Palisades MARC

Serving fire survivors is a collaborative effort, and, especially after such devastating fires as the LA County Wildfires of January 2025, every organization that can help is doing everything they can to get resources directly into the hands survivors. This month, HCRN participated in a Multi Agency Resource Center serving survivors of the Palisades fire. This event was organized by Emergency Network of Los Angeles (ENLA) and the American Red Cross. HCRN was proud to offer our secure database and registration process to vet and serve disaster survivors.

Over the course of five days, dozens of organizations provided material goods, financial assistance, legal advice, emotional support and gave a little more hope to people struggling two months after the Palisades Fire destroyed over 6,000 structures and left many more damaged from smoke and mudslides that ensued in burn zones. We registered over 1,400 households, many who have lost not just their homes, but their place of employment, too. The struggle to move from short term assistance into long term recovery is evident by how many people are still unable to live in their smoke damaged homes. We are proud of the amount of households we were able to serve, but the need is so much larger than one event can solve.

Not only was HCRN responsible for registration, but we were able to open up our cleanup and repair program to the Palisades Fire at this event. HCRN CEO & Founder, Kevin Cox, spent the week talking with people whose homes survived, but remain dangerous to live in, due to toxic smoke damage. For most of his week, he provided guidance and answered questions about disaster recovery.

ENLA and the American Red Cross are planning more events like this one for both the Palisades and Eaton Fires. HCRN looks forward to continuing to serve households in need and making the process for receiving resources just a little bit easier.