Diane and Verne Williams, who lost their home of 55 years in the Eaton Fire, said they are deeply grateful for the support they’ve received from nonprofits backed by the California Community Foundation. From Amigos de los Rios, which has helped care for their trees, to the Department of Angels, which managed their soil testing, to the Pasadena Senior Center, which has hosted vital workshops for senior wildfire survivors—each organization has played a role in helping the couple look ahead to rebuilding. Now, at ages 87 and 90, the Williams remain steadfast in their commitment to restore not only their home, but also the Altadena community they love.
“At our age, starting over isn’t easy,” Diane said. “But thanks to the California Community Foundation and the wonderful groups they support, we feel cared for and hopeful again.”
TTHIS PAST YEAR REMINDED US WHAT IT TRULY MEANS TO BE ANGELENOS. When wildfires swept through Altadena, Pasadena, the Palisades and Malibu, nearly 13,000 households lost their homes. Yet, amid devastation, something extraordinary happened—people came together.
Neighbors shared food, clothing, and comfort. Through CCF’s Wildfire Recovery Fund, 48,000 donors gave more than $100 million, and within just 30 days, $30 million was already helping local nonprofits support families rebuilding their lives.
That same spirit of unity surfaced again in June, when immigration raids tore families apart and spread fear through communities. Even then, neighbors looked out for one another—proving that compassion is stronger than fear.
At CCF, we’ve seen the best of Los Angeles in these moments. Through the LA Neighbors Support Fund, we’ve partnered with trusted organizations to provide food, housing and legal aid—helping families stabilize and stay connected.
This magazine celebrates those acts of courage and kindness—stories of Angelenos who reminded us that even in our hardest moments, hope is something we build together.
Our mission remains clear: to invest in, partner with, and amplify the power of community so every Angeleno can live a good life.
Thank you for standing together—and for showing the world what community looks like.
In community,
MIGUEL A. SANTANA President & CEO California Community Foundation
table of contents
These stories show how your support helped Angelenos confront some of the most daunting challenges in our history. We are thankful for your commitment as we continue to help our neighbors rebuild and recover their lives.
1. a light in the darkness
President and CEO Miguel A. Santana shares how disaster spurred community spirit.
4. angels for animals
Pasadena Humane rescued hundreds of animals in its largest operation ever.
6. direct aid for immediate needs
CORE provides direct cash assistance to fire survivors “in a tight spot.”
8. solace and sustenance
Neighbors in need find solace and smiles at the Pasadena Community Job Center.
10. the lending lifeline Funds from the Jewish Free Loan Association help those devastated by wildfires.
12. sharing local knowledge
The Pacific Palisades Community Council stands up for the needs of residents.
14. unraveling invisibility
Bumdog Torres uses his camera to show the humanity of people on L.A.’s streets.
18. new chapters, new strength
The Pasadena Senior Center supports older adults starting over after wildfires.
20. together we rise again
The Eaton Fire Survivors Network is a vital neighborhood advocacy group in Altadena.
22. saving Altadena’s beloved trees
The area races to rescue its mature oaks with help from Amigos de los Rios.
24. college dreams survive College Access Plan keeps underserved teens on track despite trauma from fire.
26. a harvest from the ashes Nature grows new hope at the Altadena Community Garden.
28. helping hands to make their case
The Pepperdine Caruso School of Law Disaster Relief Clinic focuses on guiding traumatized fire survivors through complex applications and appeals.
30. speaking their language
As ICE raids continue, CIELO connects indigenous residents to friends, food and familiar cultures.
32. leave no neighbor behind Since the ICE raids swept Los Angeles, SCOPE volunteers have delivered food and necessities to their neighbors.
34. it was just pure, pure giving The Change Reaction has given millions of dollars in direct cash assistance to fire survivors since January.
36. pulling together, pushing back
With courage and unity, families targeted by ICE can create change. That was the message at an event organized by CHIRLA and supported by CCF.
38. coming home
Casa Gateway, a residential housing complex in Pacific Palisades, welcomed residents home after a massive cleanup project supported by multiple nonprofits.
40. giving relief while rebuilding
The YMCA moved quickly to help survivors displaced by tragedy following the wildfires.
42. empowering recovery
The Department of Angels was created to amplify the voices of wildfire survivors.
Vice President of Storytelling and Communications
Peter Hong
Managing Editor
Gilien Silsby
Production Editor
Ronnie Schinker
Senior Writers
Ben Poston
Teresa Watanabe
Designer
Studio Deluxe
Contributors
Alicia Di Rado
Allison Engel
Photographers
Barbara Davidson
Alicia Di Rado
Peter Hong
Read Online! Enjoy the digital version of the CCF magazine on our website.
Pasadena Humane takes in furry fire victims
angels for animals
JJUST MINUTES AFTER A FIRESTORM ignited a swath of destruction through Altadena on January 7, the exodus began.
Through night and day, traversing a dark haze of ash and smoke, they came. A pony. A pot-bellied pig. An orphaned baby raccoon. Bobcats, goats, rabbits, lizards, goldfish, all manner of birds. And hundreds of cats and dogs. They escaped the Eaton Fire, many brought in by their evacuating families and some by Good Samaritans who discovered them wandering the streets or laying in the rubble with grievously burned paws, singed fur, dehydration and breathing problems from smoke inhalation.
Their destination: Pasadena Humane, which provides animal rescues, wildlife rehabilitation and other services. With support from the California Community Foundation, the nonprofit helped 1,500 animals affected by the Eaton Fire, providing medical care, temporary emergency boarding, food and supplies.
A grant from CCF’s Wildfire Recovery Fund helped the Pasadena animal center navigate the biggest emergency rescue operation in its century-old history. As animals filled the center, the quick infusion of CCF funds helped fill urgent and varied needs. A team of veterinarians provided life-saving medical care, with some animals needing multiple surgeries. Staff purchased many more kennels and converted meeting and training rooms into boarding areas. The shopping list also included special oxygen cages to help animals suffering from smoke inhalation breathe easier. Thousands of pounds of food, along with bowls, bandages, ointments and medications. And for animals left in the burn areas, water filtration systems for koi, feed for chickens, outdoor cameras to monitor the community cats and wildlife.
“It means a ton to have such great support from CCF,” said Kim Burbank, Pasadena Humane’s director of philanthropy and stewardship. “Especially in a disaster, you don’t know what’s coming next. We did not realize we were going to have the number of animals we did. We didn’t realize the scope of destruction. So a general grant like this is really supportive to be able to let us do what we need to do when we need to do it.”
The Pasadena animal center also reunited families with their missing loved ones. On that terrifying first night of wildfire, Mark Pastor and Lisa De Lange managed to round up two of their cats but a third, Skinny Minnie, was nowhere to be found. They had to make the heartbreaking choice to leave without her, as flames had reached their home with a heat so intense that it melted the back of one of the couple’s cars.
Unbeknownst to them, a Good Samaritan biking through the burn area two days later found Minnie under the damaged car in the rubble of her former home and brought her to Pasadena Humane. The grey cat looked black as she was covered with soot and ash, struggling to breathe and suffering from singed fur and severe burns on her face, paws, tail and ears. She was immediately placed in an oxygen kennel and over the next several days underwent multiple surgeries to address her burns, including removing the tip of her tail along with her claws, since they could no longer retract due to her damaged tendons. The medical care, which would have amounted to thousands of dollars at an outside veterinary clinic, was provided free of charge.
A few weeks later, Skinny Minnie had the good luck to be photographed with Adrien Brody, the two-time Academy Award-winning actor who volunteered for a day at the center. The photo went viral. At around midnight on Jan. 23, Pastor received a text of the photo from a friend. “Is this Minnie?” she asked. Pastor said he woke up De Lange and the couple
» (above) Evacuated pony. (below) Rescued dog with new owner.
recognized her immediately—“Oh my God, it’s her!”—and began to sob.
When Pastor went to see Minnie the next day, the cat heard his voice and immediately responded. She perked up, raised her head and began to meow. She lifted up her bandaged legs as if to say, “Look what happened!” Pastor said. And she began to eat in her kennel, which staff said she had been reluctant to do until then.
After five months of care, Skinny Minnie was able to rejoin her family in May, with the shelter staff sending her off with a party bag of her favorite toys. Pastor said she runs, jumps and climbs normally and is eating so well she’s developed a belly—and may no longer warrant her Skinny Minnie name.
“The care they gave Minnie was so above and beyond,” Pastor said.
A happy reunion also came for Canelo, a pit bull who panicked on hearing a propane tank explode and leaped out of the family’s car as they escaped the fire. He was later discovered laying in a smoldering yard by another evacuating wildfire survivor, who brought him to Pasadena Humane.
Canelo was treated for burns and smoke inhalation; after nearly a month of care he got a tail-wagging reunion with his family, who saw
his photo posted on the center’s website. L’il Man and Scooter, both cats brought in by Good Samaritans, were microchipped so finding their owners was easy—underscoring what center staff say is the crucial importance of placing that identity marker on pets.
In the early days of the wildfire relief efforts, community members logged 2,500 volunteer hours in January alone. Financial contributions, along with donations of food, bedding, toys and supplies, flooded the center—including sewing circles in North Carolina, Texas and Tennessee that sent pet bedding. Partner animal welfare shelters in San Diego, Santa Barbara and Sacramento also helped out by taking in all of the adoptable animals at Pasadena to clear out space for those displaced by the wildfires. Demand for assistance remains high, as the needs continue even after the fires die down. “We can’t do it without our community support,” said Kevin McManus, Pasadena Humane spokesman. “And we’re going to need them more than ever.”
–TERESA WATANABE
To learn more about the Pasadena Humane, please visit https://pasadenahumane.org/
It means a ton to have such great support from CCF. Especially in a disaster, you don’t know what’s coming next.”
» (left) Actor Adrien Brody with Skinny Minnie. (right) Canelo was found with burned paws. PHOTOS BY PASADENA HUMANE
Helping L.A. fire survivors in a tight spot
direct aid for immediate needs
FFOR FAMILIES WHO LOST EVERYTHING in L.A. wildfires, direct cash assistance provides an immediate lifeline and the freedom to use the money in a way that best meets their needs.
By the time fire survivors Kate Sullivan and her husband found a steady place to live in early February, they were exhausted.
They had already lived in five different places—and in five different neighborhoods— since evacuating a month earlier. There was the pullout sofa in a friend’s garage in Woodland Hills and a blur of short-term rentals in Valley Village, Alhambra, Pasadena and Fairfax.
Both retired, they were running short on cash. They hadn’t received any insurance money on
their underinsured home in Altadena that was destroyed by the Eaton Fire. After so many moves and so much uncertainty, they felt “totally overwhelmed,” Sullivan said.
Their Los Feliz rental house went unfurnished for three months.
“I was in a mental state where I was just in shock,” Sullivan recalled. “I didn’t want to buy anything and I just couldn’t believe everything was really gone. I was just kind of shut down. So it took time to realize all of that’s gone and we need some things.”
In May, she met volunteers and staff members from Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE)
» Kate Sullivan, 63, whose Altadena home was destroyed by the Eaton Fire, received cash assistance from the nonprofit CORE, which she used to furnish a rental house. PHOTOS BY BARBARA DAVIDSON
who were set up in the back room of the Altadena Disaster Recovery Center.
