'Finding Felicity' Returns FRIDAY! Here's How to Help Our L.A. Home in the Meantime
You may have noticed that this past Friday's episode of Finding Felicity about "Running Mates," didn't release. You may have also noticed that, starting last week, things have been challenging for Los Angeles, the city your hosts Teresa Jusino and Kat Street call home.
Teresa and Kat are both fine, and thankfully don't live in areas directly affected by the recent (and current) wildfires. However, thanks to power outages and the general mayhem of the past week and change, putting out the podcast was the last thing on our minds. However, we'll be back this FRIDAY, JANUARY 17 with Episode 41: Running Mates (Or, Chia Head).
In the meantime, we'd love it if you'd take a moment to do what you can for our city right now, where so many are suffering and have lost homes, livelihoods, and lives.
FOR ANGELENOS
If you live in Los Angeles but, like Teresa and Kat, are relatively "okay" in the grand scheme of things, check out this "Master Fire & Wind Storm Resources" spreadsheet from an awesome, volunteer-run organization called MALAN (Mutual Aid Los Angeles Network). It's a regularly-updated living document that lists requests for aid/donations and volunteer needs alphabetically by neighborhood. So, if you're looking to offer any kind of help to those displaced by the fires, this is a great place to start.
If you are one of those people who's been evacuated and/or have lost your home, the spreadsheet lists the resources available to those who need them, too!
We'd also love to recommend following and volunteering with SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition, an awesome organization which has been putting in the work on the ground to provide resources to unhoused individuals, a demographic that's growing thanks to these fires.
And if you plan on donating items to any fire relief drives, Teresa has a tip for you re: pre-sorting your items before you drop them off at a distribution hub.
FOR EVERYONE (INCL. THOSE OUTSIDE L.A.)
If you're willing and able to donate funds to support those who've been displaced by the fires in rebuilding their lives, in addition to giving to organizations, consider giving to individual requests and fundraising campaigns. Your funds will do more good and go further if they go directly to a family/individual, rather than going through a middleman.
Consider making giving to families/businesses below a regular practice – not just a one-time donation. Rebuilding what was lost in these fires is going to take years. Think about how you can allow your giving to last beyond the sprint and into the marathon. You might give to a different one every week/month. You might set a personal goal to get 5 of your friends to each give to one of these fundraisers every month. There are so many creative ways to leverage your network and resources to help others!
Some recipients to consider:
First, watch this video from artist (and L.A. native) Shelley Bruce about the importance of rebuilding the legacy Black communities of Altadena and Pasadena. Then go to this spreadsheet that is an ongoing list of Black families and businesses that have been displaced/destroyed by the Eaton Fire. Start with the families and businesses in orange (those are the ones that Need More Support). It also has links to regularly-updated spreadsheets listing Latine Families/Businesses and Filipino Families/Businesses in that area.
Lastly, we'd like to share the following links to GoFundMe campaigns for people/families Teresa knows personally who've lost so much because of these fires. If you can, please help these wonderful folks rebuild their lives:
- Teresa first met actor Miranda Childs in a writing group back in 2015, and they’ve stayed in each other’s orbit ever since. Miranda and her husband, Nick, have lost their home in Altadena to the Eaton Fire. Their GoFundMe campaign is at 64% funded as of this writing.
- Teresa first met screenwriter Lynn Sternberger at a “Make It Queer” content creation workshop at L.A’s YouTube Space back in 2018. Now Lynn, her wife Loraine, their young daughter, and Lynne’s mother-in-law lost their shared home in Altadena in the Eaton Fire. Their GoFundMe campaign is over their goal, but considering that they need to support 4 people and find temporary housing while trying to rebuild a permanent new home – a process that will take years – their ask was way too low.
We'll likely be sharing links to different campaigns from people we know and love regularly for the foreseeable future. Please help if you can!