Los Angeles community strives to give wildfire victims a sense of 'normal'
LOS ANGELES — Just a few weeks ago, the 9ThirtyLA venue in the downtown Arts District was being hailed as a stylish venue for events, its wood beams and concrete floors the perfect backdrop for concerts, corporate parties and more.
But after fires began to devastate the Los Angeles area, community organizers and a group of volunteers turned an industrial site into a makeshift shelter, with beds and tables stocked with daily necessities like hygiene products and clothing. With the help of local organizations (LoveChild Hospitality, ANE Foundation, ImpactLA, and AFTP Foundation), the site has become one of countless set up in the area to help wildfire evacuees respond to disasters.
Waseel Amoura, organizer of the 9ThirtyLA venue, said: “The wonderful thing is that our community has so much to offer and we now have a warehouse full of items for those who have just lost everything. For people, this might be a good starting point.”
Feeling helpless as the devastating natural disaster killed at least 24 people and swept through 40,000 acres in the greater Los Angeles area, many Angelenos like Amora rushed to help those in need.
Across every corner of the area, people are organizing events, shopping for essentials and non-essentials, partnering with nonprofits that have served the area for years, and integrating community spaces like the local YMCA and large venues like Santa Anita Park) was transformed into a donation center filled with seemingly endless boxes and boxes of donations waiting to be sorted. Several organizations organized food drives to provide fresh meals and snacks to first responders and evacuees. Others mobilized to create care packages for those in need. Animal shelters and rescue groups are also receiving an influx of donations and volunteers to help support animals sheltered during wildfires. Restaurants continue to provide free meals to first responders, and some are organizing their own donation drives.
Fueled by social media, it's a widespread effort without one clear leader, but with many people – from celebrities and influencers to everyday people – coming together to support it. The city and the area they call home.
Across Los Angeles County, people are amplifying fundraising efforts for wildfire survivors by retweeting posts from organizations and volunteers accepting donations. Many people circulated a regularly updated master spreadsheet of volunteer opportunities created by the Los Angeles Mutual Aid Network, which shares mutual aid efforts and resources. Another popular spreadsheet created by online users has also gone online with similar updates. The “Volunteers Needed” tag at many of these locations quickly turned into “Full Today” as people flocked to offer their help.
Adrienne Nicole Edwards, founder of the ANE Foundation, a homeless outreach organization, said professional volunteers are on hand to provide services such as haircuts and therapy, while real estate agents are also available from Fly in from New York to help people with their new housing needs.
Local real estate agents are also posting on social media to help those who have lost their homes find new rental spaces and help furnish them as they get back on their feet.
At 9ThirtyLA on Monday, dozens of volunteers crowded the trailer door of a just-arrived U-Haul truck filled with donation boxes for evacuees. They unloaded the truck one by one and began sorting everything from cosmetics to bedding.
In the shelter area, new seats were installed on the mattresses with unopened bedding placed on top. The facility also stocks hot meals from local restaurants and has a refrigerator to keep medications cold.
“I just try to make it comfortable. You have to give people their space, plus you have to make room for their personal belongings,” Edwards said, adding: “We have a pallet of brand new sheets so people can choose from . Some people like a certain color scheme, so we just want to give people that sense of normalcy again.”
In Altadena, Los Angeles County, the Eaton Fire has severely impacted the community and many grassroots relief efforts are underway. One of the largest efforts was organized by a 14-year-old middle school student named Avery Colvert, who founded Altadena Girls to help bring education to the area Affected teenage girls collect beauty and hair care products.
Within days, her organization gained viral attention, with celebrities like Paris Hilton and Charli XCX sharing the campaign and visitors like James Charles Come and help. In a social media post on Monday, the Altadena girl showed bins and bags stacked on the street outside the donation site and announced that donations were “full.”
On Monday, several other locals inspired by Colvert formed Altadena Teen Boys Fire Rescue.
The organizations join other existing community efforts, including the Pasadena Community Employment Center, which is recruiting volunteers to clear debris from the streets.
County residents also continue to drop off bags of donations at pop-up locations across the region.
In West Los Angeles, which has been hit hard by the Palisades Fire, wildfire relief efforts at locations like the Westchester Family YMCA have placed piles of clothing, canned goods and other necessities for evacuees to pick up.
Learn more about NBC's coverage of the Los Angeles wildfires:
Baby2Baby, a nonprofit on Culver City's West Side, also said it has been working with “470 partner organizations across Los Angeles County, including schools, shelters and hospitals, to meet the need for essential items.” Over the weekend, the needy Necessities for Kids says it has provided “over one million emergency supplies, including diapers, food, formula, water, to the most vulnerable children and families who lost everything in the Los Angeles fires.” , clothing, blankets and hygiene products, we are committed to continuing this work in the coming weeks and months. “
A similar effort is underway at a thrift store in Lincoln Heights on Los Angeles' East Side run by St. Vincent de Paul, an international Catholic volunteer organization. Volunteers spent days sorting through donated and purchased items for distribution to families affected by wildfires.
In a warehouse and office space separate from the main thrift store, volunteers sort collected items into baskets for recipients. Katie Fernandez, the organization's director of Vincentian services, said people have been donating everything from curling irons to jewelry to children's toys and board games.
“It's unfortunate that this tragedy happened, but the beauty that comes with it is what an amazing community we are and people are willing to help each other and give,” Fernandez said. “We have people from Oran The people who govern San Bernardino – one of my administrators here just got a call from New York, so people are really eager to get involved, which is wonderful.”
Even amid the outpouring of goodwill, some organizers and volunteers said they've noticed donations coming in that are damaged or unusable. Many netizens urged community members to only donate things they feel they can safely use.
With donation centers filling up quickly, Fernandez said the most effective way to help may be through financial rather than material donations, especially since many families need money to rebuild their homes. But she noted that the rescue effort will be a marathon, not a sprint.
“Going forward, they're going to need furniture. They're going to need beds, appliances. The kids just had Christmas and they opened magical toys that they were really looking forward to,” she said. “These little comfort items are needed to give them a sense of normalcy.”
In the meantime, the Westchester Y is urging people to continue the momentum of volunteering.
“Due to work and other obligations, we are anticipating a decrease in volunteers and donations this week,” it wrote on Instagram. “Please try donating some of your time, energy, or resources to help us!”