Desert Healthcare District & Regional Access Project Foundation allocate funds to assist North Shore

NORTH SHORE – On Monday, August 31, a storm downed trees and power lines, leaving the community without power. Riverside County quickly mobilized and arranged emergency shelter, food, water, ice, hand sanitizer, flashlights, and other resources to be distributed with the assistance of Imperial Irrigation District and other community partners.

The County of Riverside has activated the Incident response team working at the Eastern Emergency Operating Center (EOC) to respond to this emergency. My office, Department of Public Social Services, Office on Aging, Housing, Homelessness Prevention and Workforce Solutions, Emergency Management Department, Animal Services, IID and American Red Cross have staff working out of the EOC until further notice. However, there are many needs that require community collaboration.

For this collaboration, Supervisor Perez’s office reached out to the Regional Access Project Foundation (RAP) and Desert Healthcare District (DHCD) for any assistance they could provide. DHCD approved $25,000 to be used for relief purposes and RAP matched that donation for a total of $50,000. These moneys will be used to give the community food market cards so they will be able to buy groceries that they lost due to the power outage. More information on the distribution of these market cards is forthcoming.

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“This money will be a great support to fill in the gaps in resources that the community needs,” said Supervisor V. Manuel Perez, “this is a community that lives in a food desert, meaning there is no grocery store near them, so power outages are especially hard on them because of the loss of food. This help is huge for the community affected.”

“The Desert Healthcare District is committed to the community of North Shore; we are committed to working with our County partners to create solutions to this and other challenges that impact the health and well-being of this community.” Said Conrado Barzaga, MD the CEO of Desert Healthcare District.

Leticia De Lara, RAP CEO (and Desert Healthcare District Board President) said, "the RAP Foundation is stepping forward to respond to the thunderstorm damage affecting so many North Shore families.  We are concerned for the health and emotional wellbeing of our residents and appreciate the County and DHCD's efforts to combine resources to help them with essential services. "

For real time updates on the situation, follow Supervisor Perez on social media. 

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Supervisor V. Manuel Perez represents the eastern two-thirds of Riverside County on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. Stretching from Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs, south to the Salton Sea and east to Blythe and the Colorado River, the 4th District is the largest geographical district in the county.

Supervisor Perez’s office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.