Overwhelmed by the roaring Los Angeles (LA) fires, residents were left with no choice but to evacuate from their homes and businesses. Many were forced to leave their residences and most beloved and essential possessions, lest they too get set ablaze. People lost their livelihoods, since they had to surrender their personal belongings and family pictures. .
Of the most essential items lost within the blazing LA fires were medications and treatments. Reliant on these medications, individuals were burdened with the expense of replacing those medicines, paying for those medicines, safely administering those medicines and storing those medicines amid the fires. This life-threatening experience left many with type 1 diabetes without the vital medicine that they needed during a vulnerable crisis.
Combating the destruction of the fires were various organized volunteer groups looking to aid in the loss of medication and supplies for type 1 diabetes. Of those volunteers was Nour Sourakli, a University of California, Riverside fourth-year student studying political science.
As a type 1 diabetic since the age of seven, Nour’s first hand experience with the condition and its daily demands, while also having lived in the LA area, compelled her to help out those affected by the fires: “Personally, I grew up around the LA area, and the fact that I was here in Riverside… I realized okay, that I actually could just go and help out and give my time. And I think the difference with it is, because I’m also diabetic, I understand that fear.”
With efforts to help her community, Nour looked to places to donate her extra supplies. Interconnected with other type 1 diabetics within the LA area also looking to contribute aid, Nour was eventually directed by Laura Pavlakovich, founder of type 1 diabetes nonprofit organization, You’re Just My Type, to Liz Van Voorhis, the organizer of a type 1 diabetes supply aid.
Noticing Liz was the only one managing her supply aid, Nour and her mother set out to help: “I think Lauren gave her my information, and she had emailed me, like ‘hey, you can just drop off the supplies at this center or at this house.’ So we went, we dropped it off, and I told her, ‘I think we’re going to get a surplus of supplies. I can come help you.’ So we were there everyday for like a week, helping out as much as we could.”
Sharing the existence of the aid through social media, the type 1 diabetes supply aid eventually received more traction. Acquiring over 40 volunteers and an influx of supplies, the humble beginnings of the organization grew from paper and pens in Liz’s home to digitized spreadsheets and working out of a Culver City building; the supply aid became a grandiose symbol of love and community.
The aid acquired many supplies from people looking to donate their extra items for families or individuals fighting against the clock for another life saving fill of their medicine. Supplies that Nour mentioned were insulin, both fast-acting and short-acting, insulin syringes, glucose monitor strips, infusion sets, reservoirs, alcohol pads and gauze. For those in need of the supplies, they were allocated based on needs and preferences, with the option for pick-up or delivery.
The supply aid successfully contributed to the masses in need as the LA fires slowly died out. Despite slight obstacles in their way, such as individuals looking to shut the organization down, their efforts succeeded. Driving that success was the consistent communication and digital organization the team had.
As Nour mentioned, “Part of it was that we all over-communicated… [Also] the fact that we’ve digitized everything with the inventory. We made Google Sheets of what supplies we had, where the supplies were going, and …who [they were for]. We actually created, thanks to Liz, a Google Form that people filled out [if they] needed supplies. Exactly what they need [and] how much….And if there were parts of it that were hard or complicated, we got together and [asked ourselves], ‘What is some solution we can come up with to make this easier?’”
With extra supplies in hand, even after the fires subsided, the supply aid continues to look for avenues to donate to those in need. While the aid’s impact will continue to leave a lasting impression on LA County, especially those with type 1 diabetes, its existence is not likely to expand beyond a relief fund.
Nour shared, “I think we wanted it to only be a disaster relief, because the medial companies should have a plan set in motion for situation[s] like this…but we don’t want it to be a thing where there has to be teams of volunteers coming and doing these things, because it should fall on the bigger corporations.”
While the type 1 diabetes supply aid was a short, yet grand gesture towards a community in need, Nour, and those involved with the aid continue to highlight that humanity is not void of kindness. Nour, and others like her, set the standard for those in bigger positions to contribute just as much, if not more, to its consumers.
If you are interested in gaining a more visual perspective of the aid’s work and impact, check out Justin Eastzers YouTube page, Diabetech, for a documentary featuring Laura and the efforts undertaken by the volunteers to assist Angelenos.
