Direct Cash for Altadena Fire Recovery Information Sessions

Dear friends, neighbors, and comrades - 

As part of our Direct Cash for Altadena Fire Recovery program, a limited pilot offering 24 months of direct cash support to 30 eligible Altadena renter/tenant families with dependents, we will be offering a series of in-person and virtual information sessions to help you learn more about the program. The program eligibility is listed a little further down in this email; if you are eligible, or think you might be, we’d encourage you to come learn more. Please also feel free to forward or share this email with anyone you think might fit the eligibility criteria.

Applications open online on May 11th and stay open through 11:59pm on Tuesday, May 26th; there is no need to apply right at the beginning, because all eligible applications will be reviewed and placed into a pool and randomized before selection. We’ll send out another email soon with information on where you can get in-person application support in Altadena or online from a real human person during the application window.

And just a note to anyone who is not eligible - we know that’s frustrating. We’re sorry. We are doing our best to find additional funding to expand the reach of this program and at the same time we know that all of us absolutely should have gotten much more support than we have. It’s also honestly pretty wild that we are, as fire survivors (even with great partners like NCJWLA) trying to build structures to support our neighbors in the total absence of larger supports. All that by way of saying: you are important, and we are working on it, and we don’t discount how hard and horrible your experience has been for a second. You have deserved and continue to deserve better.

All information sessions will be offered in both English and Spanish; the same information is going to presented at all of them, so please attend whatever session is easiest for you!

IN-PERSON INFORMATION SESSIONS

Wednesday, May 6 at 7:00pm | CORE Hub
2333 Lake Ave #2a, Altadena, CA 91001
Register Here (not required but appreciated!)

Wednesday, May 20 at 6:00pm | Altadena Community Center
730 E. Altadena Dr., Altadena, CA 91001
Register Here (not required but appreciated!)

ONLINE INFORMATION SESSIONS - Register For All Sessions Here

• Tuesday May 5, 11:00am

• Tuesday May 5, 6:00pm

• Thursday May 7, 12:00pm

• Tuesday May 12, 10:30am*

• Wednesday May 13, 6:00pm*

• Thursday May 14, 12:00pm*

• Tuesday May 19, 10:30am*

• Thursday May 21, 12:00pm*

* Registration links coming soon - check here for the latest availability.

DIRECT CASH PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for this program, you must be a household that:

• Were renters or tenants in Altadena on or before January 7, 2025, including informal tenants (a formal lease is not required, only proof of residency);

• Have dependent(s) of any age;

• Currently are resident in Los Angeles, Riverside, or San Bernardino Counties;

• Have a combined household income less than or equal to HUD’s low-income threshold in your county (view HUD guidelines for your county here: Los Angeles County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County)

All eligible applicants will be entered into a selection pool, from which 30 households will be randomly selected to join the program. Selected participants will receive $36,000 over 24 months. As additional funding becomes available, we intend to expand the pool of recipients.

Please note: this program is our number one priority, and we’re working very hard to find more funding so that we can expand from 30 families to our goal of at least 300. At the same time, we want to be very transparent that as of today, the $1.5M we have assembled can only support 30 families. We’re working on it. 

Applications will open on May 11 and will remain open until May 26. There will be virtual and in-person information sessions, available in both English and Spanish. For eligibility requirements, more information, and a link to the application page, please click here.