March 3, 2021
As we continue to work toward an equitable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, masks are essential in stopping the spread of the virus and keeping each other safe.
In 2020 the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provided 2.6 million masks to protect essential workers at Washington airports like Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and other regional airports including Spokane, Bellingham, Pasco, Walla Walla, Pullman, and Bremerton. SEA got to work distributing masks to smaller municipal airports across the state, and employees and tenants at Port facilities. In addition, SEA staff made masks available to SEA travelers at the customer service desk and mobile distribution through the Mask Up cart in the terminal.
Even after these efforts, there was still a mask surplus in storage at our distribution center. So the Port solicited approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to distribute the masks to community groups and small businesses outside of the aviation industry.
Randy Hansen, Port Senior Manager of Emergency Preparedness, enlisted the help of Bookda Gheisar, Port Senior Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and Luis Navarro, Port Director of Workforce Development, to connect masks with community groups. Donations were received and distributed to Communities in Schools of Seattle (CISS), El Centro de la Raza, Duwamish River Clean Up Coalition, Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, and Community International Health Services.
As of January 2021, the Port distributed 111,000 additional masks to community groups, government entities, and the local maritime community. Almost 852,000 of the 2.6 million masks have been distributed to date.
A boost for UTOPIA community
Through the Port’s donation, UTOPIA Washington (United Territories of Pacific Islanders Alliance) has delivered thousands of masks to their community. They incorporated the masks with their food distribution program, deliveries of food boxes and groceries for people in need. UTOPIA Washington delivers 600 boxes of food each week and they placed masks on top of each of the boxes.
UTOPIA is an alliance of queer and trans people of color fighting for equitable access to education, employment, housing, healthcare, and more for all queer and trans Pacific Islander youth, adults, elders, and families in Washington.
Diana Krishna, UTOPIA Washington COVID-19 Response Coordinator, said her team was able to quickly and easily arrange to pick up six boxes of masks from the Port’s distribution center to distribute with their community. Krishna said the mask donations makes a huge difference in the lives of the community they support, who are often lower income.
“This has been a huge boost for our community,” Krishna said. “People in our community often find it difficult to put food on their table, so even though they know the importance of wearing a mask, purchasing masks is not a priority.”
“Our community was nothing but grateful,” Krishna said. “Receiving the masks helps us all ensure safety in our community. UTOPIA’s goal is to ensure our community is safe. Asian and Pacific Islanders make up one percent of Washington State’s population, but our COVID-19 rates are more than two percent of the population. We are already a minority. We don’t want to lose our elders and other community members to this virus.”
UTOPIA provides a variety of services to support its community during COVID-19, including curbside food distribution, grocery vouchers, PPE distribution including face coverings, sanitizer, and gloves, COVID-19 testing and flu vaccine sites, and utility bill assistance. UTOPIA also hosts an ongoing virtual event for community members called “Ask a Doctor” where community members can get answers to COVID-19 questions.
Next steps
With the supply of masks still plentiful, Hansen said Port mask donations are ongoing. Public entities, hospital systems, medical facilities, health care organizations, and other municipalities in need of masks should email [email protected] for assistance.
All photos: Copyright Mel Ponder Photography
