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PULSE | 19 C O M M U N I T Y B E N E F I T Harbor Interfaith Services is just one of the many South Bay organizations Torrance Memorial Medical Center supports each year. Below, a tally of goods and services Torrance Memorial provides: then, the hospital has provided $150,000 in cash, approximately $25,000 each year. FISH was founded in 1975 by the South Coast Ecumenical Council (now known as the South Coast Interfaith Council), a collection of faith-based organizations, to provide food to the community when the once-booming South Bay fishing industry began closing. By the early 1980s, homelessness was a growing problem and Harbor Interfaith Shelter was founded. In 2002, realizing there was an overlap between people using the shelter and the food pantry, the two merged to form Harbor Interfaith Services. Over the years, services have expanded to include child care, educational training, job placement, transitional housing, advocacy and more. Beyond financially supporting FISH, Torrance Memorial works extensively with Harbor Interfaith Services in several other ways. e hospital provides medical services for some of their clients and holds health fairs and training classes on topics such as CPR. During the holiday season, Torrance Memorial works with Harbor Interfaith's Adopt-a-Family program in which various hospital departments help supply the gis on needy families' wish lists. Each year, Torrance Memorial adopts about 40 families, and Harbor Interfaith holds a block party where hospital staff present the gis to them. Leading up to anksgiving, the hospital also holds its annual food drive, collecting canned goods for inclusion in the 350 food baskets Harbor Interfaith gives out each year. "Harbor Interfaith is especially grateful for the partnership with Torrance Memorial," says Hayslet. "We know they are looking at the best interest of the community as a whole and we can depend on them if there's anything we ever need. Our partnership goes hand in hand." • Harbor Interfaith Services is located at 670 W. 9th Street in San Pedro. For more information, call 310-831-9123 or visit www.harborinterfaith.org. $23.2 million SUBSIDY OF MEDICALLY INDIGENT PATIENTS AND CHARITY CARE OTHER MEDICAL SERVICES SUBSIDY OF MEDICARE PROGRAM OTHER BENEFITS FOR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS OTHER BENEFITS FOR THE BROADER COMMUNITY HEALTH RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMS $2 million $75.4 milion $2.3 million $518,000 $422,000 Estimated Economic Value of Community Benefits Provided by Torrance Memorial Medical Center*