WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. - s4story -- The one-day out-patient event will change the lives of up to 20 children residing in Los Angeles, Compton, Santa Ana, Fullerton, Fresno, Apple Valley, and other cities throughout Southern California. This zero-cost medical mission will benefit recipients who cannot afford medical coverage due to documentation status, a family's loss of income, the inability to pay costly deductibles, and/or have been denied access to care for conditions deemed as "non-life threatening" or "cosmetic" by health insurance providers.

Based on the 2018 U.S. Census Bureau's annual Health Insurance Coverage in the United States, an estimated 4.3 million children were uninsured. Underserved communities are largely overlooked, leaving families stuck with the financial burden of paying costly medical bills.

Since its launch in 2014, Mending Kids' Hometown Mission is committed to addressing the expanding health disparity gap among disproportionately inequitable populations by removing obstacles to provide the necessary services these children deserve and need to correct physical and congenital anomalies.

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Mending Kids' volunteer team of board-certified surgeons, recovery nurses and other medical professionals will be donating their time and skills to provide quality surgical care to children in need of ear, nose and throat (ENT), orthopedics, urology, strabismus, plastic and reconstructive and general pediatric surgeries.

A young boy with a large hairy nevus on his face, or a little girl in need of cleft-nose reconstruction, may feel self-conscious or experience bullying due to their physical appearance which can lead to depression, anxiety, isolation and self-harm.

According to Jose Trejo, father of Jorge Trejo and former Hometown Mission recipient, by the age of 6, his son stopped wanting to socialize with other children who bullied him because of a large birthmark on his face. With their insurance unwilling to cover the procedure, "My wife and I were almost giving up," said Trejo.

In 2017, the birthmark was finally removed. "Now he's a totally different boy," said Trejo, of his son, "I see him happy and making friends."

These surgeries are critical to the patient's well-being. Mending Kids wants to ensure that no deserving child is turned away and give them an equal opportunity to medical care so they can achieve a sense of normalcy, return home healthy and face the future with confidence.

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For parents or guardians who need to refer a child, or medical professionals interested in volunteer opportunities please call: 1-800-993-5680 or email Hometown@mendingkids.org.

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About Mending Kids

Mending Kids is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization that provides free life-saving critical surgical care to children in the United States and around the world from over 66 countries by deploying volunteer medical teams and educating communities to become medically self-sustaining. Since 2005, Mending Kids has mended nearly 4,500 children. Our surgical teams donate their time and services to train and perform procedures that range from interventional cardiology, open-heart, neuro, otolaryngology, plastic, orthopedic or general surgeries.

Please contact Adrienne Johnson to schedule an interview with Dorothy Lucey, Mending Kids board member, Isabelle Fox, Executive Director of Mending Kids, or Cristina Farrut, Director Mission Services, for interviews in Spanish.