Rebuild Our Street: Support Altadena Neighbors

Please help me rebuild the lives of the 27 neighbors on our street in Altadena, CA who lost absolutely everything in the Eaton Fire.

For those of you who don't know me, I'm Emily. I grew up in Altadena, CA, which lost over 9,000+ homes and buildings to the Eaton Fire. My mom still lives there. I had the happiest childhood there. Neighbors were always the kindest, friendliest, most wonderful people that I would wave to as I road my bike up and down our streets.

These streets are all gone now. My mom's neighbors lost absolutely everything in the Eaton Fire as it burned their entire street down January 7-9, 2025. The only house that was still standing for miles was my mom's house.

Do you know why this is? Partly it was an act of God or some higher power. But it was also because some of our neighbors, some who we barely even knew before this fire, walked on foot into the fire zone. They found my mom's Sparkletts water bottles in her backyard and doused flat fires. They pulled burning logs away from my mom's yard so her house would be less likely to ignite. The got the attention of fire crews to come put out the gas fires from other homes surrounding it. These people, their families, their children have lost everything. And they stood there working together to save my mom's 1,000 square foot house. This means I still get to have my baby photos, my brother's art, irreplaceable items from growing up.

Today, most of the places from my childhood, the summer camp where I had my first job, many of my friends homes, my beautiful wedding venue, are all gone. There is nothing left.

I am called to get desperately needed funds to my neighbors who have nothing now.

Altadena is far from Hollywood's wealth. I fear these folks may have a hard time getting resource allocation on the long road ahead. Altadena is a diverse community of Black, Latino, and many other ethnicities. Some of them are young artists or young engineers who work for the nearby NASA lab. They have young kids. They are teachers, pensioners, artists. Some of them lived on the street for 40-50 years. Some of these people bought their homes in the 1970s for $50,000.

We will see resources get channeled to high-profile areas like Malibu. And insurance companies are going to short-change these folks. My mom's neighbors have 1,000-1,500 sq ft homes. Some even smaller.

But I have seen nothing but giving, love and support from these neighbors. They are sharing resources, helping each other navigate the long journey to rebuild. Trying to help each other smile behind tears.

They are showing up for each other. They showed up for my mom in a way I will never, ever forget. They have nothing now. Let's get these people's lives back together.

—

DISCLAIMER: This fundraiser aims to help these families get back on their feet with things that won’t be covered by FEMA/insurance, and as they navigate their next steps to recover from this unimaginable loss.

For Go Fund Me Team:

1. My mom's 27 neighbors lost their homes. I am friends with them

2. I will transfer the funds to their individual gofundme's or by paypal for those who don't have gofundme's

3. They will use these funds to get back on their feet with things that won't be covered by FEMA

#AltadenaStrong

Photo of me and mom on her street from a few years ago