CORE was on the front lines of fire relief efforts, rapidly delivering cash assistance to several thousand L.A. wildfire survivor households. The nonprofit organization has provided more than $3 million in direct assistance.
CORE received a grant from the California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Recovery Fund, which has awarded over $30 million to more than 200 nonprofit organizations in L.A. County.
After a quick vetting process, Sullivan received a prepaid ATM card on the spot. She used it to buy used dining chairs and some lamps, which filled a void in their house.
“CORE helped our family get back on our feet,” she said. “We were really in a tight spot … we didn’t have a lot of funds coming in and they were there right at the right time.”
The relief effort demonstrates how philanthropic support can deliver fast, dignified aid and sustain recovery as families work to rebuild, said Tracy Reines, CORE’s disaster response lead for the L.A. wildfires.
Cash assistance has long been a key part of the organization’s work. CORE’s experience from prior relief efforts meant that its leaders were prepared to provide relief almost immediately, Reines said. Also key is having grants provided by philanthropic groups like CCF that enabled it to quickly identify the greatest needs during the crisis, she said.
Altadena fire survivor Alphonso Browne, 66, met the CORE team at the Pasadena Convention Center shelter where he was staying after the Eaton Fire destroyed the home where he lived and raised his children for more than three decades.
CORE was running a phone charging station at the convention center and Browne met a few team members and felt comfortable joking around with them. He said he quickly felt a connection.
»
“It just felt like a bond made in heaven,” Browne said.
He later received cash assistance from CORE and used it to purchase groceries and gas. The cash was a one-time thing, but the team has continued to help Browne and his wife, Celestine, navigate a host of other challenges.
“The emotional support and the moral support they’ve given me is priceless,” Browne said. “They have been there for me.”
It’s not just a hug or a handshake. His caseworker Simone has helped him apply and secure rental assistance from FEMA and the team is currently assisting him with legal issues surrounding his insurance claim. They also make sure he doesn’t miss out on any benefits available for fire survivors.
Each week, Sullivan, 63, drives back to Altadena where her Spanish-style home once stood. She waters the plumeria and succulents that survived the blaze.
“We loved—loved—living here,” she said. “We loved the mountains. It was such a treat to drive up and say we are going home and see those mountains. We are coming back and we are going to rebuild.”
–BEN POSTON
To learn more about CORE, please visit https://www.coreresponse.org/
I was in a mental state where I was just in shock. I didn’t want to buy anything and I just couldn’t believe everything was really gone.”
Kate Sullivan returns to her Altadena property each week to water the plumeria and succulents that survived the Eaton Fire.
solace and sustenance
TTHEY BEGAN LINING UP AT 6 A.M., waiting on a Pasadena street corner to receive food that would sustain them for a week amid heightened community needs triggered by the recent wildfires and immigration raids.
I hope this is a wakeup call for people and organizations to continue working together and building solidarity no matter what.”
At 9:30 a.m., dozens of volunteers with the Pasadena Community Job Center waved them forward and began the weekly Friday distribution with cheerful greetings and big smiles. They handed out boxes filled with produce—melons and peppers, oranges and grapes, onions and lettuce. They offered canned and dry goods, including oatmeal, rice, beans, potato flakes, cooking oil. There were frozen fish sticks, chicken drumsticks and ground beef; tables piled high with breads, pastries and cakes.
“What would you like, sir?” Robert W. Armijo, a volunteer, asked a man in a wheelchair. “Peanut butter? How about some beef? Frozen tamales? We got a salad with chicken and cheese, it looks delicious.”
He loaded the man’s four shopping bags with food, slung them over the back of his wheelchair and saw him off.
“Thank you so much, brother,” the man said with a grateful smile.
By the end of the two-hour distribution, the job center had given out food—along with diapers, clothing, wipes, lotion—to nearly 350 people. Their food pantry program, Mano a Mano (Hand in Hand), is supported by the California Community Foundation’s Los Angeles Neighbors Support Fund.
The National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) received the CCF grant and has used it to support the food distribution program operated by its job center.
“It feels like in this moment, people are really coming together,” said Natalie Gradwohl, an NDLON community organizer. “I hope this is a wakeup call for people and organizations to continue working together and building solidarity no matter what.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids launched in June have deepened fears throughout the community. After the Eaton Fire tore through Altadena and Pasadena in January, the center started offering distributions for two months, serving more than 500 recipients each day. When the center reverted to a once-a-week schedule, the numbers fell to about 300 but dropped by half or more after the raids began
» The Mano a Mano pantry shares nutritious food.
as fear kept more people indoors, said Swany Barahona, who directs the food program.
To help those in vulnerable situations, volunteers began home deliveries to about 55 families. Ishell Linares-Soto, NDLON’s director of development, said she would like to expand the program to anyone who requests home deliveries but needs more resources to do so: more vehicles, trusted volunteers to pack boxes and deliver them, funding to cover gas and other transportation costs. One idea, she said, would be to deliver food boxes to secure and confidential neighborhood locations.
NDLON is also organizing legal assistance for families impacted by the raids and an “adopt a corner” program to provide volunteer monitors at Home Depot and other sites where day laborers gather, Linares-Soto said. So far, community members have adopted about 40 corners, most in Los Angeles.
“We really think it will take all of this to keep our community safe,” she said.
One person who received food assistance from Mano a Mano had begun to volunteer at the job center after the Eaton Fire and was recently crushed by news that her sister was
detained by immigration agents. But she has been buoyed by the network’s services, including food, rent and legal assistance.
In recent days, organizers said, the number of people served has begun returning to pre-raid levels. Yet donations that flooded the center after the fires have declined; both volunteers and such items as beans, rice, canned tuna, milk and especially bottled water are badly needed, Linares-Soto said.
Miguel Bucio helped open stacks of boxes filled with produce from the L.A. Regional Food Bank as two dozen other volunteers scurried to fill boxes and lay out supplies on tables. He joined the Pasadena job center 17 years ago and got a gig for heavy cleaning. He went on to jobs as a painter and now works as a specialist in heating and cooling systems.
“I always come back to the job center just to help because the center’s helped me,” Bucio said. “I have to give back.”
–TERESA WATANABE
To learn more about the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, please visit https://ndlon.org
A CCF grant supports the National Day Laborer Organizing Network’s food distribution program. PHOTOS BY PETER HONG
A Jewish nonprofit offers interest-free loans to fire survivors
the lending lifeline
OON A STUNNING MALIBU CLIFF overlooking the vast Pacific, artist Myra Burg had lovingly filled her home and work studio with gorgeous paintings, ceramic sculptures and the heartbeat of her life’s work: hundreds of cones of fiber and other supplies to create cylindrical tapestries of iridescent hues and varied textures.
has helped her begin to replenish her supplies and start work again in a temporary studio space her brother created for her in his home.
“This loan completely saved me,” Burg said. “It put me back in business.”
With support from a grant from the California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Recovery Fund, JFLA has stepped up in a major way to provide financial assistance to wildfire survivors. The association offers no-cost loans in keeping with biblical mandates not to charge interest and extends the services to people of all backgrounds who live in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.
It’s been a nightmare, but I’m grateful for the loan. It was the first financial aid I got.”
And then it was gone. All of it.
Burg’s home was destroyed in the Jan. 7 wildfires that swept through Malibu and Pacific Palisades, along with Altadena and Pasadena.
In a flash, she lost her home and priceless personal treasures, like her father’s tallis, a Jewish prayer shawl, that was to be handed down to her brother. She lost her business—her airy studio with a stunning bathroom, finished art pieces and $250,000 in supplies and equipment—none of which was insured, as her home had been.
But Burg is moving forward with plans for recovery, thanks in part to the Jewish Free Loan Association (JFLA), a nonprofit that offers interest-free and fee-free loans to help people with urgent financial needs. The Malibu artist received a $50,000 small business loan, which
First established in 1904, the association’s initial loans helped people buy sewing machines and produce pushcarts. Over the years, loans have gone to help people resettle after World War II, rebuild after the Watts Riots, begin new lives after fleeing the Iranian Revolution and the fall of the former Soviet Union. They’ve supported those needing help with payments for medical, dental and mental health bills, student loans, housing, car repairs, pet care, adoptions, funerals.
All told, JFLA has about 3,000 loans currently issued totaling $21.5 million. The maximum for personal loans is $15,000; for small businesses, $50,000. Educational loans are capped at $10,000, but are renewable annually for fulltime students. Two guarantors are generally required who legally agree to repay the loan if necessary but the default rate is less than 1%.
“We are really the perfect antidote to help people get through what I like to call the speed bumps on the road of life,” said Rachel Grose, JFLA executive director.
But the January wildfires created an epic crisis. When Grose saw video footage of flames consuming homes, destroying neighborhoods and leaving thousands of people in need, she knew she had to act—quickly.
» Myra Burg lost her home in the Palisades Fire.
“I just knew in my gut that this was going to be a disaster of a proportion we hadn’t seen,” she said. “I knew there would be a need for loans. I wanted to put money in people’s hands quickly.”
She reached out to her largest donors and within hours had “very large commitments” from several of them. Within a month, she had raised nearly $2 million—including the CCF grant. To date, the association has disbursed more than $1.9 million in 111 loans to individuals, families and small businesses.
Michael Marylander received a $25,000 JFLA loan after his massage studio went up in flames in Pacific Palisades—just a few days after opening. He is using the funds to support another newly opened Massage Place site.
“It’s been a nightmare, but I’m grateful for the loan,” he said. “It was the first financial aid I got.”
Burg is rebuilding with optimism and perspective. Yes, it pains her to lose so many precious possessions but it’s just “stuff.” And compared with her ancestors who fled the Nazis and saw their families murdered, she said, she has much to be grateful for.
“No, this was not devastating. This is an opportunity,” Burg said. “As my father said, ‘Nobody gets out of life unscathed. I get to rebuild.”
–TERESA WATANABE
To learn more about the Jewish Free Loan Association, please visit https://www.jfla.org/
“
This loan completely saved me. It put me back in business.”
» Michael Marylander’s massage studio went up in flames. PHOTOS BY BARBARA DAVIDSON
PPACIFIC PALISADES IS A WINDSWEPT ENCLAVE in western Los Angeles, famed for its stunning geography of coastal bluffs, rolling hills, wooded canyons and panoramic ocean views.
But to those who’ve lived there, the Palisades has always been defined by the caring, closeknit community. The neighbors you ran into walking your dog. Shopping at Gelson’s. Hiking the trails. Showing up at sporting events and adult ed classes. Joining hundreds of neighbors at the community’s celebrated festivities on the Fourth of July and annual interfaith gathering before Thanksgiving.
Nurturing those neighborly bonds is the Pacific Palisades Community Council (PPCC), which has served to protect and improve the area’s quality of life since 1972. Known as the “voice of Pacific Palisades,” the council’s cohesive leadership was called on as never before when wildfires ignited Jan. 7 and tore through the community—destroying more than 6,800 homes and other structures, displacing thousands of families and upending life as they knew it.
