towers. With five towers at BHHS and one at BVMS, the initiative helps middle school students explore some high school activities, easing this stressful transition. Expanding hydroponic towers to every school would foster a safer, more interconnected environment, allowing upperclassmen to mentor younger students. This program complements district resources like Pathways to Success and the Take a Seat initiative, which both aim to guide students along their academic journey.
The presence of towers in classrooms has also sparked curiosity and interest, with many students requesting to join the high school club upon seeing the hydroponic towers in their classrooms.
With the towers so integrated within the classroom setting, BHCF helps raise significant awareness for human impacts on the environment and provides viable solutions for any negative consequences.
Additional funding for BHCF would empower students to manage the towers independently, gaining hands-on experience in sustainable farming. This enriches the educational environment, highly valued by the district and teachers.
BHCF is dedicated to community service. Produce harvested from the towers has been donated to local organizations, with plans to collaborate with food banks and homeless shelters to feed underserved communities. This involvement fosters a sense of unity and belonging among students in BHUSD.
In conclusion, BHCF offers more than hydroponic towers; it provides a supportive community where students can explore new interests and seek guidance. By supporting BHCF, we invest in our students and community, nurturing environmentally conscious and socially responsible individuals.
With gratitude,
The BHCF Team and Sarah Zhang
Board of Directors
Tina Wiener
President
Jill Egerman
Vice-President
Lee Egerman
Treasurer
Kelly Hinden
Secretary
Board Members
Amy Bearman
Hilla Carrel
Farrah Dodes
Azy Farahmand
Fred Farahmand
Rose Kaiserman
Becky Kershman
Nathan Kruger
Michelle Mandel
Anthony Mayorkas
Jennifer Pederson
Sheila Razi
Delaram Peykar Ronen
Piya Saliba
Melissa Wolf
Amy Wolken
Michelle Yasharpour
June 5, 2024
Dear Mayor Friedman and Honorable Members of the City Council, At BHEF, we are deeply grateful for the ongoing support that the City of Beverly Hills has provided to the students of BHUSD through the CAGF and are thankful for the opportunity to expand our existing programs to impact more families in our school community.
For nearly five decades, BHEF has been a proud part of the Beverly Hills community, supporting enhanced educational opportunities which benefit BHUSD academics programs. BHEF has recognized that support for students now goes beyond academics and through our partnership with the City of Beverly Hills, has been able to proactively address the mental/emotional health of BHUSD students by supporting the wellness centers at BVMS and BHHS. CAGF funds have also been integral in supporting the Positive Behavior Intervention Strategies Program (PBIS) at all 4 school sites, benefiting all TK-12th grade students.
In the 2024-2025 school year, BHEF would like to expand our support for families by offering parent education events which address issues faced by parents with younger children and also those with high school aged students.
The CAGF grant has allowed BHEF to provide the “extras” for our Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) programs in BHUSD, which provide means for students to express themselves creatively. Our VAPA instructors strive to put on the highest quality choral, instrumental, theater, and visual art programs, all of which are open to community members. The funding we receive from CAGF allows us to take this experience to the next level. In 2023-24, for the first time, BHUSD hosted a booth at the Beverly Hills Art Show to showcase the work of our talented students and hope to expand the offerings at this booth in the upcoming year.
We appreciate our longstanding partnership with the Human Relations Commission and the City of Beverly Hills. BHEF is honored to be considered for a renewed partnership in our shared commitment to offer the tools to nurture strong, resilient youth and to continue to provide opportunities for educational excellence in BHUSD.
Sincerely,
Tina Wiener
President
Chairman of the Board
Carolyn Fried
President
David Hunt Stafford
1 st Vice President
Patricia Mock
Competition Sponsor
Judson Mock
Special Events
Ruth Flinkman-Marandy
Treasurer
Marika Gerrard
Competition Coordinator/Membership
Donna King
Board Members
Mary Levin Cutler
Lorraine Friedman
Marilyn Gallup
James Jahant
Dorothy Victor
Associates
Lili Bosse
Marcella Meharg
Board Members Emeritus
Irma* and Louis Colen*, Mazie DeBeaulieu*, Julie Harris*, June Moray*, Marjorie Pressman*,Marilyn Hall*, Janet Salter*, Stanley Eisenberg* *Of Blessed Memory
The Beverly Hills Theatre Guild, a non-profit corporation, sponsors this competition:
The BHTG-Julie Harris Playwright Award sponsored by Judson Mock, with the following cash prizes: The Maxwell & Janet Salter Award, The Dr. Henry & Lillian Nesburn Award, The Ruth Flinkman-Marandy and Ben Marandy Award May 27, 2024
Dear Beverly Hills City Council Members:
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Beverly Hills Theatre Guild, as well as our supportive membership and the thousands of playwrights who have submitted their work to the Theatre Guild over the 40 plus years the Theatre Guild has existed, we want to express our appreciation to The Beverly Hills City Council and the various commissions and commissioners who reviewed and considered our grant application.
Support from the City of Beverly Hills is important and it will help our organization in our efforts to continue our prestigious national and international play writing competition, which is highly respected nationwide.
