Providing health materials continues to be a growing challenge facing different communities across the US.
Yet, the homeless people remain one of the most vulnerable people when it comes to the threat of the pandemic, and they are almost unprotected.
Therefore, an American Muslim group has stepped in to change this, distributing 100,000 face masks to the homeless in San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
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“Everybody deserves a chance to be safe, and we have to do something for our most vulnerable population,” San Diego attorney Omar Qudrat said at the park Tuesday, San Diego Union Tribune reported.
Qudrat formed the Diego-based Muslim Coalition for America (MCA) last year to support the needy and homeless.
Working with the San Diego Regional Task Force on the Homeless, MCA distributed about 30,000 masks to people through San Diego County in the past two months. Qudrat expects to reach 40,000 within a week or two.
“If you have a family of six and masks cost anywhere between $5 and $18, and half of the kids are losing masks every day, there’s an economic burden to being safe,” he said.
Ongoing Efforts
Back in June, MCA started a COVID-19 relief task force to help the state’s most vulnerable populations gain access to personal protective equipment.
In Los Angeles, the group partnered with the Los Angeles Dodgers to distribute more than 100,000 masks to homeless people.
The MCA also has provided masks to all 458 California chapters of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
“We fully pivoted to focus on making an impact with our COVID-19 Relief Task Force,” he said. “We don’t want to sit on the bench until this is over.”
MCA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan and non-political group formed to have a positive impact on the country.
“Our mission is to defend national security, to stand against bigotry and intolerance in all its forms, to unite Americans, to provide a positive national platform for American Muslims and to promote American values as enshrined in the Constitution,” Qudrat said.
“What’s really important for us is to make an impact,” he said. “We’re here trying to make a tangible impact. We’re not about political advocacy. We’re about making a real impact on people’s lives.”
This act of generosity falls in line with what many Muslims have been doing across the country to help their community during the pandemic.
It is essential for Muslims to focus on their principles of charity during a time of global fear.
“Who is it that would loan Allah a goodly loan so He may multiply it for him many times over? And it is Allah who withholds and grants abundance, and to Him, you will be returned.” (The Holy Qur’an, 2:245)