Now, with the help of the California Community Foundation, the council is working to restore the Palisades. A CCF grant is helping fund a comprehensive survey by NORC, a nonpartisan research organization based at the University of Chicago, to ask residents about their evolving needs and vision of the future of the Palisades.
The council has also approved six community grants so far to help support fire recovery. They include funds to restore the recreation center’s fields and facilities, water street trees, restore outdoor gathering spaces at two schools, support children’s art projects and assist longterm recovery efforts for seniors.
» The Business Block Building, built in 1924, was destroyed by the Palisades Fire.
“The grants from CCF are really wonderful because it’s the first funds that the Palisades has actually seen,” said Courtney Macker, a council member.
“It means we’re going to be able to help worthy organizations with rebuilding the future of the town,” said Sue Kohl, president of the Pacific Palisades Community Council.
The council is an all-volunteer nonprofit governed by elected representatives from each of the Palisades’ eight residential neighborhoods, an at-large member and appointed representatives from key community organizations. It provides a forum for community members to discuss issues, advocates for neighbors to public and private agencies and posts a wealth of information of interest.
Key issues had included the reopening of Potrero Canyon Park and problematic teenage behavior with fireworks and disruptive street biking, Kohl said. Then the fires hit and “everything changed,” she said.
Now the PPCC website is filled with information about wildfire resources, emergency preparedness, meeting notices with elected
sharing local knowledge
The neighborhood council is the “voice of Pacific Palisades”
“I get PTSD when people ask me questions about things, and I remember something that I don’t have anymore. That’s what causes tears.”
representatives and council positions on a range of issues—soils testing, disaster bus tourism, coastal fire debris, permit fee waivers.
At its July meeting, the council brought in L.A. City Councilwoman Traci Park and state Senator Ben Allen to discuss Palisades recovery developments and related legislation. The council has also brought in a representative from the U.S. Small Business Administration to share information about applying for SBA loans.
But council members said the process of restoring the Pacific Palisades they know and love will be slow and difficult.
A drive through the area highlighted the massive devastation, as blocks and blocks of the once vibrant community lay flattened. In the downtown area, only charred concrete arches remain of a century-old historic building that housed Starbucks—the “most beloved” building in the Palisades, Kohl said.
Kohl has begun to rebuild her home after it burned to the ground on that harrowing January day. She only had time to grab her dogs, photo albums and a bag of needlepoint Christmas
stockings and lost nearly everything. Her lifelong collection of Christmas ornaments. Her children’s portraits on the wall. Her paintings, clothes, passport.
“I get PTSD when people ask me questions about things, and I remember something that I don’t have anymore,” she said. “That’s what causes tears.”
But Kohl is looking ahead with hope. So is Donna Vaccarino, a council member and president of the Pacific Palisades Historical Society who said the CCF grant will make a difference.
“The grant coming to the council…is helping to establish a broader sense of community,” she said. “I think we’re all looking at how we hold onto and recover the heart and soul of the Palisades.”
-TERESA WATANABE
To learn more about the Pacific Palisades Community Council, please visit https://pacpalicc.org/
» Sue Kohl is president of the Pacific Palisades Community Council. PHOTOS BY BARBARA DAVIDSON
Bumdog Torres’ photography shows humanity on the streets
unravelinginvisibility
HHE SLOWLY AMBLES DOWN THE STREET, a striking figure at 6’4’’, dreads framing his burnished brown face, in the Fairfax and Hollywood districts of Los Angeles. Bumdog Torres has called himself a “career homeless bum” and “a complete nobody” and revels in that identity.
Except he’s not a nobody. He is one of the city’s most celebrated photographers of unhoused people—and creates his art with authenticity as someone who has lived on the streets himself.
As Bumdog pushes his shopping cart up McCadden Place off Melrose, a young man runs up to him. Xavier Baizar greets Bumdog, who promptly directs him into a pose with eyes serenely closed and fingertips touching, then snaps his photo with a high-end, handcrafted Leica Q1 and a Panasonic Lumix GH5.
Baizar beams, starstruck by the encounter. He had lived in the streets for a few weeks this year after leaving an abusive environment and had seen Bumdog around, assuming he was a “regular homeless man.”
Then he saw a photo Bumdog had taken of people on the street that a friend posted on social media and was blown away. He vowed to flag him down and tell him how impressed he was by his art.
“He takes pictures of everybody and they are fantastic,” said Baizar, who now lives with relatives in Long Beach but returns most days to this neighborhood to attend nearby Los Angeles Film School and stay in touch with his “little family” of people on the streets. “He’s making outstanding portraits of people in the community. I had
no clue but you can’t really judge people off their appearances.”
Bumdog’s photos capture faces wreathed in smiles, weathered with age and painted like clowns. Eyes pleading for help, bright with joy, dazed with drugs. Bodies sporting elaborate tattoos, colorfully dyed hair, decaying teeth and finely toned physiques. His photo books convey the names and backstories of many of those featured: Blind Man Anthony, Egg God, Krazy. He has photographed trans sex workers, military veterans, OGs fresh out of prison, a mother looking through the trash to find toys for her children.
The California Community Foundation has recognized Bumdog’s talents with a grant as part of the nonprofit’s Fellowship for Visual Artists program. First established in 1988 with a $3 million grant from the Getty Foundation, the program provides unrestricted cash grants to artists, along with professional development opportunities to sustain and grow their creative practices. Bumdog was one of 11 artists selected for the 2024–25 class from more than 400 applicants.
Selected works from the artists were on display at the Craft Contemporary arts museum in Los Angeles from May 31 through Sept. 7. Bumdog’s solo show, “The Positives of Negatives,” took place June 7 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Post Mix Film Lab in Hollywood.
Álvaro D. Márquez, CCF program officer for arts and culture, said the foundation seeks to support artists with strong portfolios who may not have gotten the attention or breaks they deserve. Bumdog’s work stood out for its beauty but also its perspective of someone who has lived the realities he is photographing, Márquez said. “Sometimes, the problem with stories of unhoused people is that they’re told from people who do not have the lived experience
» Bumdog Torres.
“I don’t make what I make for other people, people outside of my world, to see it. When I show it, I show it to my friends.”
of the realities they are documenting. Bumdog is unique. He’s not an outsider parachuting in. These are his people, these are his friends and neighbors. They are not subjects.”
Bumdog himself says he creates his art for those neighbors and friends on the street, not for outsiders—although he is grateful for their support.
The CCF grant helped him out when he was just about broke and has allowed him to pay off $12,000 in debt—much of it for his printing costs.
The funding also helped him buy a Mamiya RZ67 camera for medium format film and a 35 mm Leica R9. He was able to pay development costs for 100 rolls of film, and produce a new photo book, “Hollywood The Krazy Edition” that features his art along with writings about his life and those he photographed.
The fellowship program also provides artists with coaching, website development and other ways to develop their craft; for Bumdog, CCF helped buy 80 hours of darkroom time to develop his work for his solo show.
“It’s good to have your stuff shown and have some acknowledgement and maybe make some of the money that you got to blow on it. That’s not the reason why I do it,” says Bumdog, 56. “I don’t make what I make for other people, people outside of my world, to see it. When I show it, I show it to my friends.”
He had long wanted to have a photo show on Hollywood Boulevard so the homeless people he lived with could come see themselves reflected in his work. But since many of them have since scattered from the area and won’t be able to attend, the realization of that dream is “bittersweet,” he says. For many of those he photographed, including the unhoused trans people featured in his 2021 book, “Tangerine Land,” Bumdog’s work is the only pictures they have of themselves.
“Here in L.A County, homeless people live in a paradox,” Márquez says. “They’re hyper visible in the sense that we see their tents, we see them walking through the streets, but socially, politically, economically they’re invisible. And
» (left) Bumdog Torres says he creates art for his friends and neighbors on the street. (right) His photos feature people from Los Angeles communities. ALL PHOTOS BY BARBARA DAVIDSON
so Bumdog unravels that invisibility from a perspective you don’t often see.
“There’s a thousand other Bumdogs out there who are living in the margins, living in the shadows, have no attention, no support,” Márquez says. “And that’s why this fellowship matters. And that’s why it’s so important to support artists.”
Bumdog grew up in the Crenshaw area of Los Angeles as the son of a single mother. When he was 14, he hurt his hip playing basketball and dropped out of school after 7th grade. He says he hated formal schooling—“it was like a jail”—but he fed his intense intellectual curiosity through his own reading and research.
As a teenager at home, he read books from his mother’s large collection and the public library on philosophy, literature, anthropology, metaphysics, psychology, political theory.
He watched PBS courses on the quantum universe and plunged into research about the Napoleonic Age after seeing a Napoleon Bonaparte character turn up in an episode of “Bewitched,” the old fantasy sitcom about a suburban housewife witch. John Steinbeck opened his mind to literature as the first author he read who demonstrated that writing could reflect real life, not just fantasy.
In the early 1990s, he began pursuing his wanderlust and moved to San Francisco, where he first experienced living on the streets. He moved on to Las Vegas, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Spain, Morocco, Maui and other locales. In Thailand, he spent a few weeks in jail for overstaying his visa and in 2014 was deported back to Los Angeles.
He picked up the name Bumdog in 1997 when he landed in a Los Angeles jail for fighting
» A Fellowship for Visual Artists grant will help Torres emerge from debt and create his art.
and told his fellow inmates he didn’t drink, smoke or do drugs but bummed around the streets “because I’m a bum.” One of them laughed and called him a bumdog. The name stuck.
In 2014, he began exploring photography after he bought an iPhone 4S for $50 from a fellow street person who found it in the trash. He initially focused on portraits of himself reflected in mirrors he would find in the alleys and streets.
Three years later, a friend gave him an old Sony NEX-3, which shot better portraits and enabled him to start taking photos of people on the street. Not wanting to exploit them, he asks them for permission and typically offers $5 for the shot. As he uploaded his photos to Instagram and Facebook, his work began to draw attention; in 2018, an art gallery in Denver featured 15 of his photos in his first exhibition.
“And just like that I was a REAL photographer,” Bumdog wrote in his 2020 book, #FindTheBumdog” featuring his first images. “I had never called myself a photographer before, because I didn’t really care, and I was nowhere near as good as many professional photographers that I personally knew. But now I could say with all pretentiousness that I was a photographer.”
Motivated to develop his craft, he bought his first semi professional camera, a Panasonic G85, in 2019. The weak lens made him focus on shots with harsh and reflected light, which bathe many of those he photographs in striking compositions.
Living on the streets not only gave Bumdog an authentic connection with those he photographed. He says it also filled him with gratitude for the open sky, fresh air, birds and squirrels he shared his free life with. And knowing he had to wake up and move from the parking spot or doorway where he slept overnight gave him an “enforced discipline” that prevented him from giving in to lethargy and pushed him to get up to walk the streets, listen to music, greet the early morning workers and joggers—and hone his art.
In 2020, Bumdog decided to accept a placement in a Hollywood apartment secured by a housing agency worker named Catalina Hinojosa who contacted him through Instagram. The pandemic lockdown had shut down the coffee shops, libraries and other places Bumdog used to work and he was desperate to find an
alternative. He remains ambivalent about his housed status.
