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Habitat for Humanity LA Launches New Programs To Help CA Fire Victims Build Back · The iHeart SoCal Show

0:00
Speaker 1: Hi, is this a Fox? And this is the iHeart
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Speaker 1: so Cal Show. Since nineteen ninety so for decades now, right,
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Speaker 1: Habitat for Humanity Los Angeles has been bringing people together
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Speaker 1: to build affordable homes, provide critical home repairs for people
0:13
Speaker 1: in need, and help people rebuild after natural disasters. They
0:17
Speaker 1: also help folks access to affordable loans, housing counseling, and down
0:21
Speaker 1: payment assistance. They are doing so much and have been.
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Speaker 1: But they also added a whole bunch of new programs
0:27
Speaker 1: to help specifically palisades and eat and fire victims. I mean,
0:30
Speaker 1: thousands in need in so many ways to get involved
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Speaker 1: and help them do what they're doing. So let's dive
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Speaker 1: into it, dive in all of it with their longtime
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Speaker 1: president and CEO, my friend Aaron Rank.
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Speaker 2: Hi erin, Hi, Lisa, so great to talk to you.
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Speaker 1: Well, And shame on me, Aarin. You know, all the
0:44
Speaker 1: times I've had you on the show over the years,
0:46
Speaker 1: I did not know how much you help people. You
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Speaker 1: also help people after these natural disasters, after these fires,
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Speaker 1: after these terrible things that happened, I mean after the
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Speaker 1: Woolsey fire, you guys are right there and now here
0:56
Speaker 1: you are again, after the Palisades and eating fire.
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Speaker 2: That's right. We helped one hundred and twenty families rebuild
1:02
Speaker 2: after the Woolsy fire, and our disaster response goes and
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Speaker 2: shoot all the way back to the North Throde earthquake.
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Speaker 1: And oh my goodness.
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Speaker 2: Habitat is actually responding to disasters around the world, so
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Speaker 2: we are usually the one that's there helping vulnerable families
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Speaker 2: to rebuild after natural disasters. Wow.
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Speaker 1: So I want to talk about what you already do locally,
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Speaker 1: and then we'll dive into these new programs. Rebuild LA
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Speaker 1: so much that you're doing for five victims in need,
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Speaker 1: but just on the regular, on a regular basis, you're
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Speaker 1: helping so many communities. Kind of talk about in general
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Speaker 1: how it works.
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Speaker 2: In general, we Habitat ALA serves most of Los Angeles County,
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Speaker 2: and we help renovate existing homes for people who need
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Speaker 2: home repairs. We build new homes, affordable homes, and in
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Speaker 2: the case of wealth our survivors, as you said, we're
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Speaker 2: helping rebuild homes and we're targeting households who could not
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Speaker 2: repair their homes financially otherwise or purchase a home with
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Speaker 2: traditional finance, and so Habitat Homes are built with community
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Speaker 2: partners and donors and volunteers, and they're financed with affordable loans.
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Speaker 2: And that's how we're able to help a whole swath
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Speaker 2: of the Los Angeles community afford to become homeowners rather
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Speaker 2: than renters.
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Speaker 1: Mm hmm, well, I was going to say, and how
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Speaker 1: long is that list? I mean, my gosh, how many
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Speaker 1: people are on the waiting list to get this kind
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Speaker 1: of help because everything is so expensive.
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Speaker 2: Yes, well, we don't necessarily keep a waiting list, but
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Speaker 2: every time we have a new development, we'll open it
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Speaker 2: up that specific community for people who want to apply
2:33
Speaker 2: to live in that part of Los Angeles. So we
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Speaker 2: have fifty four homes under construction right now. We're building
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Speaker 2: from Long Beach all the way to Lancaster and Inglewood
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Speaker 2: to Santa Fe Springs. So you know, each community has
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Speaker 2: its own process for applying, just like any other new
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Speaker 2: home community would, and so we're always letting people know
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Speaker 2: about those opportunities and inviting people to apply.
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Speaker 1: And so many projects in the works currently and then
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Speaker 1: they'll be happing in the future. You must have a
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Speaker 1: pretty big team and network of volunteers to help pull
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Speaker 1: all this off. I mean, I know you always needed
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Speaker 1: to volunteers, but it must take a lot of people
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Speaker 1: to pull off all this the housing that you're building,
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Speaker 1: and all the repairs and all the stuff you're doing.
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Speaker 2: We engage over six thousand volunteers every year, and sure
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Speaker 2: we need to have any skills before you come to
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Speaker 2: the build side. My team is fantastic at teaching you
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Speaker 2: as you know everything you need to know to build,
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Speaker 2: and that volunteer labor is one of the things that
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Speaker 2: helps us keep our homes affordable.
