Smoke Masks for Sydney's Homeless

Today, December 10th 2019, Sydney recorded the worst air quality on record - up to 12 times the hazardous threshold. This is the fifth week of bushfire smoke blanketing Sydney, and the fifth month of bushfire season. Who knows how long it will last.

Health authorities are explicitly advising us to stay inside, but what about those who live, breathe and sleep outside? Who may not be able to afford to prioritize their respiratory health, and aren't being prioritized by inert governments more concerned with Soviet era avoidance tactics and Cricket And Christmas Haha.

This fundraiser is to raise money for PM2 or PM2.5 (N95/N99) particulate respirator masks masks for Sydney's population of people affected by homelessness. I don't know which masks, and I don't know which organization is best to distribute through, so please if you are knowledgeable or experienced in organizing around homelessness in Sydney and/or particulate respirator masks get in contact. I'm just trying to be less paralysed and more proactive but I'm not pretending to be an expert.

Any amount can help, and if you haven't already invested in a mask yourself, this article provides a pretty comprehensive overview of the reasons and options.

https://aussiefinanceblog.com.au/life-hacks/best-smoke-masks/?fbclid=IwAR30GBFMyN_DWCenRaA8W5FLeGd9KAsy3tS5xYAyoNd9SCPg6GDcltDZQZ0

UPDATE: Thank you all so much! $880 of the money raised has been transferred into my account as of today (13/12) and the next withdrawal is on it's way. So far I've ordered $300 worth of reusable Base Camp N99/PM2.5 masks, and will be putting in an order for around $500 worth of disposable masks today - I am just in the process of figuring out which are masks will seal the most effectively, and are available to buy in wholesale amounts. I have also been contacted by a number of organizations working with people affected by homelessness to distribute through, so I will be making up mixed packs of masks to drop off as soon as they start arriving. If anyone has experience with masks and facial hair and can give me a recommendation for the mask with the best chance to form a proper seal around beards, please get in contact!

UPDATE: Hello all, just to keep you updated, I went home to the south coast over Christmas and NYE and consequently was caught up in the bushfires there, meaning a delay on distributing the masks. When I returned home I expected all of the masks I had ordered to have been delivered, but assumedly due to the time of year there are still some that haven't, despite ordering the first lot just over a month ago. However, I've received enough (both reusable and disposable) now to begin distributing them, and will be doing so Friday of this week (17/1) Thanks again for the support, I'll post receipts and updates of which organisations I've distributed through shortly!