“It feels terrible to be inside,” he says. “I’m like a feral animal. But it was kind of my destiny.”
Besides, he says, Hollywood has moved past the “golden age of homelessness.” Many of the camps where he took photos have been cleared away and those who lived there have scattered. He credits the city for making progress in housing people, although he says the root causes of homelessness—drug addiction and unaffordable housing—have not been resolved.
But the artist still walks the streets with his shopping cart, covering an average seven miles a day, and takes pictures of people who catch his eye. During the afternoon he photographed Baizar, he also took shots of a man who introduced himself as the “Fairfax Monster” who has been incarcerated five times and an undocumented immigrant from the Dominican Republic.
Since 2020, Bumdog has produced seven photo books. Two more are set to debut at his solo show presenting images taken with his CCF-funded cameras: “Bumdog Mamiya” (with the title written in Japanese) and “Leica Bumdog: the #shootfilmgobroke Series.”
Over the years, his subjects have ranged from street life during the pandemic to the Orthodox Jewish community in the Fairfax neighborhood. He made a film based on his book, “Sketches of Nothing by a Complete Nobody,” and describes it as a film “considered unwatchable by the vast majority of people who have tried to get through it.” Nonetheless, he picked up skills he shares in free classes in the Bumdog School of Film.
Bumdog also writes voluminously, informed by his eclectic experiences and a range of thinkers, including Noam Chomsky, Walt Whitman, Shakespeare and Paramahansa Yogananda, a renowned Indian yogi and guru. Most recently, Bumdog has launched a zine with the first one titled, “Prayers to God from a Beggar in His Cell: The Spiritual Observations of a Lifelong Loser” and hopes to write a novel.
“I’m just a creative guy,” he says. “It doesn’t matter if it’s photography or teaching or writing. I just do it.”
–TERESA
WATANABE
To learn more about the Fellowship for Visual Artists, please visit https://www.calfund.org/fva/
It’s good to have your stuff shown and have some acknowledgement and maybe make some of the money that you got to blow on it. That’s not the reason why I do it.”
The Pasadena Senior Center embraces displaced older adults
new chapters,new strength
RRASHEED ALI AND GAYLE NICHOLLS-ALI were celebrating their 43rd wedding anniversary in the Bahamas when they saw news of wildfires back home.
Mary Washington woke up to the smell of smoke and left her home wearing pajamas, thinking she’d return the next day.
Andrea and Brian Mark packed for only two days, assuming the fierce winds would just knock out their power.
All of these families lost their homes in Altadena, and everything in them, to the Eaton Fire in January. As they rebuild, they’re facing challenges at an unexpected time: their Golden Years.
“It’s so hard, because you’re 83 years old,” Washington said of herself. “The life I had is wiped out, and you have to start alone.”
Enter the Pasadena Senior Center, which mobilized to support Altadena seniors who lost homes or were displaced. A grant from the California Community Foundation helped the center become a hub of social and emotional support.
Celebrating its 65th anniversary this year, the center is rebuilding connections among wildfire survivors, empowering them with knowledge and providing food and essentials. CCF grants have also aided seniors through Pasadena Village, a nonprofit network of older adults helping each other navigate aging.
» Senior center members participate in a tap-dancing class.
Akila Gibbs, the Pasadena Senior Center’s executive director, said staff sprang into action when news of the wildfires hit. They brought protein drinks, clothes, medications and other supplies to seniors evacuated to the Pasadena Convention Center. They helped replace wheelchairs and walkers and turned their facility into a distribution hub for food, clothing and supplies.
Staff also created phone trees to check in with their 3,000 members and friends. Mental health support soon became the top concern. The center organized sessions on coping with anxiety and depression, led by licensed social workers and therapists, and launched a support group for survivors to talk through grief and loss.
“A lot of people are anxious because they don’t know what the future holds for them,” Gibbs said. “We’re helping people through this.”
The CCF grant helped the center renovate and expand its food pantry, create an online resources guide viewed more than 10,000 times, and develop a program offering guidance through rebuilding. It also sponsored events and informational sessions, including one on navigating insurance.
“We’re grateful to the California Community Foundation for their support,” Gibbs said. “Recovery from the Altadena fires will be a long road, especially for older adults who face unique challenges. The center is uniquely positioned to serve this population—offering not just resources, but connection, guidance, and hope as they rebuild.”
The insurance presentation featured Amy Bach, a consumer advocate and attorney who cofounded United Policyholders, a nonprofit that helps consumers navigate claims. A CCF grant to her organization supported the program.
Bach explained California’s rules for insurance claims, what insurers will pay to replace a home without rebuilding and how to catalog losses. The audience of about 60 people, many of them seniors, peppered her with questions.
Andrea Mark, who lost her home, called the presentation “very, very, very useful.”
“You saved us,” she told Gibbs after the session. “You do remarkable work.”
Mark, 73, and her husband Brian, 83, relocated to an apartment in Old Town Pasadena after the fire. They soon discovered the senior center a few blocks away.
The couple work out in the gym, attend classical music lectures and take yoga classes. “It’s been very good for us,” Andrea Mark said. “People are very kind and patient. It’s been a really difficult journey to grapple with starting over, especially at our ages and determining what our next chapter looks like.“
The Alis, who stayed in the Bahamas for two months until their son found them a new place in Montrose, are also committed to rebuilding. But they fear federal policies on immigration and tariffs will make it harder, with fewer construction workers and higher wood costs.
Washington said her biggest challenge has been the loneliness of starting over at age 83 without her husband of nearly 60 years. She’s grateful for the center’s emotional, social and material support.
“Some things are so deep, I don’t know if they heal,” Washington said. “But you get over it, you go on. And now at least you have the center to help you.”
–TERESA WATANABE
To learn more about the Pasadena Senior Center, please visit, https://www.pasadenaseniorcenter. org/
“Some things are so deep, I don’t know if they heal. But you get over it, you go on.”
» Cynthia Cook, who lost her home in the Eaton Fire, receives support at the Pasadena Senior Center. PHOTOS BY BARBARA DAVIDSON
A group chat turns into a lifeline after the Eaton Fire
together werise again
TOur families are in an emergency too. Why should a company that’s not honoring its contracts walk away with a massive windfall?”
THE WEEK AFTER THE EATON FIRE devastated Altadena, Joy Chen and her pickleball WhatsApp groups began sharing urgent information—everything from temporary housing options to where to find clothes. The conversation quickly expanded, touching on dozens of issues facing survivors, especially insurance claims. As word spread, the group welcomed the broader Altadena community. Today, more than 5,000 residents are connected through the Eaton Fire Survivors Network. With support from the California Community Foundation, Chen’s grassroots effort has drawn national attention and even prompted the California Insurance Commissioner to investigate State Farm’s handling of thousands of insurance claims from wildfire survivors. Chen, a former deputy mayor of Los Angeles, spoke about her effort and future goals of the network.
Within days of the fire, you set up a WhatsApp group. What led you to do that?
The WhatsApp actually started two years before the fire as the pickleball chat of the Altadena Town & Country Club. I was the admin. On January 7, someone typed, “There’s a fire on the mountain!” and just like that, it became our evacuation network.
There was no power that day in Altadena, and as you may know, the official evacuation orders came far too late. Eighteen people died, but none of us. We all got out in time.
The next morning, the club was gone, half our homes were gone, and everyone was displaced. Hotels were full, Airbnb’s were booked, and finding someplace to sleep became our first crisis. Our WhatsApp morphed into a hub for information and support. I renamed it and we started inviting everyone we knew, because no one should have to face this trauma alone.
The EFSN is now a community of 5,000 strong—by, for, and led by survivors—across Discord, Instagram, and email newsletters. We meet people wherever they are and in whatever technology they prefer.
How did your focus shift to holding insurers accountable?
Because insurers are supposed to treat their policyholders equally, we set up a separate channel for each insurer so everyone could trade notes. When one person got something approved, they’d post proof, and everyone else could push their adjuster for the same thing.
By March, I had this shocking realization: whether a family was getting back on their feet or sinking deeper into trauma mostly came down to one thing—who their insurer was. Some families, like ours, were moving steadily through their claims. Others were drowning in problems like rotating adjusters, ridiculously lowball estimates, claims that never moved forward, and denials that lawyers kept saying were flatout illegal.
The worst issues were blowing up in our State Farm and California FAIR Plan channels. Meantime, I saw in the news that State Farm was pursuing a massive “emergency” rate hike.
I thought: Our families are in an emergency too. Why should a company that’s not honoring its contracts walk away with a massive windfall?
So, what did you do about it?
With help from Christian Esperias at the Department of Angels, I drafted a letter to Insurance Commissioner Lara asking him to defer the rate hike until State Farm paid survivors what it owed. I built a public sign-on form, and added a text box where people could add a message.
Within days, my inbox was flooding with hundreds of gut-wrenching accounts of financial devastation, severe health effects, families out $100,000 or more while State Farm stalled. I thought, “I can’t be the only person to see these stories,” so I built a second web page to publish them. Then we held a press conference where survivors shared their stories with extraordinary courage.
What was the response?
Our first press conference reached 36 million Americans. Since then, news coverage exploded: over 250 stories across print, TV, and digital media. We secured champions like Senator Sasha Renée Pérez. We’ve already secured over $43 million in payouts from State Farm, as they quietly paid claims to survivors we put on TV, and expanded payout policies under our pressure.
But now, the Commissioner says he’s in no rush to finish the investigation, and State Farm is already seeking another massive rate hike this October. So, our work isn’t done.
Do you feel survivors have a chance against the very powerful insurance industry?
There’s no question: the insurance industry is one of California’s most powerful lobbies. They spend millions each year to influence state leaders. And there is a huge power imbalance between a multibillion-dollar company and any one family trying to survive.
We never wanted this fight. None of us asked to battle our insurers while trying to protect our kids and get our lives back together. But they’ve delayed, denied and lowballed and left us no choice but to stand up.
When 5,000 survivors come together, that imbalance starts to shift. Advocates tell us that never before have regulators been forced to confront a major insurer because ordinary people demanded it. That matters—not just for us, but for millions of policyholders who need to know it’s possible to hold these companies accountable.
–GILIEN SILSBY
To learn more about the Eaton Fire Survivors Network, please visit https://www.efsurvivors.net
» Joy Chen has brought about 5,000 Altadena neighbors together to push for insurance payments. PHOTO BY PETER HONG
Amigos
de los Rios aims to protect the area’s biodiversity
saving Altadena’s beloved trees
TTHE EDWARDS-GOODMAN FAMILY’S towering 30-foot oak isn’t just a tree—it’s family.
When the Army Corps of Engineers later recommended removing the oak, the EdwardsGoodman family fought to save it. Now, they’re racing against time to keep it alive.
That’s where Amigos de los Rios—the Emerald Necklace Group—comes in. With support from the California Community Foundation, the Altadena-based nonprofit has mobilized staff and volunteers to water and care for trees like the Edwards-Goodman’s oak. It’s offering a lifeline for beloved trees that have stood through generations and provide much-needed shade. The goal is to water 6,000 trees this summer.
On our way home after the fire, we knew the house was gone, but we were just hoping against hope that the tree survived.”
