Jolene Austin, 40, can trace the trajectory of her life post-Eaton Fire geographically.
After her 9-year-old daughter woke her up at 3 a.m. Jan. 7, and the family of five fled their Altadena home, Austin has called the Pasadena Convention Center, an AirBnB and then a hotel home.
On Tuesday, they arrived at their fourth stop: the LA Crystal Hotel in Compton. They were among the first of 40 families displaced by the Eaton Fire that is getting help from “Project Uplift: Altadena Resident Relief.”
Councilmember Andre Spicer said he and his partners have raised $45,000 to house 40 Altadena families for three weeks, longer if more funds are collected. He said he launched the initiative shortly after the Palisades and Eaton wildfires erupted on Jan. 7. Both fires have razed more than 37,000 acres and killed at least 28 people. Both are also close to 100% containment.
The plan is to house people temporarily and give them a chance to regroup while also accessing resources to get them back on their feet. He could not just stand by and watch, Spicer said.
“We want to keep these people home, whether that home is Altadena or Compton, we want them to stay in Los Angeles County,” adding he hopes the city of Compton will also pledge its support.
Rev. Michael J.T. Fisher, pastor of Greater Zion Church in Compton, told the families they will be matched with volunteers who will help each get acclimated to the city. It’s a case of “your own stepping up to make it happen, Brown and Black, like we’ve done for hundreds of years.”
“Allow space to grieve for what you’ve lost, feel a way about this, have your questions,” Fisher said. “All will be well even if we can’t see it.”
Spicer said he is focusing on victims from Altadena and Pasadena because “those communities are the most affected and the last to get resources in most cases.”
During their stay, the families can attend workshops on business and personal finance, access mental health resources and meet with California Department of Insurance staff.
Jolene Austin said the days after the fire have been horrible. Aside from caring for her three daughters, she has had to file for unemployment because she lost her job as a home health aide in Altadena. After losing a community overnight, she said she spends most of her time on the phone, filling out forms, answering questions and wondering when they will get permanent housing.
“Most of the stuff we have right now are from the donation centers,” she said. “I’m just letting God work. I want to go back to Altadena, but everything we know is gone, the grocery stores and parks and schools.”
Her daughter Naraya attended St. Elizabeth School in Altadena, which has yet to reopen. Officials have told Austin to find alternative schooling for now. She frets that Naraya, outwardly communicative and resilient, is not eating well.
“I need stability,” Austin said.
Longtime Altadena resident Navada Austin, 43, told family on the East Coast that even though he’s lost his apartment, he is staying put. Jamaica-born and raised in New York, Austin has lived in Altadena for 17 years and works as a concierge for a hotel in West Hollywood.
“I think a whole new racism will happen because all those people who have lived in Altadena for generations, will they be able to afford to rebuild?” he said. “Altadena is a good community. The main thing is I see people willing to help. They’re showing up. As long as I get somewhere to live, I’ll be okay.”
Other groups involved in the project include the Compton Chamber of Commerce, Greater Zion Church Family, The Bridge, Hip Hop 4 Peace, Agape House of Worship and Deliverance and Owens Corning Roofing. Roxanne Mele of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers brought four volunteers to the event, among the 2,000 the church has deployed to both Eaton and Palisades fires.
Helen Mei, manager of the hotel, said the hotel added an extra week to the families’ stay as well as donating 20 rooms and breakfast for seven days.
“We hope to inspire more hotels to do the same,” she said. “We need to help families get back on their feet.”
A resource fair is set from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, at Dollarhide Community Center, 301 N. Tamarind Ave., in Compton.