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Speaker 1: So we don't need to I mean, we need to
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Speaker 1: probably hammer and nail and straight, but we're not going
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Speaker 1: to mess up someone's house because you're not going to
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Speaker 1: let that happen. The experts will make sure us rookies
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Speaker 1: won't ruin it.
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Speaker 3: Right.
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Speaker 1: If I want a volunteer to help us, somebody build
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Speaker 1: their home back, I'm not going to mess it up, right.
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Speaker 2: That's right. All of our homes pass all the inspections
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Speaker 2: that any other home would, and we feel like they're
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Speaker 2: built stronger because they're made with the love of people
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Speaker 2: who really care about their community.
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Speaker 1: Talk about what it takes for someone to apply to
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Speaker 1: be a homeowner through Habitat for Humanity, Los Angeles. I
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Speaker 1: talk about like what are the requirements, what has to
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Speaker 1: happen in that application that they would fill out. At
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Speaker 1: Habitatla dot org.
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Speaker 2: We have homes. Traditionally, we're selling homes to family through
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Speaker 2: our earning below eighty percent of the median income in
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Speaker 2: Los Angeles County, which is roughly one hundred and ten
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Speaker 2: thousand dollars for a family for but we do have
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Speaker 2: some market rate homes and some moderate rate homes as well.
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Speaker 2: So the income is one of the thresholds decent credit,
4:25
Speaker 2: but not necessarily perfect credit by any stretch. And then
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Speaker 2: the willingness to partner with Habitat to help build their
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Speaker 2: own home or to build their neighbors' homes, and to
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Speaker 2: get involved in a hands on way like our volunteers do.
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Speaker 2: So that's really what makes the model special. Also, our families,
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Speaker 2: our buyers go through home buyer education classes, and I
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Speaker 2: would encourage anyone who thinks that they would like to
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Speaker 2: purchase a home, whether it's through Habitat or another organization,
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Speaker 2: to go through our Pathways to home Ownership program. It's
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Speaker 2: an eight session program that enables you to learn and
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Speaker 2: get ready to purchase a home. So if you have
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Speaker 2: something with your credit, or you need to save up
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Speaker 2: a little more in the bank. It'll help you through
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Speaker 2: all of those steps and put you on a path
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Speaker 2: to home ownership.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, I saw in your section to apply on the
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Speaker 1: website education and Counseling. I thought that was interesting. The
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Speaker 1: education and counseling part is kind of like, all right,
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Speaker 1: this is what you're going to get into. It's not.
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Speaker 1: It's a big commitment.
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Speaker 2: Right. A lot of times people buy a house without
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Speaker 2: knowing those things. They don't understand what the ESCO process is,
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Speaker 2: or if they're going to have a homeowners association, or
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Speaker 2: how property taxes get paid, and just general home repair
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Speaker 2: and maintenance tips, so that those are awesome of the
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Speaker 2: things you'll learn through our classes.
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Speaker 1: So many great programs you can apply for through Habitat
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Speaker 1: for Humanity Los Angeles home Ownership. Like Aaron just mentioned
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Speaker 1: education and counseling before you buy that home, before they
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Speaker 1: help you buy that home or build it, so you
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Speaker 1: know what you're getting into. And talk about the neighborhood
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Speaker 1: Revitalization program and how that works.
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Speaker 2: The neighborhood Revitalization program is where we pick one community,
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Speaker 2: where we do a deep dive and we're not only
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Speaker 2: building new homes, but we're repairing existing homes in that neighborhood.
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Speaker 2: And we go as far as to helping other nonprofits
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Speaker 2: in the area to fix up their buildings. And we
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Speaker 2: help businesses with you assistance if they have financial assistance
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Speaker 2: through in needs. So we're really wrapping our arms around
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Speaker 2: a whole community. Now, that's usually a deep, like five
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Speaker 2: to ten year commitment to a certain part of Los
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Speaker 2: Angeles County. That could just be like a ten square
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Speaker 2: black area. So that's a deep dive in a very
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Speaker 2: concentrated area to really change the rate of home ownership
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Speaker 2: in that area, to reduce crime, to you know, get
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Speaker 2: more residents engaged in decisions that are being made about
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Speaker 2: their neighborhood at the city level. And so that's a
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Speaker 2: holistic approach to really revitalizing community, one community at a time.