Planted more than 80 years ago, the oak was one of the reasons they chose their Altadena home. Its sweeping branches became the backdrop for countless music parties, quiet afternoon reading sessions and candlelit dinners under the stars. Their children climbed to its highest branches. In the family’s 12 years in their home, the oak became the centerpiece of their backyard.
When the Eaton Fire swept through their neighborhood six months ago, reducing their home and belongings to ash, the family was devastated. But amid the heartbreak, they were relieved to find the old oak still standing. “On our way home after the fire, we knew the house was gone, but we were just hoping against hope that the tree survived,” Julia Edwards said. “We lost 11 trees, but miraculously, the oak was still there.”
“Altadena is known for its beautiful mature trees and biodiversity,” said Claire Robinson, managing director of Amigos de los Rios. “We need to do everything we can to save what we have remaining. We are desperate for volunteers and funding.”
Robinson and her team hope to protect the 10,000 remaining trees in Altadena. There were once 28,000; about half were destroyed in the fire, and another 4,000 were cut down during debris removal. “Normally, oak trees and other varieties don’t require regular summer waterings, but because they are strained due to the fire, many will die if not watered,” Robinson said.
Landscaping professionals from Altadena Green, a grassroots organization that protects Altadena’s tree canopy, and several Occidental College students are volunteering for the effort. The students include Fin Ashenmiller and Graham Luethe. Ashenmiller, who grew up in Eagle Rock, watched the flames roar through the mountains above Altadena on January 7. “It was
» The Amigos de los Rios team works to identify which oak trees will need to be watered.
Altadena
is known for its beautiful mature trees and biodiversity. We need to do everything we can to save what we have remaining.”
so terrible to watch,” she said. “It’s nice to help now with watering these amazing trees.”
The crew uses a 300-gallon water tank, filled four to five times per day, to nourish up to a dozen trees each day. Some trees—like the Edwards-Goodman’s oak—require as much as 200 gallons per visit, while smaller ones may need only 10 gallons. Watering is done carefully around the drip line, the area beneath a tree’s canopy, to mimic natural rainfall and avoid damaging the trunk.
“We are delivering between 1,200 and 1,500 gallons of water per day to about 50 families, and we expect that to grow. We’re now nourishing about 50 trees per day, but we need to triple this capacity to reach every tree in need,” Robinson said.
The Edwards-Goodman family appreciates the care and commitment Amigos de los Rios is showing their tree. “They are filling this gap
because the to-do lists are so long, and they’re filled with so many complicated procedures that we need to educate ourselves about—from insurance, permitting and finding a contractor, all these things are so complicated,” Edwards said. “And now that the weather turned hotter, I thought, oh my gosh. What about our trees?
“It’s been hard enough, so I’m just so grateful that the trees are taken care of.”
Robinson is still desperate for more help with the tree-rescue project. “The presence of nature is so important for Altadena. We are predicting it’ll cost $1.7 million to save the trees, which sounds like a lot of money, but it’s really not when you think of what has been lost and what we need to save.”
To learn more about the Amigos de los Rios, please visit https://amigosdelosrios.org/
–GILIEN SILSBY
» (left) Watering mimics natural rainfall. (right) Claire Robinson, Brittany Schiefer and Marian Coensgen of Amigos de los Rios carefully check maps of oaks that need watering. ALL PHOTOS BY BARBARA DAVIDSON
college dreams survive
LLIKE SO MANY OTHERS, Alejandra Surias saw her world turn upside down on Jan. 7.
What do you need? How can I help?”
As fast-moving flames tore through Eaton Canyon, the Pasadena High School senior fled her home with her family in the dead of night. Thick smoke clogged the air, hampering her vision and breathing. Howling winds tore down tree branches.
When she returned to survey the damage, Alejandra began to cry. The Altadena apartment building she had lived in her entire life was unlivable, with the windows blown out and ash everywhere. Schools had shut down, disrupting her daily routine. Her mother and father were
shell-shocked as they searched for a place to live with their two children and two dogs, moving from a relative’s house to a hotel to a motel.
Two weeks later, Alejandra’s phone rang. It was Karla Ramos, a program coordinator with College Access Plan (CAP), a Pasadena-based nonprofit that provides no-cost services to help underserved students beginning in fifth grade prepare for college. What do you need? How can I help? Ramos asked Alejandra.
In those devastating days after the fire, Ramos and CAP staff would go well beyond their role as college planning specialists helping
» College Access Plan is helping Katarine Hart (left) appeal for more college financial aid. It also helped Alejandra Surias (right) and her family find temporary housing after the Eaton Fire. PHOTOS BY BARBARA DAVIDSON
I love this program so much. They’ve been really super duper helpful and have given me so much support.”
A Pasadena nonprofit keeps teens on track despite trauma
students explore careers, review transcripts, research campuses and assist with applications and financial aid. They provided a vital lifeline of financial, emotional and mental support to Alejandra and hundreds of other students whose lives were upended by the Eaton Fire.
With help from the California Community Foundation, the program connected Alejandra’s family with several resources, including grocery gift cards from the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Foundation and other donors and a suitcase filled with a tablet, air purifier, face masks and candy—along with $10,000—from Letters Charity, a Chicago nonprofit. The funding, which Alejandra said moved her mother to tears, helped the family secure a new apartment in Arcadia.
Ca’Leah King, a parent, said the program has been a godsend to her and her son, Evan Wade. Evan joined the program in middle school and is a member of I Heart College, which supports CAP alumni through college. Evan now attends UC Berkeley.
King said the wildfires forced them to flee their Altadena apartment. CAP staff connected them with grocery gift cards, a $1,000 donation and apartment listings.
“They’ve been there for us—they’re like family,” King said.
Mo Hyman, the program’s executive director, said 82% of the 1,700 students the program serves were impacted by the fires. She estimated that at least 100 students lost their homes while the others were displaced.
As Pasadena Unified School District sites remained shuttered for weeks, Hyman and her staff switched into overdrive to help school administrators contact students, assess their needs and distribute donations. After connecting with students, they learned that the wildfires had created new challenges.
Families who had lost homes, cars, jobs and other sources of security needed to file appeals for more financial aid. They include Katarine and Matthew Hart, twin siblings who graduated from John Muir High School and now attend the University of Hawaii. But after the wildfires
destroyed their family’s home, the annual $38,000 cost of attendance per student is a bigger stretch to afford.
Hyman’s biggest concern is the toll the fires have taken on the students’ mental health. “I’m concerned there will be a trauma cliff,” Hyman said. “We’re going to see massive trauma impacts in the next several years and those will impact educational choices.”
Hyman and Kathleen Parent started the College Access Plan in 2006 to address the gap in college preparation and enrollment among Pasadena public school students who are low-income and the first in their families to attend college.
The program serves elementary, middle and high school students in the Pasadena Unified School District. It also serves high school students in the Hacienda La Puente School District. Staff members have developed curriculum that includes information about colleges, financial aid, essays, resumes, “brag sheets,” careers, majors and transcript reviews.
About 98% of seniors who attend at least three sessions—either visiting the program centers on campus or taking a course on college fundamentals or essay writing—advance to postsecondary education. Four-fifths of them graduate or remain enrolled in college over six years, Hyman said.
Alejandra credits Ramos and other CAP staff for helping her turn around a slow start in high school and gain confidence, leadership skills and entry into a path toward a well-paying career in the health services. She attends Cypress College and is studying to become an ultrasound technician.
“I love this program so much,” she said. “They’ve been really super duper helpful and have given me so much support.”
–TERESA WATANABE
To learn more about the College Access Plan, please visit https://collegeaccessplan.org/
a harvest from the ashes
FFOR 52 YEARS, HUNDREDS OF GARDENERS worked the earth at the Altadena Community Garden to grow fruit, vegetables and flowers. Now they tend its soil to regrow their community.
When the Eaton Fire swept through Altadena in January, it destroyed places where residents gathered to build friendships, including the Altadena Community Garden.
The fire consumed a shed, damaged tools and scorched the garden’s 84 plots. Even areas that escaped flames were blanketed in toxic ash. Pollutants seeped into the once-fertile earth.
Of the garden’s 120 members, 62 lost their homes. But gardening is part of who they are, and they’re not giving up. They’ll rebuild what they lost—and they intend to come back stronger.
“These people are my community,” said Mary McGilvray, vice president of the nonprofit that runs the garden, as volunteers rolled wheelbarrows across the bare expanse during a Saturday community event.
The event drew a visit from Toni Bailey-Raines, daughter of Al Bailey, one of the Altadena residents who founded the garden in the 1970s. Bailey-Raines shared stories from her father, a
chemical and mechanical engineer with a green thumb. The garden represents the diversity and spirit of Altadena, she said. Watching volunteers restore it gives her hope.
“This is therapeutic for me,” she said.
Community volunteers have regularly joined forces with gardeners on weekends. Their goal: to bring back toxin-free soil. The healing process is underway thanks to support from neighbors, businesses and philanthropy—including a California Community Foundation grant.
The gardeners are also getting help from some powerful allies: mushrooms.
Mushrooms are a clean-up crew for polluted environments. That’s the idea behind mycoremediation—using fungi to neutralize environmental contaminants. Certain mushrooms and their root-like networks, called mycelium, can break down or absorb harmful substances in soil. Mycelium produces powerful enzymes and acids that break down complex molecules, like the chemicals in ash.
The Altadena Community Garden’s leaders chose oyster mushrooms to “digest” contaminants and break them into harmless compounds, much like mushrooms decompose wood.
“This is the largest mushroom remediation project I’ve ever been involved in,” said Joe Nagy, president of the garden’s nonprofit. To transform the land, Nagy immersed himself in remediation techniques, reaching out to L.A. organizations like SoilWise and Metabolic Studio for their expertise.
The gardeners began remediation as soon as they could safely return in April. But they couldn’t simply drop mushrooms into the soil. The EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers first cleared debris and removed about four inches of contaminated topsoil. The gardeners then had the remaining soil tested for toxins.
Volunteers laid down new earth and 525 cubic yards of compost. They mixed in mycelium donated by a Long Beach grower and covered
Nature heals the Altadena Community Garden
» Volunteers restore the fire-charred garden.
Our goal is to get our gardeners back to gardening in January. We need it. We need this place back.”
the soil with straw to preserve moisture. Two months later, they would test again for toxins.
Neighboring organizations that suffered in the Eaton Fire are helping. After the Altadena campus of the Pasadena Waldorf School was destroyed, the school gave its felled tree trunks to the garden. A neighbor brought a mill to cut the wood into chunks, which gardeners placed on the soil to encourage mushroom growth along an edge of the 2.5-acre property, where chemicals from burned homes had seeped in.
McGilvray walked along that stretch, pointing out sunflowers, squash and potato seedlings sprouting near a chain-link fence. The gardeners planted them, she said, because they’re potent tools in a technique called phytoremediation.
Phytoremediation uses plants to remove, neutralize or stabilize contaminants—a natural partner to mycoremediation. Sunflowers are especially powerful: They can draw out heavy metals like arsenic. After the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, sunflowers were planted to help remove radioactive cesium and strontium from soil and ponds.
