[Dec. 21, 2018] LOS ANGELES – More than 150 healthcare workers, social workers, clergy members and community advocates traveled from Los Angeles to Tijuana, Mexico for a humanitarian mission to assist some of the thousands of Central American refugees gathered in the border city.

The caregivers provided first aid; offered screenings for asthma, blood-pressure and glucose; and delivered supplies – such as first aid kits, sleeping bags and diapers – to three refugee shelters in the city. Their trip was sponsored by SEIU Local 721, a union of Southern California public service workers, and SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, a union of California healthcare workers.

“As healthcare workers, we are used to working in crisis situations and that’s why it’s only appropriate that we would lend our skill and compassion to the families struggling at the border,” said Wynona Spears, a retired healthcare worker from Lancaster, Calif., who joined the mission.