Driving Health Forward: Genesis and AltaMed Bring Relief Directly to Fire-Impacted Communities
A Genesis vehicle donation is helping AltaMed expand community outreach across Southern California, bringing health screenings, essential resources, and wildfire recovery support directly to neighborhoods that need it most. By meeting people where they are, AltaMed is strengthening trust, improving access to care, and advancing health equity through community-led partnerships.
Eighteen miles. Four freeways. Thirty-five minutes, on a good day. That’s how long it takes to get from AltaMed Health Services Corporate Office to Sacred Heart Church in Altadena, where Adriana Aranda and the Community Organizing and Research Engagement (CORE) team are unloading relief kits on an unusually cold May morning.
Over a year after the Eaton fire displaced families and upended daily life, AltaMed continues to return to Altadena alongside a network of community-based organizations providing ongoing support. For the CORE team, showing up consistently is part of the job. It’s also how trust is built.
That work became significantly easier when Genesis donated three vehicles to support AltaMed’s outreach efforts. Today, one vehicle helps the CORE team reach community events across Southern California, while the others support the marketing department and community health worker teams.
Meeting Communities Where They Are
The most meaningful work often happens outside the walls of our clinics.
Whether at neighborhood health fairs, churches, schools, or disaster recovery events, the CORE team meets people where they already gather — connecting them with essentials, social services, and resources that reflect their immediate needs.
Reliable transportation makes that possible.
“As our communities faced significant displacement, disruption to essential services, and heightened needs for accessible outreach, these vehicles became a critical tool in our ability to respond quickly and compassionately,” said Sharlene Risdon-Jackson, Vice President of the AltaMed Foundation. “The SUVs have strengthened AltaMed’s capacity to deliver urgent health and social services, reach fire-impacted neighborhoods, and expand our outreach efforts to ensure care reaches families and individuals who might otherwise be left behind.”
For Community Health Organizer Adriana and the CORE Team, the vehicle is just another way AltaMed demonstrates its commitment to the communities it serves.
“Community members have shared with me that not only are we their trusted health care provider, but they see us out in the community with the AltaMed PACE vans and the Genesis vehicle,” she said. “That visibility has helped build trust, so people feel more comfortable coming to us for resources and sharing their stories, especially after being wildfire survivors.”
Listening Before Leading
Adriana completes a Rapid Needs Assessment survey, which helps shape outreach efforts.
At every event, the CORE team conducts Rapid Needs Assessment surveys, sitting down with community members to better understand the challenges they’re facing and the resources they need most.
Made possible by a partnership with Direct Relief, information gathered through these conversations directly shapes future outreach efforts. When many residents expressed concerns about protecting themselves from the summer heat, the team adapted. Relief kits distributed at the next community event included cooling towels, sunscreen, and hats.
That kind of responsiveness helps show residents that their voices are being heard.
“When community members see familiar faces, they feel another level of trust, especially if we’ve been out in the field constantly,” Adriana said. “Folks know our name and we know theirs.”
Delivering More Than Supplies
The Genesis vehicle also helps the team bring everything they need in a single trip.
Instead of relying on multiple personal vehicles to transport hundreds of backpacks, tote bags, and outreach materials, the team can travel together with the supplies safely packed and ready for distribution.
That increased mobility has translated into greater impact.
In 2025, the CORE team distributed 560 relief kits, 135 toys, and 62 shirts while providing HIV testing to 30 community members. The team also completed 164 Social Determinants of Health needs assessments to better understand barriers affecting health and well-being, from food insecurity to housing needs, and connected community members to 335 referrals for essential services through local partner organizations.
Stephanie Sanchez, CORE Coordinator, helps a community member pack a relief kit at a resource fair organized by Altadena-based Home of Kings and Queens Nonprofit.
For Adriana, every conversation is an opportunity to close gaps in care.
“I want to close the gap on health care disparities,” she said. “How can we be a helping hand, be more present in the community, and actually listen to better understand what people need and how AltaMed can support them?”
Sometimes, making that difference begins with something as simple as having a reliable way to get there.
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