Agoura Hills Councilmember Sews 100 Masks For The Homeless

AGOURA HILLS, CA — Anyone experiencing homelessness needs a sturdy mask that won't fall down and can easily be washed. Agoura Hills Councilmember Linda Northrup has created just sewn 100 of those.

Northrup said that her masks have a pleat that hooks onto the nose and are thus less likely to fall down, and made with a special type of yarn to ensure that the straps around the ears and adjustable and durable. Northrup said that the mask fabric that doesn't show stains, and is washable with just soap and water, so a person only needs to find a public restroom to clean it.

Northrup has sewn more than 1,000 of these masks since the beginning of the pandemic, and has given them away for free to friends, neighbors, family, and members of law enforcement. She recently donated 100 to Bundles of Kindness, a charity founded by 14-year-old Woodland Hills resident Rachael Rosenberg.

"That is such a vulnerable population, people that are either homeless or under-homed, they're in precarious housing situations - my heart just goes out because I'm so blessed, so fortunate, I've never had to experience that myself, so anything to help people feel safer," Northrup said.

Rosenberg founded Bundles of Kindness, which provides the homeless with giant sacks of blankets, toiletries, soap, snacks, clothing, sleeping mats, umbrellas, and vouchers for food, drinks, and haircuts, right before her bat mitzvah in 2019. She solicited donations from people and companies all over the community, and distributed 100 of these bundles to the homeless all over the San Fernando Valley.

Now, Rosenberg is on a quest to assemble and distribute 500 more bundles during a time when the population is ballooning and coronavirus is making their situation even more dangerous than usual. Rosenberg requested masks, and Northrup, who says she spends most of her free time at her sewing machine, got to work.

"It's nice to know that the community wants to help," Rosenberg said. "Clearly I already knew that, but for somebody in a position like her, it shows that it matters more."

Boxes worth of donations are piling up around her parents' house as Rosenberg prepares to distribute her second round of bundles early next year. She says that she is still most in need of underwear, t-shirts, and umbrellas. Anyone interested in giving can email her at support@bundlesofkindness.org, or donate to her Amazon Wish List.

Northrup said that donating to Bundles of Kindness put her total count of masks sewn over 1,000. At the beginning of the pandemic, she realized that providing anyone she could think of with free, high-quality masks could be her special way to help.

"As time went on and it became more and more apparent that cloth face coverings could help protect people - in other words if I wear a mask and I'm protecting you - I kind of decided it was a really great thing to do to turn those sewing skills to cranking out as many masks as I could, because not everyone has the skills to sew a mask, and there weren't that many available at the beginning, and it's a tough thing for people to spend money these days," she said.

Northrup was diagnosed with breast cancer in August, and is currently undergoing chemotherapy. Normally she is active with a number of organizations helping the homeless, from shelters to Habitat for Humanity, but now that she is immunocompromised she does not leave her home unless it is to visit her doctor.

"It's close to my heart, and I want to put my actions where my heart is whenever that's possible," she said. "Given that I can't be out on the frontlines myself because I'm immunocompromised, I can't go hand things out myself, I can't go to food banks, I have to be hunkered down more than most - this is the way I can contribute."

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