Friends,

I am sad about what's happening in our world, all the suffering we're seeing and experiencing.

I am angry about the failures of our elected leaders and political and economic systems. Not just Trump's malignant narcissism and the deeply disturbing aspects of the bailout. But also local and state elected officials who aren't doing nearly enough to prevent people from getting evicted from their homes. (Shout out to LA Councilmember Mike Bonin for his impressive leadership though!)

I am tired. I've worked 10-15 hour days for every single one of the last 14 days — helping to organize the Healthy LA coalition, to do LA Forward's own digital mobilization, and support our amazing volunteer teams as they ramp on their work to produce resource guides and engage people in working for both direct aid and policy change. That's why this weekend, I'm resolving to take a break, rest, and charge up for the fight ahead.

There's a good chance you're struggling too. Whether from overwork or no work at all, from health worries to financial uncertainty, from physical and social isolation to the demands of parenting to the stresses of keeping elders in your life safe. In this moment, we need to find ways to effectively cope. We need to take care of our mental health and to help the people in our lives take care of their mental health too.

It's not easy but we hope to make it a little bit easier with LA Forward's Crisis Response Guide for Mental Health. Please check it out. We can't promise it's everything you need, but we will be continually adding to it so it's as useful as possible. 

GET THE GUIDE

This is the third crisis response guide we've released this week. The previous ones include:

• Our Guide for the Financially Vulnerable includes resources for freelancers, service workers, people with disabilities, undocumented immigrants, seniors, LGBTQ+ people, and the unsheltered and housing insecure who are being impacted by this pandemic.

• Our Guide for Parents and Families offers activities, educational tools, and other resources for people with infants to young adults to fur-babies.

We've heard that LA Forward crisis response guides are being shared far and wide — from neighborhood groups to professional networks to online communities. Tens of thousands of people have already accessed these tools, which were pulled together in a moment of crisis by volunteers who used their time, energy, and expertise to get Angelenos the information they so urgently need. 

Since the outbreak of coronavirus in our state, LA Forward's mission has taken on new urgency. We are powered by dedicated members who come together voluntarily to pool expertise and energy to support our Los Angeles neighbors, and the reaction to the emergency has been a testament of our collective strength and solidarity. We would like to extend special gratitude to all the people who stepped up in big ways over the last two weeks.

Cassidy D. and Charley C. — Guide Coordinators

Siria C. and Jeannine W.S.  — Financially Vulnerable Guide Leads

Destini B, Sarah E., and Greg S. — Mental Health Guide Leads

Rebekah G. and Jessica S.  — Families & Parents Guide Leads

Christopher N. and Rebecca O. — Illustrators/Designers

Greg B. — Master Formatter and Website Guru

Key contributors to creating the guides and making sure people saw them!  Betsy B. — Christopher C. — Jackie C. —  Melanie D. — Shula G. — Emily H.S. — Lulu M. — Donna O. — Sasha R. — Francine T. — Rebecca H. — Dinah S. — Azra I.

Thank you, friend, for being a part of this collective network of support during this unprecedented moment. We're in this together.

You're invited to join us for a general meeting on Monday. And if you're all ready to get involved personally, you can sign up here.  

Get Involved

In solidarity,

David Levitus
Executive Director
LA Forward