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Speaker 1: Wow, that sounds incredible. Neighborhood revitalization program through Habitat or
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Speaker 1: Humanity LA And I mean that could be what someone
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Speaker 1: living in an area where they know it's dilapidated on
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Speaker 1: many levels, or even if you drive around a part
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Speaker 1: of town or you know, would we suggest a place
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Speaker 1: that maybe we that we know of or that's in
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Speaker 1: the area do we suggest you know what I mean, like,
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Speaker 1: how how do we know what place would qualify for
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Speaker 1: this help this revitalization.
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Speaker 2: Typically, Habitat will focus on areas that are surrounding our
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Speaker 2: build sites. So in areas where we're already we know
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Speaker 2: that we have land where we can build new affordable
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Speaker 2: home ownership opportunities, and we'll expand into that community with
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Speaker 2: some of our other programs. And so if we are
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Speaker 2: building in a community and we have several cities that
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Speaker 2: we will be building in over the next three to
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Speaker 2: five years, we also focus some of those neighborhood revitalization
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Speaker 2: initiatives in those areas.
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Speaker 1: And you also, God bless you, you have a down
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Speaker 1: payment assistance program? Is that when someone's trying to get
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Speaker 1: a house through Habitat or just in general, just.
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Speaker 2: In general right site Great most of the Habitat buyers
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Speaker 2: do receive down payment assistance through us, but we have
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Speaker 2: a down and assistance program to you know, bridge the
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Speaker 2: affordability gap for folks who want to buy a home
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Speaker 2: on the open market, and those down payment assistance funds
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Speaker 2: can go up to two hundred thousand dollars per household.
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Speaker 1: Look at that and home repairs is a big part
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Speaker 1: of what you do helping people and especially our seniors
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Speaker 1: people living alone. Talk about how folks can apply for
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Speaker 1: free home repairs through Habitat First Mounty Los Angeles and
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Speaker 1: the types of repairs that you're doing. You know who
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Speaker 1: you're helping who can apply, and the types of projects
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Speaker 1: that you're helping people get done.
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Speaker 2: Our home repair program, we do about one hundred and
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Speaker 2: one hundred to one hundred and twenty homes a year
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Speaker 2: throughout Los Angeles County, and they're typically helping safety repairs.
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Speaker 2: We work with families or excuse me, households that are
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Speaker 2: either not physically or financially able to maintain their homes perhaps,
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Speaker 2: and so we'll come in and do focus on the
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Speaker 2: major repairs first. So it could be handrails and wheelchair
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Speaker 2: ramps and electrical plumbing issues will make a bathroom wheelchair
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Speaker 2: accessible if need be, or handicapped accessible. So we're often
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Speaker 2: working with seniors in our community who are scared to
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Speaker 2: pick a contractor or you know, have maybe even burned
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Speaker 2: by a contractor, or just not sure where to start,
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Speaker 2: and habitat LA will come in and help with those
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Speaker 2: home repairs and you see such a transformational impact. Next week,
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Speaker 2: we're actually starting with our Veterans Built initiative, where we
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Speaker 2: are focusing on doing some home repairs for veterans in
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Speaker 2: the community. And it's a very rewarding program and it's
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Speaker 2: sobering some time to see how folks are living just
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Speaker 2: kind of existing in their home, but their home isn't
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Speaker 2: serving them anymore, so they're not really thriving in it.
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Speaker 2: And with a few modifications and updates, they really can
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Speaker 2: enjoy their whole house again.
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Speaker 1: And just gosh, it must give you guys such a
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Speaker 1: big smile afterwards. I'm sure their smiles and hugs after
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Speaker 1: and people just feeling so appreciative of of the free health,
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Speaker 1: the free assistants that could have a big impact on
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Speaker 1: their life.
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Speaker 2: Right, we hear from relatives you say, you've transformed my parents' home,
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Speaker 2: in my parents' parents' lives, and their gratitude. But it
10:12
Speaker 2: is it's the best feeling to be able to give
10:15
Speaker 2: someone that relief. Right if their roof was leaking or
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Speaker 2: they weren't able to get into their shower easily, you know,
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Speaker 2: to give them access is just amazing.
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Speaker 1: And again easy to apply. What do we can you
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Speaker 1: guesstimate the turnaround time if I were to apply for
10:32
Speaker 1: my neighbor, is it you know again, like the wait
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Speaker 1: time is it months or is it weeks? Months? It
10:36
Speaker 1: depends on the project. Probably right we're.
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Speaker 2: Scheduling about I would say three to four months out
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Speaker 2: right now. It also is dependent on cities. So some
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Speaker 2: cities provide habitat La with the financing to work specifically
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Speaker 2: with households in their community. So Inglewood is a city
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Speaker 2: where we've had many years of long partnership and repairing
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Speaker 2: homes in Inglewood, and the city will fund those homes.