Working with new playwrights and nurturing, acknowledging and awarding the excellence of their work is an important endeavor and deserves your support. We appreciate the CAGF program that the City offers the community. We can assure The B.H. City Council that should the Beverly Hills Theatre Guild be fortunate enough to receive the funding we have requested, those funds will be carefully utilized to carry our mission forward.
The Beverly Hills Theatre Guild will gratefully acknowledge your support in all press materials going forward. Our hope is that our program will be sustained and, of course, grow so that as many playwrights as possible can be awarded for their work and rewarded for their excellence.
Funding from The City through the CAGF program is needed and we will be grateful for your generous support.
We thank you again for your careful consideration and look forward to reporting to the Council how we utilize the funds, should we be fortunate to receive a CAGF grant.
Regards,
Donna M. King
Competition Coordinator/Membership
Public Comments: City of Beverly Hills
Community Assistance Grant Fund (CAGF) Applicant for 2024-2025 June 5, 2024
Cancer Support Community Los Angeles (CSCLA) has been a proud partner with the City of Beverly Hills since 2022, during which we have served over 150 Beverly Hills residents impacted by cancer – both patients and their caregivers.
From 2022 to 2023, we saw a 17% increase in Beverly Hills residents utilizing our services.
During the 2024-25 grant period, we intend to serve more than 65 Beverly Hills residents through counseling, support groups, social programs, and other free cancer support services facilitated by local licensed psychotherapists, certified instructors, medical professionals, and integrative health practitioners.
Looking ahead, CSCLA will continue to build upon our relationship with the City of Beverly Hills to serve Beverly Hills residents impacted by cancer, including families, caregivers, and residents whose primary language is not English, including through the continuation of our Qigong healthy lifestyle class in Roxbury Park, which was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and has been revitalized in 2023.
With the City’s support, we will also work with our local hospital and medical center partners (Cedars-Sinai, UCLA Health, Providence Saint John’s Medical Center, and Tower Cancer Research Foundation) to create new dedicated outreach and recruitment pathways for their patients.
This will enhance ease of access to CSCLA’s programs and services for all people living within Beverly Hills.
Offered virtually and in-person, our programs include counseling, support groups (including for Spanish speakers and children, teens, and families), healthy lifestyle classes, education workshops, and social events. We provide completely free of charge programs and services to those coping with cancer, serving over 3,000 people in greater Los Angeles annually and have proudly served the area since 1982.
As a result of CSCLA’s services, more than 80% of participants report improvements in one or more of the following areas: quality of life, connection, ability to manage their illness, ability to manage stress, and ability to cope with distress.
We thank you for your consideration of our grant application.
June 3, 2024
Honorable Commissioners and Council Members,
For over 25 years, Jewish Family Service LA has been dedicated to providing comprehensive Care Management Services to vulnerable, low-income older adults residing in the City of Beverly Hills, ensuring they can maintain their independence and quality of life within the community. We proudly serve clients regardless of race, religion, gender identity, or sexual preference.
Our current clientele spans from ages 55 to 100, with 52% of our clients being 85 years old or older. During this fiscal year, we have served approximately 115 clients. Our services include initial detailed screenings, triage, and crisis intervention; information and referrals; telephone reassurance; home visits; comprehensive assessments of functional abilities; mental health support; aid to ensure food security; connections to social support systems; financial assistance for those facing economic challenges; and providing emergency response systems. Additionally, we offer a broad array of evidence-based exercise programs both in person and virtually. Our social workers collaborate with clients to develop individualized care plans tailored to their specific needs and goals.
From July 1, 2023, to May 7, 2024, we have achieved several significant milestones:
1. Assisted a client in securing housing after a fire, providing financial support and referral for counseling.
2. Monitored clients with dementia, collaborating with social workers from UCLA, Cedars-Sinai, Adult Protective Service, and Partners In Care to ensure safer living environments.
3. Provided monthly food cards to 46 food-insecure clients and offered rent relief and utility assistance to 15 financially at-risk clients.
4. Secured external grants to support community members facing financial struggles.
5. Provided financial assistance for meals on wheels to bed/homebound clients.
6. Purchased durable medical equipment and incontinence supplies.
7. Collaborated with City Code Enforcement to address a client’s mold infestation.
8. Funded dental procedures for three clients that were not covered by MediCal/Denti-Cal.
9. Purchased a new mattress for a client affected by mold.
10. Provided deep housecleaning and decluttering services to clients to reduce hoarding and ensure safe living conditions.
11. Secured a grant to provide packing and moving assistance for one client.
12. Purchased an assistive device for a blind client for transcription needs.
On September 18th, 2023, our social workers participated in the Cedars-Sinai and Roxbury Park 2023 Community Health Fair, raising awareness of the Beverly Hills Care Management program among residents by distributing flyers and answering questions about our services.
Furthermore, JFS continues to offer the Philips Lifeline service (Emergency Response Systems) to 36 vulnerable clients, enhancing home safety and emergency connectivity.
