Home Loss File Systems for LA Fire Survivors
Donation protected
We are volunteers from Out of the Ashes: Home Loss File System and we are devastated to hear the news that continues to pour out of LA County in areas affected by the horrific wildfires.
Soon after experiencing loss from a fire, it is common to be inundated with paperwork from multiple sources including (but not limited to) insurance documents, FEMA, the DMV, demolition companies, and new builders. Without an organized file system, these papers may simply get shoved into a shoe-box and/or may “pile-up” without an easy way to access them when needed.
We are a group of San Diego residents (many of whom lost our home in the 2003 Cedar Fire), intent on helping make the aftermath of destructive wildfires easier for survivors to navigate. To do this, we need your help.
In the event of a natural disaster, the Home Loss File System, helps families who have lost their homes, begin to bring order back into their lives. The Home Loss File System is a portable file box with pre-labeled hanging file folders and manila folders that helps organize and store in one place all of the important forms, receipts, contracts, applications, and other documents that are accumulated after the loss of your home. The box also includes worksheets with helpful information and tips.
In the 12 years since the organizational box was originally developed, nearly 3,000 boxes have been distributed across California to survivors from the Witch Creek Fire, Lilac Fire, Thomas Fire, Sonoma Fire & Woolsey Fires (and more).
We are now seeking funding to produce and assemble this essential organizational tool in significantly greater quantities. Our plan is to assemble and quickly distribute Home Loss File Systems to survivors of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires as well as to build a digital Home Loss File System to support people who have been impacted by the LA wildfires as well as to build a sustainable digital resource that can help survivors of future wildfires as well.
Our mantra is, “Getting organized helps us feel in control of our lives again.”
For more information about our project, you’re invited to visit:
Fundraising team: Out of the Ashes (2)
Jesse Unger
Organizer
Solana Beach, CA
Barbara Nelson
Beneficiary
Jamie Salter
Team member