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Speaker 2: So we have dedicated staff just for that city for example,
11:03
Speaker 2: and in other areas. It just is funding dependent. But
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Speaker 2: as soon as we have the phones, we like to
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Speaker 2: move forward and help as many people as we can
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Speaker 2: as quickly as we can.
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Speaker 1: So Englewood, are you listening. The money's there, You just
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Speaker 1: gotta you gotta call them up there that's got to
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Speaker 1: call him or go to habitat La habitat la dot
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Speaker 1: org to apply and maybe it can happen sooner than later.
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Speaker 1: So if you have a neighbor or like you said,
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Speaker 1: I'm an elderly person in your family, a senior or
11:28
Speaker 1: your parents are someone in need, just going there and
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Speaker 1: apply and then you'll explain you know what the project is,
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Speaker 1: and then just wait to hear from you guys.
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Speaker 2: Right, that's right, you know. Let's pick up the phone
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Speaker 2: and call us and we can walk you through the process.
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Speaker 2: If you understand it. We're human beings on the other
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Speaker 2: end of the line, happy to answer any of your questions.
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Speaker 1: Well, let's give out that phone number. Now, what's that number.
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Speaker 1: I'm gonna write it down.
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Speaker 2: Three one zero three two three four six six three.
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Speaker 1: Wonderful Habitat for Humanity, Los Angeles. Homeownership. You help folks
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Speaker 1: with home ownership with a down payment, assistant home repairs,
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Speaker 1: education and counseling when it comes to buying a home.
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Speaker 1: Neighborhood of Vitalization, Community building, and disaster relief. Let's touch
12:07
Speaker 1: on these new programs that you just launched. Now, like
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Speaker 1: you said, in the past, you've been involved in helping
12:13
Speaker 1: with disaster relief. But with these massive fires that we
12:16
Speaker 1: just had, we've got thousands displaced. How did you structure
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Speaker 1: this program? And I don't want to get into it too.
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Speaker 3: Much, but my boyfriend and I were personally affected by
12:26
Speaker 3: the fire and it's just been a terrible time for
12:30
Speaker 3: him and his whole community. Both both cities just decimated,
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Speaker 3: so many people displaced, like many who lost everything. My
12:41
Speaker 3: boy my boyfriend grew up in the Palisades. I know,
12:43
Speaker 3: we're renovating his home for our future and just wonderful
12:47
Speaker 3: people and he lost everything on have referred his street.
12:52
Speaker 3: But like it's just row after row after row after row,
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Speaker 3: and it's so devastating for both communities, and it's just
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Speaker 3: the matter of days. Thousands are displayed still displaced, and
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Speaker 3: the rebuild is going so slow for a lot of reasons, right,
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Speaker 3: I'm sure you're very in tune with them why it's
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Speaker 3: going so slow, But it's a lot of reasons. Even
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Speaker 3: Eric and I are on our now sixth potential contractor
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Speaker 3: someone that can work within the budget. You know, getting
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Speaker 3: so little back from insurance, so you know, some people
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Speaker 3: aren't getting enough to build back. Some people had no insurance,
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Speaker 3: right and you know you've got people who are still
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Speaker 3: making mortgage payments on dirt and not everyone in the
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Speaker 3: Palisades is rich, and a lot of people are struggling,
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Speaker 3: and a lot of people are selling because they can't
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Speaker 3: they can't deal. They can't deal, and they can't afford
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Speaker 3: to build back and it's hard. So talk about rebuild LA,
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Speaker 3: the program that you want specifically to help folks after
13:49
Speaker 3: these fires. And you've got a big donation from Comcast
13:52
Speaker 3: which is amazing to kick it off. Yeah.
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Speaker 2: Well, I want to just let me just say to you,
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Speaker 2: and Eric like goes out to you, and I know
14:01
Speaker 2: right now is a point in the recovery process where
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Speaker 2: despair starts to settle in and it can seem like
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Speaker 2: the road is going to be too long ahead. But
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Speaker 2: I just want you to know that there's a lot
14:12
Speaker 2: of people who are putting together solutions, probably the people
14:16
Speaker 2: you wouldn't expect, the ones that are stepping in to
14:20
Speaker 2: help the most and help with you know, affordable rebuilding
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Speaker 2: loans and grants and programs that hopefully will be there
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Speaker 2: for you and be available to you shortly, if not
14:33
Speaker 2: right now. So let me just let me just say
14:36
Speaker 2: that there's a lot of us working.
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Speaker 1: Around the clock trying to help, trying to laugh.
