Two out of three wildfire survivors remain displaced, still trying to navigate the system for rebuilding homes destroyed in the January 2025 fires by jumping from website to website, L.A. County department to department, plus federal and state agencies in a dizzying effort.
To simplify their search, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, June 16, voted to create a countywide homelessness prevention resource page on the county website.
The aggregate, one-stop resource page will be created for helping those who are homeless or facing the threat of becoming unhoused, with a priority assisting residents displaced by the Eaton and Palisades fires.
“I’ve heard from constituents who said how confusing it is to navigate L.A. county services,” said Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Altadena and was a co-author of the motion with Third District Supervisor Lindsey Horvath.
“The goal here is to connect residents to the right prevention resources while trying to make it more efficient and user-friendly,” Barger added.
Creating a single path for residents will require coordination with an alphabet soup of county agencies, including: the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Homeless Services and Housing (HSH), the Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA) and the Los Angles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA) as well as nonprofits providing homeless services.
The proposed Homelessness Prevention Resource Page will be designed to connect those visiting the site to rental assistance, mortgage relief, legal aid, utility assistance and housing resources.
“A public-facing prevention resource, paired with an internal referral pathway, will effectively strengthen homelessness prevention by reducing barriers to access,” said the motion, which passed 4-0 with Horvath absent.
“Instead of survivors and seniors on fixed incomes having to chase down a dozen different agencies, we’re building one clear path to help,” Barger added.
For fire survivors, the resource page must also include community-based organizations working in Altadena and Palisades fire areas, including the Eaton Fire Collaborative Long-Term Recovery Group, the Altadena Town Council, the Malibu and Palisades Long-Term Recovery Groups, Topanga Town Council and the Sunset Mesa Homeowners’ Association.
The one-stop portal will emphasize preventing people from falling into homelessness, Barger said.
For example, nearly half the fires’ survivors still displaced had exhausted or soon will run out of insurance-funded temporary housing benefits. Also, in a recent survey, 40% said they could afford about six months of housing on their own.
More money has become available for homeless prevention due to the passage of Measure A, a new half-cent homeless prevention and housing measure adopted by L.A. County voters in November 2024.
One of the newer agencies, LACAHSA, will provide in 2026-2027 budget about $41.4 million to residents being evicted or fire survivors unable to keep paying rents for rental protection plus emergency rental assistance, said Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn.
“Prevention resources and services are expanding,” said Sarah Mahin, director of the county’s Department of Homeless Services and Housing (HSH). “The challenge is, how do all these services come together and make sense for the person who needs to navigate them.”
A report on how to create this new portal will come back to the Board of Supervisors on July 21.