At the Altadena Community Garden, the sunflowers stand as a reminder of the lush plants that once thrived there—a sign of hope and progress. As mushrooms spurt across the property and squash seedlings spread thick leaves skyward, the gardeners prepare to install a new irrigation system, followed by planter boxes.
Just as Altadena rebuilds, hoping to retain its unique character, so do the farmers of the Altadena Community Garden.
“Our goal is to get our gardeners back to gardening in January,” McGilvray said. “We need it. We need this place back.”
–ALICIA DI RADO
To learn more about the Altadena Community Garden, please visit https://www.altadenacommunitygarden.com/
» (top) Altadena Community Garden board members invest countless hours remediating the earth. (bottom) Plants are beginning to emerge from soil that is being cleansed and renewed. PHOTOS BY ALICIA DI RADO
helping hands to make their case
TDisaster Relief Clinic was born out of necessity— first as a series of pop-up legal aid events after the January wildfires and later as a formal program with staff attorneys and law students.
Much of the Disaster Relief Clinic’s probono work focuses on guiding traumatized fire survivors through complex applications and appeals. Among the most common issues are disputes with FEMA and insurance companies: Survivors often face denials or insufficient payouts at a time when they are least equipped to advocate for themselves.
“Most people can understand insurance, banking, mortgages, leases and all the stuff you have to do now,” Jeff Baker, clinical law professor at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, said earlier this year. “What most people can’t do well is to do all of that at once while you’re under incredible stress, while you are trying to survive and caring for your families and going to work.”
The California Community Foundation supported the clinic with a grant from its Wildfire Recovery Fund earlier this year.
THE PEPPERDINE CARUSO SCHOOL OF LAW
» John Bellizzi and Francesca Scorsone lost their Malibu home in the Palisades Fire. PHOTO BY BARBARA DAVIDSON
“What most people can’t do well is to do all of that at once while you’re under incredible stress, while you are trying to survive and caring for your families and going to work.”
Pepperdine Disaster Relief Clinic provides free legal services to hundreds of fire survivors
The clinic has served more than 300 clients since the January wildfires, providing roughly $400,000 worth of pro-bono services to them according to a Pepperdine spokesperson. The clinic has helped clients recover at least $750,000 in FEMA aid and clients have recouped millions of dollars in insurance payouts, the spokesperson said.
When Francesca Scorsone and John Bellizzi first saw the smoke from the Palisades Fire, they thought it was too far away to reach their Malibu home. They packed up quickly, only grabbing a small bag before evacuating to their son’s place in Orange County.
The next morning, they noticed their garage Ring camera had gone dark. Then a neighbor shared an aerial photo that confirmed their worst fears: their home was destroyed. In fact, only one house in their cul-de-sac survived the fire.
“It was devastating,” Scorsone said. “You try and focus on the positive, but you start thinking about all the things that you left behind.”
The couple’s ordeal was just beginning. The home was insured through the California FAIR Plan, a last-resort insurance option for folks living in high-risk fire areas like Malibu and the Santa Monica Mountains. The initial insurance settlement offer was far below what was needed to rebuild, the couple said.
Seeking help, they reached out to the Disaster Relief Clinic. The staff there provided guidance, helping them draft effective responses to the claims adjuster and navigate the complex insurance process.
“It was pretty much a lot of hand holding, which you kind of need at that point in time,” Scorsone said.
With the clinic’s support, the couple was able to secure the full policy payout from their insurance company. And the pro bono legal work also helped save them thousands of dollars in legal fees, she said.
“We couldn’t have done it without them,” Scorsone said. “They guided us in the right direction and with the right words.”
In this way, the Disaster Relief Clinic has become a lifeline for survivors seeking free legal help as they rebuild their lives.
There are currently 10 students enrolled in the class for the clinic, with each one helping clients and learning how best to practice law. The Pepperdine law school also hired two staff attorneys who represent fire survivors.
The clinic is led by director and adjunct law professor David DeJute, whose own life was upended by the Woolsey Fire in 2018. The wildfire destroyed parts of his Malibu property and left his family underinsured. The experience inspired him to lead the clinic’s efforts when wildfires struck again this year.
“I felt an obligation to give back and pay forward a little bit,” DeJute said.
Scorsone and Bellizzi are now renting an apartment near their grandchildren in Orange County. They remain grateful for the support they received and are planning to rebuild their Malibu home off of Las Flores Canyon Road.
“We consider ourselves lucky because we have the capability and the resources to be able to do this,” Scorsone said.
–BEN POSTON
To learn more about the Pepperdine Legal Clinic, please visit https://law.pepperdine.edu/ experiential-learning/clinical-education/clinics/ legal-aid-clinic/
speaking their language
Amid immigration crackdowns, CIELO connects Indigenous residents to friends, food and necessities
TWe
try to ration what we get. We’ve really been affected.”
THE YOUNG MOTHER with a four-month-old baby strapped on her back has not been able to afford any meat for her family of four for weeks. That’s because her husband is too fearful to leave his home every day for his restaurant job after federal immigration agents launched raids in Los Angeles in June, instilling widespread terror in the community.
Since then, the family’s weekly income has plunged by nearly half, to about $400 a week. They no longer go out to eat. The mother, Andrea, said she is too scared to go grocery shopping—and their anxiety has deepened since her husband’s friend was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
“We try to ration what we get,” Andrea said in her native language of K’iche’, a Mayan language popularly spoken in the western highlands of Guatemala. “We’ve really been affected.”
But on a recent afternoon, Andrea received a box of food—stuffed with fresh produce
and a big bag of chicken—at a safe space she and other Indigenous people in Los Angeles have come to rely on: Comunidades Indígenas en Liderazgo (CIELO). The nonprofit, supported by grants from the California Community Foundation, works with Indigenous communities to fight for language rights, cultural preservation, access to food and other essentials.
As ICE raids sow fear and depression throughout communities, CIELO has met the moment with home deliveries of food, online mental health workshops and social gatherings to bring solace and sustenance to Indigenous residents—many of whom already struggle with isolation. Indigenous immigrants in L.A. County speak 37 or so different languages and aren’t necessarily fluent in English or Spanish.
A grant from the CCF Los Angeles Neighbors Support Fund assists CIELO’s weekly distribution of food, which is provided by Food Forward and the World Harvest Food Bank, along with other acute needs.
“There’s always this constant fear people have that immigration is just on the block or they’re coming,” said Janet Martinez, who co-founded CIELO with her mother, Odilia Romero, in 2016. “There’s a deep sense of insecurity in the city because of the terror that we’ve been living through.”
The need for food assistance dwarfs the resources. CIELO has a list of about 5,500 community members; reservations for the weekly food boxes close in just a few hours.
But volunteers noted a drop off in the number of people who came by to pick up their boxes that day—dipping to 135 compared with the usual number of 200 or so. To ease any anxieties, CIELO has started some home food deliveries and provided other essential items, such as diapers, that people are running short
» CIELO co-founders Odilia Romero and Janet Martinez.
on because they aren’t shopping as much. The group also has begun offering online mental health workshops.
One community member, for instance, said he used to relax on the bus ride home after work, catching up on sleep, but is too scared to doze off now in case immigration agents were to come onboard.
“People are so scared, we have to think of creative new ways to serve,” Martinez said.
The impact of CIELO’s work was evident—not only materially but also emotionally—at the recent food distribution at the organization’s new center in South L.A. One volunteer said he regularly comes to help out in between his thrice-weekly kidney dialysis appointments because the social interaction with those who speak his Indigenous language of Yucatec Maya boosts his spirits.
Pedro takes two buses to come to the center—recently bringing two of his six children he is raising alone. A migrant from the Huehuetenango area of Guatemala who speaks Q’anjob’al, Pedro came to Los Angeles in 2008 and found a job in the garment industry sewing shirts, earning enough money to send back home and buy land.
When his wife walked out a few years ago, leaving him with the children who now range in age from four to 16, he was depressed and distraught. But he began to come to CIELO and the companionship and support has helped him turn his outlook around.
“It’s really good when I’m here because I can speak in my language,” Pedro said. “I’m very happy.”
–TERESA WATANABE
To learn more about CIELO, please visit https://mycielo.org/
» CIELO has provided deliveries of food and essential items. PHOTOS BY BARBARA DAVIDSON
» SCOPE volunteers, above and right, package food bags for immigrants afraid to leave their homes. PHOTOS BY
This is not about the politics of the recent events, but their effect on people who have lost a loved one, their source of income, and are terrified.”
PETER HONG
South Los Angeles grassroots network doubles its food delivery following ICE raids
leave no neighborbehind
FFOR YEARS, IRETHA WARMSLEY has volunteered with Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE), packaging bags filled with bread, corn, chili, spaghetti sauce and other essentials for neighbors in need.
Since the ICE raids swept through Los Angeles County in June, much of that food has gone to immigrants who are too afraid to shop for groceries, pick up prescriptions, or even go to work.
As she assembled another set of packages, Warmsley reflected on how the raids, for her, are personal. “I’m old school—I don’t like people being treated with racism, and that’s exactly what we’re dealing with. As a Black woman, I know firsthand what discrimination is. Now, they’re targeting the Latino community and using them as scapegoats. What they’re doing is tearing families apart.”
SCOPE is among several nonprofit partners the California Community Foundation supports through its new L.A. Neighbors Support Fund. The fund is delivering relief amid a humanitarian crisis caused by the immigration raids in Los Angeles County. Grants from the fund enable organizations to quickly scale up their support for communities that need it the most.
“This is not about the politics of the recent events, but their effect on people who have lost a loved one, their source of income, and are terrified,” said CCF President and CEO Miguel A. Santana.
Santana said the fund is meant to stabilize communities and aid families in the same way previous CCF funds have helped during the pandemic, wildfires and other crises and disasters. “When stores, schools and streets empty out, vibrant neighborhoods become
ghost towns. Fear sets off a cycle of despair. This is about Angelenos helping Angelenos,” he added.
That was clearly on display recently when SCOPE volunteers and staff members gathered to deliver food to 100 families—up from 45 before the ICE raids.
The volunteers meet at SCOPE’s South Los Angeles office to fill bags with grocery staples and set aside boxes of diapers for families with infants. They are given a paper list of households for their deliveries—which they destroy when they are finished to protect the confidentiality of the people.
Many of those who need food are too afraid to answer the door so the bags are left outside, said Ernie Serrano, a SCOPE staff member. “I’ve had conversations with people who say they’ve been here 20 years, and they’re afraid. Their kids were born here. It’s crazy to think we’re in 2025 and this is happening.”
–GILIEN SILSBY
To learn more about SCOPE, please visit https://scopela.org/
This is about Angelenos helping Angelenos.” “
How The Change Reaction helps fire survivors with direct cash payments
It was just pure,pure giving
“JWe’ve heard from recipients who are saying: ‘You gave us a lifeline. You gave us hope.’”
JUST DAYS AFTER wildfires rocked Los Angeles County, Greg and Jodi Perlman committed $10 million to give direct cash assistance to fire survivors.
By the end of the week, their nonprofit The Change Reaction had assembled a team and was busy handing out $2,500 checks to residents who lost everything.