14:41
Speaker 2: Because I don't want to cry. Yeah. Yeah, we take
14:44
Speaker 2: on your your stories and carry them in our hearts,
14:46
Speaker 2: and we really are listening and working to help families
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Speaker 2: getting back.
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Speaker 1: We're grateful. You know, I still have my place, so
14:55
Speaker 1: we're grateful we have a place to live. And a
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Speaker 1: lot of people are hotel hopping or in expensive rentals
15:01
Speaker 1: and FEMA money is running out. I mean, everyone's situation
15:04
Speaker 1: is so different. We just know through our neighbors and
15:05
Speaker 1: our friends, you know what they're going through. And I've
15:08
Speaker 1: made friends of people in the you know Alda Dina
15:11
Speaker 1: that I met on Instagram from posting about going through
15:15
Speaker 1: the fires. Many people have been able to do go
15:18
Speaker 1: fund me pages, go fund me accounts to help them
15:21
Speaker 1: through a little bit, you know, but that's only going
15:23
Speaker 1: to last for so long as people try to figure
15:26
Speaker 1: out what their future is going to look like after
15:28
Speaker 1: the fires. So talk about what your program does and
15:32
Speaker 1: how you're already helping people build back.
15:34
Speaker 2: Yes, we launched Revealed La within two days of the
15:38
Speaker 2: fires starting, and we knew that we were going to
15:41
Speaker 2: step in and help families rebuild. And you know, the
15:45
Speaker 2: in the immediate aftermath, like you said, so many people
15:47
Speaker 2: are just trying to relocate and that was a struggle,
15:51
Speaker 2: and so immediately we helped with you know, short term
15:55
Speaker 2: stays and helping people with assistance. We were at the
15:57
Speaker 2: disaster recovery centers and help people find a place to land.
16:01
Speaker 2: And once they did, we had a huge influx of
16:04
Speaker 2: donations from our supporters with furniture and didn't Sleep came
16:09
Speaker 2: through with over a thousand mattresses and just things that
16:12
Speaker 2: people needed because when you relocate to an apartment, it's empty,
16:16
Speaker 2: right and so you have your you know, you need
16:19
Speaker 2: stuff for your kitchen and your furniture and all of that.
16:21
Speaker 2: And so that's where Habitat really stepped in to provide
16:24
Speaker 2: home resources for families. Over fifteen hundred families we assisted
16:28
Speaker 2: through through furnishings and things like that, and then one
16:32
Speaker 2: hundred over over one hundred families with thirty day Airbnb
16:36
Speaker 2: stays and just assisting families with some of these initial steps.
16:40
Speaker 2: But our real wheelhouse, as I said, is home repairs,
16:45
Speaker 2: home rebuilding and building, and affordable financing. So that's our wheelhouse.
16:50
Speaker 2: We knew that's the area we were going to step in.
16:52
Speaker 2: We're committed to be here for years. You know, the
16:55
Speaker 2: next five ten years will be helping people until everyone
16:58
Speaker 2: gets back home. So we launched a Rebuild Navigator program.
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Speaker 2: We had forty three hundred households that reached out to
17:04
Speaker 2: us that said, we don't know how to do this,
17:06
Speaker 2: and this is what Habitat does. We trust, We trust you.
17:09
Speaker 2: We know you're not gonna take us for our money.
17:11
Speaker 2: You're not. You're not going to give us the run around.
17:13
Speaker 2: So we launched a rebuild Navigator program to help people
17:17
Speaker 2: from concept of what they want to build. Two keys
17:20
Speaker 2: and so from concept to keys are Rebuild Navigators are
17:22
Speaker 2: helping people make decisions, review bids, select contractors, and we're
17:28
Speaker 2: helping with financial assistance.
17:30
Speaker 1: So this is what people need to know, Aaron. People
17:33
Speaker 1: need to know this because we've been on our own
17:35
Speaker 1: trying to figure this out, and that's been the thing.
17:38
Speaker 1: You know, We're going on Yelp, We're going on Yelp.
17:41
Speaker 1: We're looking for contractors on Instagram based on their Instagram videos.
17:44
Speaker 1: You know, trying to find who to trust has been
17:48
Speaker 1: a struggle. Who to trust and learning things like what's
17:51
Speaker 1: a topography report? What? Oh, we need a topography report
17:55
Speaker 1: and that topography survey with a slope something so learn
18:00
Speaker 1: I mean, the terminology, learning how it all works is
18:02
Speaker 1: very daunting. These are things that we were not prepared
18:05
Speaker 1: to have to learn. So the Rebuild Navigator program helps
18:08
Speaker 1: with all of it, even how to find an affordable
18:11
Speaker 1: but really good architect. Help with permits, I mean, you
18:14
Speaker 1: do you help, You're helping fire victims with everything.
