Help Louise Through This Difficult Time

Louise Houghton finds herself in a difficult situation — away from her home country with restrictions on how she can earn a living. Attending Lake Shrine has been a saving grace for her.

All the funds collected will be deposited directly from GoFundMe into Louise's bank account so she can bridge the gap between work opportunities.

Here is Louise's story in her own words:

I am a British broadcaster and event MC. I’m grateful to have been in California for eight years now. I came here after six years in Berlin working for DWTV. Since the pandemic, events have died down and clients are using in-house hosts rather than booking people like me to moderate their panels or MC on stage.

This was my bread and butter so the last few years have been a challenge in themselves, and the last job I did was in June 2024. As I’m here on a visa I’m not able to go and work anywhere. It has to be in my professional industry and as we all know, the entertainment industry really struggled in 2024. I have been working on a podcast on sustainability and am building a public speaking coaching course but neither of these projects are lucrative at the moment. I also need to renew my Visa, which cost $6,000.

This is a little backstory as to why I created this page because having eaten away at my savings, I decided I needed to sublet my apartment in Santa Monica. I had been staying in Brentwood for a few months before the fires but as this is not my registered home, I have not been able to claim the Airbnb credit or the funds from FEMA and that has put me in a sticky situation.

I have had emotional support from friends but, with Bubbles my cat, I have found accommodation a challenge. He is so sweet and shy, and yet so many friends are allergic or have dogs. Hotels have been offering a discount to evacuees, but without work and the ongoing evacuation, it is challenging to pay for those. We did find one that is kindly making an exception to let Bubbles be with me so we are down in Laguna at the moment waiting for evacuation to lift.

Being away from home and in a hotel means eating out a lot more as well, which is of course more expensive and so any financial contributions at this time would be greatly appreciated. I hope to get back to Brentwood soon and feel more positive for the coming months while showing up for interviews.

Lake Shrine has been a wonderful sanctuary for me. I have been attending services there for six years now and am a member of the Choir. The entire community is something I don’t know if I could live without right now. The friends I have met through there and the monks are so supportive. I am so grateful for them and for the people who helped save the temple and the grounds in the Palisades. I look forward to returning to service there soon. Singing is great for my mental health and we would have been starting our rehearsals for our Easter performances within the next six weeks.

My heart goes out to all those who lost their homes. This has been such a shock to all who live in L.A. but to those who lost everything it is devastating. I am so glad we are able to come together as a community to support one another at this tragic time.

Any support is appreciated at this time; emotionally, professionally or financially.