How was the organization able to move so quickly? Before the fires hit, they were already experts in providing cash assistance, Change Reaction president Wade Trimmer said. Since 2019, they have given direct aid to nearly 40,000 struggling Angelenos.
“We realized we were built for this,” Trimmer said. “We took a quick assessment and said ‘Hey, we know how to get money to people directly. We just need to build a team out who can triage this.’”
The organization stepped in where the government’s slow response to the Eaton and
Palisades Fires left a gap, he said. While aid from public agencies, insurers, or unemployment is sluggish, giving instant financial assistance to fire survivors can be life-changing.
The Sherman Oaks-based nonprofit has given out more than $13.3 million in direct cash aid and helped more than 7,000 families impacted by the January fires. The California Community Foundation supported the organization with a grant from its Wildfire Recovery Fund earlier this year.
“We’ve heard from recipients who are saying: ‘You gave us a lifeline. You gave us hope. You restored our faith in God. You restored our faith in humanity. We feel seen. We feel loved.’ I mean, that’s really what we’re after,” Trimmer said.
When Elizabeth Jackson’s Pilates studio in the Pacific Palisades was destroyed, she lost her livelihood and all of her exercise equipment. But it was more than that—she lost a “personal, sacred space.”
One of Jackson’s clients is an advisor for The Change Reaction and he told her about an event at the Santa Monica YMCA. She invited some of her studio staff who were also out of work.
In mid-January, they sat with hundreds of fire survivors in the gymnasium as Greg Perlman spoke about the relief effort.
She and her staff members each left with $1,000 in cash assistance that day. She used it for food and toiletries.
“Knowing that people like (Greg Perlman) exist was amazing. It was something I couldn’t give my staff but somebody else could. It was just beyond touching,” said Jackson, 52.
Jackson found a place to rent in Santa Monica in February, but she had no way to earn a living
» Palisades Fire survivor Elizabeth Jackson lost her Pilates studio in the Palisades Fire.
I was just thinking: ‘thank God, thank God. We now have some money to help us to stay afloat until we can just get things organized.”
and serve her clients. That’s when The Change Reaction stepped in again.
In April, she received $10,000 in cash assistance for her business, which allowed her to purchase two key pieces of exercise equipment so she could provide private sessions in her apartment.
“It was just pure, pure giving,” Jackson said.
The Change Reaction was founded in 2019 by the Perlmans after the Encino couple decided to create a fund at UCLA Health to provide financial support to the families of hospitalized patients.
The nonprofit’s Wildfire Direct Giving Fund launched in January with the $10 million gift from the Perlmans. Fire survivors who received cash benefits are vetted and identified through a network of more than 2,000 trusted social workers, teachers and religious leaders, Trimmer said.
That’s how Katherine Anderson, 80, found out about The Change Reaction. She had been
living with her daughter in their west Altadena home that was destroyed in the Eaton Fire.
Anderson’s church, Lifeline Fellowship Christian, was also destroyed. In early February, her pastor told her to come to a Change Reaction event in the gymnasium of Pasadena City College where she might receive financial relief.
No application was required, and she was handed an envelope with a check on the same day. She had no idea how much it was worth.
As she walked outside, she opened the envelope. She was floored when she saw a check for $2,500.
“I was just thinking: ‘thank God, thank God. We now have some money to help us to stay afloat until we can just get things organized.’ This was just overwhelming,” Anderson said.
–BEN POSTON
To learn more about The Change Reaction, please visit https://www.changereaction.org/
» Katherine Anderson, 80, walks with her daughter, Yvette, on their West Altadena property. PHOTOS BY BARBARA DAVIDSON
pushing back pulling together,
MMIRIAM AND EDGAR FLED TO LOS ANGELES last year, seeking protection from persecution they say they faced in their home country of Colombia. But when their asylum petition was denied at a court hearing in July, immigration agents were waiting outside to detain them.
The married couple in their 50s are being kept in separate detention facilities—Miriam in Adelanto and Edgar in Florence, Arizona. Their family is especially anxious about their frail health, as Miriam is a two-time cancer survivor and Edgar suffers from epilepsy, their daughter, Jenifer, said.
Other families have also received distressing messages from their loved ones who were picked up in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids that began in Los Angeles in June. The detainees have described meager diets, humiliating treatment, illness and depression—which only heightened their families’ anxiety, terror and fear over the raids. Some people have shuttered themselves inside their homes, too frightened to go to work, school or other outside venues.
But about 30 families found solace and strength Saturday, when they gathered with others whose loved ones had also been taken by immigration agents. They came together in person for the first time to build community solidarity, obtain information and learn how to mobilize for change in a daylong event organized by the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA).
The event was held at the California Community Foundation, which has long supported CHIRLA, most recently through its new Los Angeles Neighbors Support Fund. The fund supports community nonprofits to deliver groceries, provide cash for rent and meet other needs during the humanitarian crisis caused by the raids.
Angelica Salas, CHIRLA executive director, said the nonprofit has received more than 1,600
» Families of migrants taken by ICE meet with LA Mayor Karen Bass.
messages about the raids and more than 1,000 requests for direct assistance in partnership with the Immigrant Defenders Law Center.
At the in-person gathering, the families met with activists, legal experts and elected officials.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass reassured them with a strong pledge of support: “I just want you to know that the city stands behind you,” she said. “Los Angeles has your back.”
only to build a good life for their families and they expressed bewilderment, anger and anguish that they were now suddenly gone.
Our strength is based on…every one of you who are here, because no one knows what you’re going through more than you.”
Speakers presented information about the legal and political process. Families also learned how successful organizing scored wins in California, including in-state tuition, financial aid and drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants. Hearing that, the audience chanted “Si se puede!”
The families were repeatedly told that their voice matters in a big way.
“Our strength is based on…every one of you who are here, because no one knows what you’re going through more than you,” Salas told them. “You are the people who have to educate and make others understand why what you’re experiencing is a great injustice and why we have to do everything possible so that nothing like that happens to other people.”
Most importantly, the families connected with each other. They cried together. They shared mementos of their loved ones—a grey t-shirt, a brown hat. They told stories of husbands and parents and brothers and cousins who wanted
At first, Mary, a U.S. citizen, had refused to believe that her husband Jose had been picked up by immigration agents at his Whittier car wash. But when day turned to night and she had not heard from him, Mary began to worry. After 10 days, he finally called from a Santa Ana detention facility, shaken and tearful.
Her world collapsed as fears flooded her: Where would he end up? How would he be treated? How would she finally and emotionally survive without her life partner, a kind and generous man who always gave her flowers, perfume, ice cream and other treats?
“My husband means everything to me,” she said. “What am I going to do?”
CCF President and CEO Miguel A. Santana said in an environment of fear and trauma, engaging with others can be affirming for vulnerable people.
“When those who may not have a lot of money or status work together, they see they can improve their own situations, and even change the laws and systems that may be working against them,” he said.
–TERESA WATANABE
To learn more about CHIRLA, please visit https://www.chirla.org/
» Immigrant families come together in person for the first time to build solidarity and support amid ICE raids terrifying their community.
PHOTOS BY BARBARA DAVIDSON
cominghome
Fire cleanup allows dozens of displaced seniors to return home
MMONTHS AFTER EVACUATING from the Palisades Fire, Lena Latiff recently returned to her beloved Casa Gateway affordable housing community overlooking Sunset Boulevard.
“I keep thanking God I’m home,” said Latiff, 70. “I didn’t think it was going to happen for more than a year. But then they came in and did the work for us, which is a big blessing.”
“Today is about celebrating seniors and families returning home and restoring stability, peace of mind, and hope for a community that has been through an unimaginable year,” Bass said.
Santana said the project addresses a common issue facing thousands of fire survivors: While Casa Gateway residents didn’t lose their homes, they couldn’t safely return until their units were cleaned.
“What we are here for is to fill in a gap,” Santana said. “The investment that we were able to make made the difference between an apartment being empty and being cleaned up so people can move back into their units. And that is what’s going to be needed. It’s going to require all of us to come together, to support one another.”
I keep thanking God I’m home. I didn’t think it was going to happen for more than a year. But then they came in and did the work for us, which is a big blessing.”
Latiff was referring to crews who cleaned up dozens of units that sustained smoke and ash damage. The project was made possible by several nonprofit organizations supported by grants from the California Community Foundation (CCF).
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass joined CCF President and CEO Miguel Santana, L.A. City Councilmember Traci Park and other leaders to celebrate the reopening of Casa Gateway, a residential complex of 100 low- and fixedincome housing units for seniors and families in Pacific Palisades.
The cleanup project shows what’s possible when government, philanthropy, and community solve problems together, Bass said.
The nonprofit group The Change Reaction provided initial funding to clean the building’s attic space and insulation from harmful smoke damage. Work crews hired by CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) were then able to enter the units to clean walls, ceilings and floors to eliminate soot, ash, and potential residues of lead or other hazardous materials. Both nonprofit organizations received grants from CCF’s Wildfire Recovery Fund.
In August, after learning of a remaining need, the Department of Angels stepped in with $100,000 in last-mile funding so the final barriers to return could be cleared—from repairing walls and irrigation systems to clearing 6 inches of mud left by a post-fire mudslide.
CCF co-founded the Department of Angels with Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel earlier this year to make sure that fire survivors’ voices and needs remained central to the recovery efforts.
In the end, the project resulted in the remediation of 38 senior units and 12 family units, removal of mud and debris surrounding the senior building, attic insulation replacement,
» Lena Latiff, 70, was able to return to her apartment in Casa Gateway this summer after it was cleaned of smoke and ash damage.
hallway repainting and flooring replacement of the senior building. To complete the project, CORE relied on work crews from the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.
Because of this work, the remaining displaced seniors and families can move back home.
Down the hall from Latiff, Casa Gateway resident Julia Winter, 77, returned to her condo in the Palisades this summer after work crews cleaned it of ash and smoke. Winter said the remediation effort saved her thousands of dollars.
“I did not pay a cent. I was just totally stunned and grateful,” Winter said.
Across the burn zone, many survivors are still waiting to return home. The Department of Angels’ most recent survey data shows that in nearby Pacific Palisades, only 11% of residents are back home; and in Altadena, just 22%.
In light of those sobering numbers, Santana said that CCF is here “for the long term.”
“CCF has been around for 110 years, and we plan to be around as long as it takes until every single Angeleno is back at home,” he said.
Bass praised Santana for his leadership on fire recovery, for co-founding the Department of Angels and for supporting nonprofits that collaborated to complete the Casa Gateway cleanup project.
She thanked him for “always immediately coming to the fore to say: ‘What do we need and how do I use my helm at the California Community Foundation to help?’” Bass said.
–BEN POSTON
To learn more about CORE, please visit https://www.coreresponse.org/
» CCF President and CEO Miguel Santana joined other leaders to celebrate the reopening of Casa Gateway, an affordable housing complex in Pacific Palisades.
giving relief while rebuilding
FFOR JIM KIRTLEY, executive director of the Palisades-Malibu YMCA, the most painful part of losing the building in January’s wildfires was missing daily interactions with 600 members, 25 staffers and even the passersby he regularly greeted on the street.
