At the end of December, 2021 The Hopi Foundation’s (HF) Hopi Emergency Relief Fund (HERF) ended direct-service operations and will be transferring many of these services to Hopi Relief. These Services include Covid isolation kits, PPE kits, and air purifiers for Hopi programs and businesses. HERF has been providing these services out of the Peace Academic Center (PAC) gym in Kykotsmovi, since early in 2020.

In the beginning months of the COVID-19 Pandemic, several Hopi Foundation staff along with a group of volunteers from the community began emergency relief efforts to help support the people of the Hopi reservation. The Hopi Foundation already had the Hopi Emergency Assistance Fund established as a means to receive and regrant funding to entities providing emergency-related services to community members. In July of 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, operations under this fund transitioned to a full operation site, with HF staff stepping in to co-lead the emergency relief efforts and recruiting community members to support these efforts.

After nearly two years of work, HF has made preparations and is ready to transition HERF back to strictly a funding source and shift more focus to their other projects, including the Hopi Substance Abuse Prevention Center, Hopi Opportunity Youth Initiative, Natwani Coalition, Hopi Leadership Program, and KUYI-Hopi Radio. This transition will still allow funds to be raised under HERF and funneled to various groups that are focused on providing emergency relief services. The transition and aforementioned preparations also include providing various supplies and equipment, and funding to transfer services to Hopi Relief.

This transfer of services relies on partnership, which resembles much of the work that helped the Hopi community during the pandemic. Thanks largely to HERF’s past partnerships, community volunteers, and the community itself, HERF has been able to serve the Hopi reservation and its people for almost two years during a very trying time. During the pandemic, especially early on, it was extremely difficult but equally important to coordinate and collaborate efforts to assure each community was receiving timely services in a safe manner, while also reducing overlap and waste.

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Besides volunteers, HERF’s partnerships also included Ancestral Lands - Hopi (ALHopi) and Navajo & Hopi Families Covid-19 Relief Fund (NHFCRF), the Peace Academic Center, Hopi Wellness Center, Hopi Health Care Center Nutritionist, Hopi Community Health Representatives, IHS Public Health Nurses, The Hopi Tribe & HERT (the Hopi Emergency Relief Team), Red Feather Development Group, Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture Institute, St. Mary’s Food Bank, and each of the villages. HERF also worked with several of the grassroots organizations that emerged at the onset of the pandemic including Hopi Relief.

The people and organizations that came together to help the community and those in need showcased Hopi values such as Nami’nangwa and Hita’nangwa in action. While the Hopi community was hit hard by illness and death, it would likely have been much worse without these brave and initiative efforts. Continuance of efforts like these will
also be important in fighting through and moving on from Covid.

Hopi Relief will be continuing Covid-19 emergency relief efforts with a number of the services the HERF crews provided. Therefore, there will not be a void with the HERF relief site closing its doors at the Peace Academic Center on December 31, 2021. Hopi Relief is also focused on providing and building long-term services and solutions to address needs within the Hopi community. The Hopi Foundation is confident that Hopi Relief, under the leadership of Wendi Lewis, Executive Director, will continue to provide services to help keep the community safe and healthy. For more information, please contact The Hopi Foundation at info@hopifoundation.org or Hopi Relief at wendi@hopirelief.org.