In collaboration with the City of Beverly Hills Aging in Place Task Force, we have assisted several older adults living in hoarded and unsanitary conditions, ensuring their safety and reducing harm to neighbors by cleaning up hazardous properties.
We are immensely proud of and honored by our long-standing partnership with the City of Beverly Hills. We are deeply grateful to receive Community Assistance Grant Funding.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to the City Commissioners, City Council members, Human Services Division, Community Services Department, Fire Department and the City of Beverly Hills for their trust in us. We remain committed to bringing positive changes to our community members, one person at a time, addressing each client’s personal and unique needs.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Lionela (Lika) Litt
Director of Jona Goldrich and Felicia Mahood Multipurpose Centers CAGF Public Comment
On behalf of OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center, we are deeply grateful for this opportunity to apply for a Community Assistance Grant from the City of Beverly Hills to support our grief support programs. For more than thirty years, OUR HOUSE has helped hundreds of grieving individuals and families from Beverly Hills process their grief by providing a safe, local space to express grief feelings, develop a network of support, and find hope for the future.
Our programs have steadily expanded each year, serving more grievers and deepening our impact in highneed neighborhoods across Los Angeles County. We make grief support available to those with limited financial and transportation resources, as well as other life challenges, particularly in our programs that serve children and Spanish-speaking adults, most of whom are from low-income households. Our core programs include the following services:
1. Grief support groups for children, teens, and adults in English and Spanish at our West Los Angeles and Woodland Hills centers, online, and at public school and community partner satellite locations throughout the Los Angeles region.
2. Camp Erin grief camp weekends for children and teens.
3. Grief education for teachers, doctors, nurses, medical students, mental health professionals, social workers, and clergy members.
4. On-site grief responses for short-term support after a death in a business or school.
All grief support services at our centers slide down to $1, and no one is turned away for inability to pay. All community-based grief services, including our School Program, Camp Erin Program, Spanish Community Program, and On-Site Grief Response Program at public schools are completely free of charge.
By supporting OUR HOUSE with this Community Assistance Grant, more grieving children, teens, and adults will receive accessible grief support as we continue to respond to the immense grief in our community, especially given the recent increases in mortality rates from COVID-19, homicide, suicide, and drug overdose.
We are honored to partner with the City of Beverly Hills to serve our grieving community and find hope and healing together.
Respectfully,
Julia Miele
Executive Director, OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center
June 4, 2024
City of Beverly Hills
City Council Liaisons
June 5, 2024 - CAGF Public Comment
Dear Council Liaisons,
Tower Cancer Research FoundaGon (Tower Cancer) would like to thank the City of Beverly Hills for their consideraGon for the CAGF Grant this year. Tower Cancer has spent the last 28 years combaGng cancer through research, programs, and community partnerships. From funding researchers conducGng groundbreaking work to offering programs for people dealing with cancer, Tower Cancer strives to maximize it impact in the community today with the hope that it will lead to larger impact tomorrow, transforming lives everywhere.
Magnolia House, our survivorship program, was founded in 2013 with the vision of helping those dealing and/or who have dealt with cancer, develop a physical and emoGonal toolkit to meet the challenges they will face in their day-to-day lives. With the support of our community of doctors, partners, volunteers, and supporters alike, we offer integraGve health and wellness programming free of cost that empowers people.
Since 2019, the City of Beverly Hills has made it possible for Tower Cancerto reach people through curated classes, webinars, and opportuniGes to men and women in and around Beverly Hills.
Together, this past year we made available 1,500 program offerings with over 20,000 visits through Magnolia House. This upcoming year, we are working to provide more in-person opportuniGes for Magnolia House parGcipants, and adding new partnershipsthat will expand our offerings and reach even more people.
We look forward to conGnuing our partnership with the City of Beverly Hills that will benefit Beverly Hills residents, while also posiGvely impacGng the lives of those fighGng cancer.
Sincerely,
Michelle Woodhill
Chief Development Officer
Westside Food Bank Comment
The City of Beverly Hills is one of Westside Food Bank’s (WSFB) key municipal funding partners in helping us meet food security and hunger needs on the Westside. We are working hard to dispel the myth that food insecurity has improved since the pandemic when, in fact, the need is greater now than it was during the pandemic because of the loss of all of the extra supports that were available then. Recent research indicates 30 percent of Angelenos are food insecure, and overall, food insecurity in Los Angeles County is worse than it was before COVID-19. Among low-income households, food insecurity is the worst it has been in ten years. Local households are struggling to make ends meet with inflation increasing the costs for food and other basic needs as emergency relief programs have come to a close.
Our partnership plays a critical role in helping food insecure individuals and families access the nutrition they need to lead healthy, active lives. We supply food to several pantries programs serving the area and are currently working with the City to supply an emergency food pantry for residents who have access to cooking facilities in their motel units, but lack food. We are in the process of solidifying the logistical details where we provide these residents with food and the city partners with us to provide cooking classes with the perishable and non-perishable food that we provide. Increased CAFG support is needed to sustain current and new programs serving the City and adjacent areas.
Genevieve Riutort
President & CEO
Westside Food Bank
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