“I didn’t lose my home, but I lost my home as far as where I work,” said Kirtley, who has been with the Y for 19 years, nine of them in the Palisades. “I had years of dreaming of things, creating programs, meeting people, saying goodbye to people and meeting new people. It’s been hard.”
When the building burned, the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles moved quickly to
help Palisades-Malibu YMCA members, those affected by the Eaton Fire and others displaced by the tragedy. The organization launched a campaign to provide emergency services and community healing that continues today.
Emergency childcare for displaced families and first responders came first, followed by hygiene kits, clothing, laptops and furniture. The Y distributed more than a million pounds of food and about 750,000 pounds of clothing. It also gave out more than 3,000 emergency access passes for free use of YMCA facilities. Palisades-Malibu members moved their memberships to nearby Ys, while displaced
» (left) Hamish Milne, 18, who lost his home and high school in the fire, now works at the Westchester YMCA. (right) Jim Kirtley, the Executive Director of the Palisades-Malibu YMCA, at the cleared site of the Y destroyed by the Palisades Fire. PHOTOS BY BARBARA DAVIDSON
I had years of dreaming of things, creating programs, meeting people, saying goodbye to people and meeting new people. It’s been hard.”
families received free memberships and waived fees for day and sleepaway camps.
Teens have always been a big part of the Palisades Y, which shares its gym and pool with Palisades High School. Many students participate in the California YMCA Youth & Government program, which includes a trip to Sacramento to learn how bills are created. After the fire, the Y provided 715 scholarships for student delegates, including 70 from the Palisades-Malibu Y.
One month after the fires, about 200 members gathered at the Collins & Katz Family Y in Brentwood for a reunion filled with “hugs, tears and smiles,” Kirtley said. Guests received gift cards, stuffed animals, clothing and toiletries, along with a sign-up for generators and details on accessing free furniture.
Continuing support at area Ys includes food distribution, home deliveries, art therapy, wellness programs and licensed social workers offering mental health checks. A citywide Community Healing Dinner is also being planned.
“Our goal is to make sure affected families feel supported,” said Christina Bragg, senior director of marketing and communications for the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles. She credited the Y’s philanthropic partners, including the California Community Foundation, which quickly provided two grants.
In the six months since the fires, the Los Angeles Y has supported more than 90,000 people and families affected by the Palisades and Eaton Fires. The organization now plans to transform existing facilities into permanent community resilience hubs for disaster preparedness, resource distribution and wellness services.
The Palisades-Malibu Y will rebuild, though decisions on location and design are still being made. The Simon Meadow site, which sustained minor fire damage, will house a “nextgeneration” facility after a capital campaign. The
Via de la Paz site may also be rebuilt, depending on community input and available funds from insurance and FEMA.
In the meantime, all Palisades staffers who wanted to continue working have been placed at other YMCAs—even part-timers. One of them is 18-year-old Hamish Milne, a Palisades High student who lost his home, school and the Y where he exercised and worked behind the front desk.
“The Y gym in the Palisades was our home,” Milne said. “I was there every day for two years. I’d see all my friends there.”
Initially unsure if he wanted to work at a Y again, Milne found comfort when he entered the Westchester Family YMCA and sat behind the desk. “Everything good ended up coming back to me,” he said. “It was the exact same vibe.”
After months of remote learning, Milne and his classmates finished the school year on a temporary Santa Monica campus. “Everybody just came together instead of sticking in their old small friend groups,” he said. “It was beautiful.”
About 15 Palisades teens joined the Westchester Y, with others moving to Collins & Katz and Culver-Palms. To help them feel connected, Kirtley brought flags featuring the Pacific Palisades dolphin logo and the words “Don’t Quit” to each location.
“When Palisades Y members come in,” Kirtley said, “they have a little sense of home.”
–ALLISON ENGEL
To learn more about the Palisades-Malibu YMCA, please visit https://www.ymcala.org/locations/ palisades-malibu-ymca/
Department of Angels empowers and advocates for survivors
empowering recovery
IIN THE AFTERMATH of the devastating Eaton and Palisades Fires, a new force for recovery and advocacy emerged in Los Angeles: the Department of Angels.
It all started with a conversation between California Community Foundation President and CEO Miguel A. Santana and Evan Spiegel, CEO and co-founder of Snap, Inc., who agreed there should be a civic-minded response to the wildfires.
The first step was to talk to people affected by other major fires around the country. That’s when they learned that survivor empowerment can make a huge difference in recovery efforts.
Inspired by what they learned, Santana and Spiegel in February co-founded the Department of Angels—a network of survivors from fireimpacted areas “who have come together to share their experiences, to aggregate the issues that are most important to them and to ensure that we don’t forget the experiences that survivors are having,” Santana said.
The nonprofit organization is dedicated to amplifying voices of fire survivors and exposing the systemic challenges they face in rebuilding their lives, he said.
Central to the Department of Angels’ mission is a survey—the only one of its kind that focuses on survivors’ voices—directly asking them about their ongoing struggles.
Now in its third iteration, the latest quarterly survey paints a sobering picture: 61% of insured survivors are expected to run out of housing funds within a year,
64% are still waiting for full insurance claims and 35% cannot find affordable housing. Even more concerning, half of those surveyed reported significant mental health challenges, with 36% saying their mental health has worsened since the fires. The survey also shows large disparities in insurance experiences.
“When you’re going through this crisis, you think it’s just you. Then when we survey 2,000 people, you realize: This is bigger. This is systemic. These are real issues that our fellow Angelenos are confronting, and we all need to support them,” Santana said.
The research drives public awareness and policy change and the Department of Angels uses these findings to advocate for survivors at every level, from local government to Congress, he said.
Rob Jernigan, a long-time Pacific Palisades resident, said the fire there upended his life and that his California FAIR Plan insurance has been inadequate. He still struggles with the uncertainty and stress of rebuilding and worries about skyrocketing insurance costs.
Jernigan applauded the Department of Angels for bringing him together with other survivors and fostering community leadership. He co-founded Team Palisades, a grassroots group with 25 neighborhood representatives and 150 block captains dedicated to supporting survivors through recovery.
Jernigan joined a delegation of fire survivors from Altadena and the Palisades that traveled to Washington, D.C., in September to meet elected leaders. Their goal was to urge federal support for fire recovery, including a $34 billion funding request. Santana commended Jernigan
When you’re going through this crisis, you think it’s just you. Then when we survey 2,000 people, you realize: This is bigger.”
and his fellow survivors for sharing their stories and making the case for urgent government assistance.
“This is really why the Department of Angels exists. Survivors are really rolling up their sleeves, telling their stories, and insisting that these issues not be ignored, and holding government and insurance companies and others accountable, and fighting for their fellow Angelenos,” Santana said.
Beyond research and advocacy, the Department of Angels is committed to uplifting survivors and also supporting projects that help them return home.
A project in the Pacific Palisades shows how the nonprofit works in local communities. Dozens of seniors and families at the Casa Gateway affordable housing complex were displaced after the fires when their units sustained smoke and ash damage. Work crews
were remediating the complex, but funding was running short.
In August, the Department of Angels stepped in with $100,000 in last-mile funding so the final barriers to return could be cleared, including clearing 6 inches of mud left by a post-fire mudslide. Because of this work, the displaced seniors and families were able to move back home.
“The investment that we were able to make made the difference between an apartment being empty and being cleaned up so people can move back into their units,” Santana said. “And that is what’s going to be needed. It’s going to require all of us to come together, to support one another.”
–BEN POSTON
To learn more about the Department of Angels, please visit https://www.deptofangels.org/
» Fire survivors joined the Department of Angels in September for a Capitol Hill visit to meet with Congressmembers and share their recovery experiences directly.
O we rise together
OUR WORK CONTINUES. Recovery from the wildfires will be a long process for both individuals and communities. Seven out of 10 wildfire survivors have not returned home, and nearly three-quarters say their mental health has gotten worse. More than 60% of survivors will run out of insurance coverage for temporary housing within a year. Immigration raids continue to spread fear in communities and threaten constitutional rights. Federal budget cuts will cause many of our residents with the greatest need to lose healthcare and food assistance.
CCF will continue to step up for our community. We need you to again stand with all of Los Angeles, as much as ever. Together, we will push through today’s headwinds to ensure every Angeleno has an opportunity for a good life.
Board of Directors
David Wheeler Newman Chair
Thomas A. Saenz
Chair Emeritus
Silvia R. Argueta
Kristin J. Ceva
Robert A. Cherry
Elyssa Elbaz
Carol Parry Fox
Alfred Fraijo Jr.
Jeffrey Garcia
Zac Guevara
Tony Hoang
Jihee Huh
Malcolm Johnson
Tamara Keller
Crystal Nix-Hines
Darline P. Robles
Miguel A. Santana
Ian Schapiro
Arturo Sneider
Karim Webb
Daniel G. Weiss
Senior Leadership
Miguel A. Santana
President & Chief Executive Officer
Cielo V. Castro
Chief Impact Officer
Ebe Puplampu
Chief Officer, People, Culture, and Place
Celina Santiago
Chief Officer, Philanthropy
Erin Watkins
Chief Financial Officer
Carol Bradford Worley
General Counsel & Assistant Board Secretary
» (above) Katherine Anderson stands with her daughter at their Altadena property that was destroyed in the Eaton Fire. (below) Pasadena Humane treats a cat injured during the Eaton Fire.
MAKE AN IMPACT
The CCF Impact Fund
FOR 110 YEARS, CCF HAS BEEN THERE WHEN LOS ANGELES NEEDED US MOST from the Great Depression through earthquakes, wildfires and pandemics. When January’s wildfires devastated our communities, we mobilized millions of dollars within weeks, supporting more than 200 trusted nonprofit organizations and thousands of residents. This rapid response was possible because we listen deeply, maintain trusted relationships across the region and understand both the urgent crises and long-term challenges Angelenos face.
Today’s moment demands we act with speed, flexibility and strategic vision. Los Angeles faces intersecting challenges—immigration enforcement destabilizing families, housing costs forcing displacement and climate disasters intensifying. But there is momentum: homelessness is declining, communities are winning reforms and young people are leading change. Angelenos are rising together and philanthropy must move at the speed of crisis and opportunity to protect this progress and accelerate solutions. That’s why CCF created the CCF Impact Fund—enabling us to respond quickly to urgent crises while investing in long-term systems change, all working toward a good life for all in Los Angeles County.
What the CCF Impact Fund Does
The CCF Impact Fund provides rapid, flexible resources across the full range of community needs—including emergency response and direct assistance to education, housing, health, immigrant protection, community organizing, arts and culture, environmental justice and more. When crises intersect, flexible funding is essential.
Join Us
Give to the CCF Impact Fund and trust our experience to deploy your gift where need is greatest. Or designate your area of passion—education, immigration support, housing, health, arts, environmental justice, or wildfire recovery. Give directly through your donor-advised fund, make a new contribution, or include the Impact Fund in your estate plans.
Join us in building a Los Angeles where everyone has the opportunity for a good life.
TO GIVE TO THE IMPACT FUND SCAN QR CODE OR CONTACT: DonorRelations@Calfund.org
