Hillsides Receives $15,000 Grant for COVID-19 Relief from Pasadena Community Foundation

Hillsides has been awarded a $15,000 grant from the Pasadena Community Foundation to purchase food, groceries, and basic supplies for foster and transitional-aged youth as part of its COVID-19 Response Fund. Hillsides was one of 26 local nonprofits who received support from the Pasadena Community Foundation, which awarded a total of $372,000 in grants to local community-based organizations serving families and individuals experiencing extreme hardship from the economic, social, and physical impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Pasadena Community Foundation for this generous grant that will greatly help some of our most vulnerable clients who have been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis,” said Hillsides President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph M. Costa. “This funding will enable us to provide the most basic necessities to many of our children in foster care and transition-aged youth who lost jobs and are in danger of slipping through the cracks into homelessness because of the crisis.”

Hillsides operations have been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, with as much remote interventions, digital learning, and check-ins implemented as possible. Intake is continuing to place children and youth in our residential treatment program, Youth Moving On housing program and with our resource families. And staff has been extra attentive to youth in our Youth Moving On housing program to provide for their essential needs so that they are less likely to leave their housing and can shelter-in-place.

The Pasadena Community Foundation has awarded more than $650,000 to date for the crisis, much of it focusing on community-based organizations serving families and individuals suffering disproportionately from the effects of the COVID-19 crisis. PCF identified local organizations with a history of successful engagement with these vulnerable groups, including food distribution and meal delivery organizations, and social service providers focused on seniors, people experiencing homelessness, at-risk student populations, low-income families with school-age children, and more.

The PCF COVID-19 Response Fund was established to activate local philanthropy and provide direct relief to Pasadena-area residents. The fund was seeded with an initial commitment of $100,000 from PCF, and has grown with gifts from community members, private foundations, and local businesses.

About Hillsides

Hillsides, with its affiliate Bienvenidos, is dedicated to healing children and young adults, strengthening families, and transforming communities through quality comprehensive services and advocacy. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the agency serves nearly 17,000 children and families in Southern California throughout more than 40 sites, including school-based mental health offices in Los Angeles, Pasadena, and Baldwin Park. Foster care and adoptions services are offered in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. To learn more about Hillsides, please visit www.Hillsides.org. Visit Hillsides on Facebook @hillsideschildren, on Twitter @Hillsides, or on Instagram @HillsidesPasadena.