18:16
Speaker 2: Yes, that's what that's that's our will has that's what.
18:19
Speaker 1: You know.
18:19
Speaker 2: We build new homes in Los Angeles County every day,
18:23
Speaker 2: all year long, and so we understand the permitting process,
18:26
Speaker 2: the design process, and we are actually launching five home
18:30
Speaker 2: designs that someone could pick up and start, you know,
18:34
Speaker 2: just run with. And there's there's several including Foothill Catalog,
18:38
Speaker 2: several groups that are doing the same thing so that
18:41
Speaker 2: these these are not only house plans that you could
18:44
Speaker 2: pick up and build, and they're not cookie cutter. They're
18:46
Speaker 2: all different designs and the goal for us is to
18:49
Speaker 2: have them pre approved at the city level or an
18:52
Speaker 2: Altadena's case, at the county level, so you could start
18:55
Speaker 2: with these designs and and just you're about assert of
18:58
Speaker 2: the way through the process.
19:00
Speaker 1: Ready, wow, so great, So great.
19:03
Speaker 2: That's the concept for folks to look into. The Other
19:06
Speaker 2: thing we are hearing from survivors is that, hey, you know,
19:08
Speaker 2: we're like moving down the road here to rebuild our home,
19:12
Speaker 2: but now we have this fee that we have to pay, right,
19:14
Speaker 2: and we don't have the money. Our insurance are femas
19:17
Speaker 2: not covering it. So we have this you know, testing
19:19
Speaker 2: fee or this oh yeah, the soil can fee, or
19:22
Speaker 2: this utility fee or this report that we need, like
19:25
Speaker 2: you were saying, and so Habitat launch the Accelerator Fund
19:29
Speaker 2: to help people pay for a cost that's preventing them
19:32
Speaker 2: from moving forward in their rebuilding process. And we'll pay
19:35
Speaker 2: up to ten thousand dollars. Grant doesn't have to be
19:37
Speaker 2: repaid to your contract or to the city, to your
19:40
Speaker 2: utility company, and make sure that the work is done,
19:44
Speaker 2: you know, before they get paid out, but we will
19:46
Speaker 2: pay them for the work on your behalf. Wow, so
19:50
Speaker 2: that you can move forward in the in the process
19:53
Speaker 2: more quickly.
19:53
Speaker 1: Yeah, we just got our first estimate for the topography
19:56
Speaker 1: report with a slope band survey and it's to two
20:00
Speaker 1: hundred something bucks.
20:01
Speaker 2: Right, so that would be a built a bill.
20:03
Speaker 1: We could submit. Oh my gosh, and then we have
20:05
Speaker 1: to do the soil report. I have to figure out
20:07
Speaker 1: how that works. I've just been like googling trying to
20:09
Speaker 1: figure things out, trying to figure out how all this
20:11
Speaker 1: stuff works. Now I know that you can help.
20:13
Speaker 2: That's exactly what the Accelerator Fund was designed for, so
20:16
Speaker 2: you don't have to wait.
20:17
Speaker 1: So this is big news if you or someone that
20:20
Speaker 1: you know was directly affected by these fires. Habitat for
20:23
Speaker 1: Mounty Los Angeles is helping people figure it all out
20:26
Speaker 1: and helping to cover some of the costs of these
20:28
Speaker 1: costly reports and things that we need and home design,
20:32
Speaker 1: the plans that we need from an architect, and to
20:34
Speaker 1: find a builder to build it back, a vetted, trusted
20:37
Speaker 1: builder that I can afford. How do we figure it
20:40
Speaker 1: all out? How do we get that financial help and
20:43
Speaker 1: support for all these things? Do? We just go to
20:46
Speaker 1: the website Aaron Rebuild Navigator program and for the to
20:49
Speaker 1: apply for the Accelerator Fund for this.
20:51
Speaker 2: When you go to habitat ALA dot org, you'll there'll
20:55
Speaker 2: be a pop up window that' says, well welfare Survivor's
20:57
Speaker 2: quick here. Does it take you to the page wait
20:59
Speaker 2: man information? Yeah, and hopefully that was the design that
21:04
Speaker 2: we give you all the information upfront of what you
21:06
Speaker 2: need to qualify and how to apply. And yeah, we also,
21:10
Speaker 2: like I said, we have people answering the phone, so
21:11
Speaker 2: you can call and ask for assistance along the way
21:14
Speaker 2: if you don't know what exactly you know you need.
