The Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles has announced that it has awarded $1.3 million in grants to five local organizations to address urgent physical and mental health care needs in the community.

The grants also include support to sustain small-business owners financially impacted by the pandemic and are part of the previously announced COVID-19 Response Grants, a multi-stage initiative through which the foundation has committed more than $8 million. The five new recipients are Jewish Family Service Los Angeles, the Jewish Free Loan Association, Los Angeles Jewish Home, Martin Luther King Community Hospital and Venice Family Clinic. The foundation has awarded a total of 46 grants. Prior relief grants addressed immediate needs in the Los Angeles community and in Israel, and to sustain Jewish nonprofits impacted by the pandemic.

Through its ongoing outreach with local nonprofits and other funders, the foundation identified unmet needs resulting from more hospitalizations due to COVID-19, according to president and CEO Marvin I. Schotland. The ongoing pandemic also has resulted in greater isolation of many seniors who lack the technology or knowledge to access essential care, he added. It continues to have a devastating financial impact on small business owners.

“This is a global health crisis of a magnitude never experienced in our lifetimes. Vast needs continue to emerge that require support. Because the foundation is in regular contact with nonprofits, we are able to respond quickly as critical needs are identified, including funding for urgent physical and mental healthcare disparities and businesses that are struggling,” Schotland said. “With these significant grants to five organizations, our dollars will favorably impact thousands of individuals in need in the Jewish and larger community.”

Jewish Family Service Los Angeles will use a grant for video services for older adults. It will expand a successful pilot program to connect frail older adults with vital services. Funding will support staffing and provide Chromebooks and internet connectivity for elderly clients.

The Jewish Free Loan Association will use a grant for its Small Business Loan Fund. Due to the pandemic, JFLA has received a significantly higher number of applications for interest-free loans – on average $20,000 – for struggling businesses and for launching new enterprises. The grant will help grow the loan fund and allow JFLA to continue loaning money.

Los Angeles Jewish Home will use a grant for the Brandman Centers for Senior Cares Program for All-inclusive Care for the Elderly. Known as PACE, the program provides services for 250 nursing home-eligible seniors who wish to remain in their own homes or with family members. The grant will also be used for the Factor Building Skilled Nursing Facility to support patients needing long-term medical and rehabilitative therapies for COVID-19.

The Martin Luther King Community Hospital will receive a grant for space conversion and its post-discharge Intensive Care Unit. The Venice Family Clinic will use a grant for telehealth/information technology infrastructure to keep older adults engaged and prevent social isolation, and its COVID Care Outreach Initiative.

For information, visit jewishfoundationla.org.