Solidarity Rally this Tuesday, Smoke Damage Project, Red Cross $$, and next ATU General Meeting

Dear Neighbors,

We hope you are doing well (or as well as possible) this week. We wanted to send a quick email with a few important updates and announcements, so let’s get right to it.

SOLIDARITY RALLY IN ALTADENA THIS COMING TUESDAY (4/29) AT 5:30 PM - JOIN US!

There will be a SOLIDARITY RALLY in west Altadena this Tuesday, April 29th. Beginning at 5:30pm, we’ll gather to support our neighbors: elder Altadena tenants who were abandoned during the Eaton Fire evacuations, and who have been dealing with horrible treatment and harassment from their building management.

We’ll share the exact location over the weekend (so watch your email). We are asking anyone who is available that evening to show up in person to support - ATU will be out in force along with other community organizations, so come join us and demand fair treatment for our elders!

CALL FOR SMOKE/ASH IMPACTED RENTERS TO CONTACT LA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH

ATU is investigating: it seems that the LA County Department of Public Health is not performing inspections or issuing citations when tenants try to get help with smoke and ash remediation for surviving units. To our knowledge, the health department is not doing its job, and we are working with advocates to push them to perform inspections of smoke/ash damaged or impacted units, and to issue citations to landlords enforcing those inspections (i.e. to require landlords to perform correct remediations).

We are working to DOCUMENT this situation, and so we need your help to prove what’s going on. If you have a standing unit with smoke/ash damage that needs remediation, and your landlord has not done it, you can help. Here’s how:

1. Contact DPH’s (Department of Public Health) Rental Housing Habitability Department at (626) 430-9853, or file a complaint online.

2. Explain that you are an Altadena tenant, describe the smoke and ash damage at your address, and tell them that your landlord has not (or has refused to) remediate. Request assistance with an inspection and enforcement.

3. Share the response you get with us by sending an email to [email protected].

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have already tried contacting DPH, but were told that they do not help with smoke and ash remediation issues (or if you got help, or if you had any other result!), please let us know about that experience by sending an email to [email protected].

ATU GENERAL MEETING ON MAY 28

We will be holding our next ATU general meeting on Wednesday, May 28th at 7pm. The meeting will be on Zoom, and we are asking folks to register ahead of time. Please feel free to share the registration link or this email with any other tenants or neighbors who would like to join.

As a reminder, ATU meetings are for Altadena tenants. Our meetings are not open to cops, law enforcement (including ICE), landlords, or journalists attending in their journalistic capacity. We welcome community member and homeowner allies who would like to join in soldiarity, but ask that you please remember that your role is to listen and support tenants.

RESOURCES AND SUPPORT

DIRECT CASH ASSISTANCE FROM THE RED CROSS: The Red Cross is rolling out another round of payments to fire-impacted folks. If you received financial assistance from the Red Cross during their first round (in February), they may have already contacted you by call, text, or email to send you additional funds. If you haven’t heard from them, please call them at 1-800-733-2767 with your reference or invitation number from the first round. If you did not receive financial assistance during the first round, or if you don’t have a reference/invitation number, you will need to enroll at an in-person enrollment site beginning April 29th. Details about enrollment sites and hours are here.

DO YOU NEED LEGAL HELP? Neighborhood Legal Services of LA is holding weekly tenants rights trainings for fire-impacted renters every Wednedsay at 11am, followed by free 1:1 legal consultations. Please see the flyer below with information about how to register; if you want to sign up for a consultation, you MUST CALL THEM to sign up at 1-800-433-6251.

ATU RESOURCE GUIDE

Have questions or need contact info for county agencies or legal assistance? We’ve collected everything we’ve learned into the Altadena Tenants Union Resource Guide, a living document that we’re updating on a regular basis.

Okay! That’s the whole thing, congratulations for making it to the end of this email. Hope to see you on Tuesday at the rally -

In solidarity,

ATU