21:18
Speaker 2: And one of the things that the Accelerator Fund is
21:20
Speaker 2: people are going through and applying. If we notice that
21:25
Speaker 2: they might need remediation assistance or rebuild assistance on top
21:29
Speaker 2: of just paying that one bill, we'll ask them if
21:33
Speaker 2: they would like to be considered for one of those programs.
21:36
Speaker 2: Because our remediation assistance program is up to twenty five
21:39
Speaker 2: thousand dollars home repairs, go up to one hundred thousand
21:42
Speaker 2: dollars in home rebuilds between one hundred and fifty thousand
21:45
Speaker 2: dollars and four hundred and fifty thousand dollars to rebuild homes,
21:48
Speaker 2: so we are we're targeting populations up to low and
21:53
Speaker 2: moderate income households that probably would not be able to
21:56
Speaker 2: build without this assistance. And so for a family before
22:00
Speaker 2: that's about one hundred and eighty thousand dollars would be
22:03
Speaker 2: kind of the cutoff for households that are being helped
22:06
Speaker 2: with most of our programs. Some of our programs, though,
22:10
Speaker 2: do not have any income requirements like our you know,
22:12
Speaker 2: home furnishings and those donations, we didn't have any any
22:16
Speaker 2: income requirements we're just helping everybody who needed help when.
22:19
Speaker 1: We drive through. Haven't driven through Altadna since the fires,
22:23
Speaker 1: but you know, we're driving through the Palisades when we
22:26
Speaker 1: need to. It's not a fun fun drive when we
22:28
Speaker 1: drive through there and there's the homes that made it.
22:31
Speaker 1: You know, it's really sad to say the homes that
22:33
Speaker 1: made it that are boarded up that people say, Gosh,
22:36
Speaker 1: I hate to say, I wish I wish mine would
22:38
Speaker 1: have just gone all the way because it's made it
22:40
Speaker 1: even trickier with the insurance for people to get their
22:42
Speaker 1: homes cleaned and the level that it has to be
22:45
Speaker 1: cleaned out to be able to move back in. Has
22:47
Speaker 1: been a very tricky process that those people are having
22:51
Speaker 1: to learn too. Are you able to help anybody in
22:53
Speaker 1: those cases who the house survived but they're all still
22:56
Speaker 1: boarded up. They're all boarded up, I mean, and still
22:58
Speaker 1: ten months later they're boarded up. They can't live.
23:00
Speaker 2: Yeah. Habitat La has a smoke remediation and a home
23:03
Speaker 2: repair program, so either either fund, depending on the extent
23:07
Speaker 2: of the work that needs to be done, could assist
23:09
Speaker 2: a household like that.
23:11
Speaker 1: Wow, and people, we need to put you on every
23:13
Speaker 1: news channel. You're going to be on seven iHeart stations.
23:16
Speaker 1: Everyone needs to know that this help is available, because
23:18
Speaker 1: it's just like, oh, this is what people need, especially
23:22
Speaker 1: those who lost everything in the fire or your house
23:25
Speaker 1: is damaged enough to where you can't even live in
23:28
Speaker 1: it yet. I mean, you're helping so many and it's
23:31
Speaker 1: so needed. What about any any emotional support.
23:34
Speaker 2: Well, thank you for keeping the Yeah, thank you for
23:37
Speaker 2: keeping the focus on this. And I just want to say,
23:39
Speaker 2: you know, there are people starting to talk about emotional help,
23:43
Speaker 2: but we can't assume that everybody you know, learned about
23:47
Speaker 2: all the programs that were available, you know, in the
23:49
Speaker 2: first nine months, because there are people who are just
23:52
Speaker 2: coming to terms with starting to make their first decision
23:55
Speaker 2: about what to do next because they were you know,
23:58
Speaker 2: they're grieving, and they're and trauma and the trauma six
24:02
Speaker 2: and seven times right, and so they're finding a place
24:05
Speaker 2: for their kids to go to school, or you know,
24:07
Speaker 2: for their for their parents or in laws that were displaced.
24:11
Speaker 2: So there are people who are just starting the process,
24:14
Speaker 2: and there will be people next year who are just
24:16
Speaker 2: starting the process. And so that's why it's really important
24:19
Speaker 2: to work with groups like habitat La who have been
24:22
Speaker 2: here for thirty five years and will be here you know,
24:25
Speaker 2: throughout the next decade, and plus to help feed people
24:29
Speaker 2: get back on their feet with these wildfires. So with
24:31
Speaker 2: mental help, that's not it's not necessarily our area of expertise,
24:35
Speaker 2: but we have trained all of our staff in trauma
24:38
Speaker 2: informed care, so they are both taking care of themselves
24:43
Speaker 2: as they're taking on stories from so many survivors, but
24:46
Speaker 2: also able to empathize with survivors and what they're going through.
24:50
Speaker 2: And so we are working with our team to be
24:53
Speaker 2: to be ready for the unique conversations that come with
24:58
Speaker 2: folks who have been through such a traumat experience. And
25:01
Speaker 2: I think that's really important. It is, and I know
25:05
Speaker 2: that right now, like I said, Lisa, you know, so
25:08
Speaker 2: many people are feeling despair, and I just want to
25:12
Speaker 2: again say that hold on probably at the low lowest
25:16
Speaker 2: point of the valley right now, but there are a
25:19
Speaker 2: lot of people working very hard to make sure that
25:23
Speaker 2: homes will come back and our communities will come back,
25:26
Speaker 2: and that everyone will be able to move back home.
25:30
Speaker 2: And I hope people don't sell, but everybody has their own,
25:34
Speaker 2: you know, circumstances and choices to make, so I understand
25:38
Speaker 2: if they need to, but I know a lot of
25:41
Speaker 2: people are working very hard to bring our communities back,
25:45
Speaker 2: and so take eat and take hope in that. I
25:48
Speaker 2: know it's very difficult to deal with insurance companies and
25:51
Speaker 2: FEMA and things like that, but definitely you have a
25:54
Speaker 2: support system out here, and there will be times when
25:57
Speaker 2: you need to like stop and pull back and just
26:00
Speaker 2: take care of yourself, and so give yourself the space
26:02
Speaker 2: to do.
26:02
Speaker 1: That and have a couple of glasses of wine and wine.
26:07
Speaker 1: Wine hasn't been helping, but wine has been has been
26:10
Speaker 1: there for us, you know, since since January, it's been
26:13
Speaker 1: a tough times. And obviously as we close out Habitat
26:16
Speaker 1: for Humanity Los Angeles, you have your restores where folks
26:19
Speaker 1: can donate items and purchase household items gently use at
26:24
Speaker 1: a much lower price. You're always need to volunteers, of course,
26:28
Speaker 1: open for donations, but volunteers to help get the work done.
26:31
Speaker 1: If people want to help fire victims specifically, I'm sure
26:34
Speaker 1: they can request that or any you know a number
26:36
Speaker 1: of your projects that you're working on all over LA County,
26:39
Speaker 1: especially if they want to help fire victims, they can
26:41
Speaker 1: just apply to volunteer online as well or call the
26:43
Speaker 1: phone number.
26:43
Speaker 2: That's right either one. But there is a volunteer interest
26:46
Speaker 2: list specifically for wildfire assistance on our website and we
26:50
Speaker 2: send out specific you know, wildfire volunteer opportunities to that group.
26:54
Speaker 2: But you can also go online and create an account
26:56
Speaker 2: and look at our calendar and sign up for for
26:59
Speaker 2: any opportun unities that are coming up.
27:01
Speaker 1: And you're such a sweetheart, such the perfect lady to
27:03
Speaker 1: lead this I know you know Aaron went from volunteer
27:06
Speaker 1: to the president and ce Eoh, this gal is running
27:10
Speaker 1: this thing, and you have such a huge heart and
27:13
Speaker 1: obviously you have a big team of people and a
27:15
Speaker 1: lot of work to do. So thank you for doing
27:17
Speaker 1: this day in and day out for Angelino's in need
27:20
Speaker 1: and for fire victims. You really really appreciate all the help.
27:23
Speaker 1: I mean, who knew you guys were doing this much,
27:25
Speaker 1: So it's good spread the word people. Habitat for Humanity
27:28
Speaker 1: LA is doing a lot for people and a lot
27:30
Speaker 1: for Angelino's in need, especially since the fire. So the
27:33
Speaker 1: information is all right there on their website habitatla dot org,
27:37
Speaker 1: Habitatla dot org and the phone e Memercy said three
27:40
Speaker 1: one zero three two three four six six three three
27:44
Speaker 1: one zero three two three four six sixty three. Aaron,
27:46
Speaker 1: thank you so much for all you're doing. And I
27:48
Speaker 1: may finally see you, see you soon, I mean, you know,
27:51
Speaker 1: with all this stuff going.
27:52
Speaker 2: On, I would love that.
27:53
Speaker 1: Yeah. I love to give you a big, a big
27:54
Speaker 1: hot thank you so much, like Aaron Rank with Habitat
27:58
Speaker 1: for Humanity Los Angele list all the info at habitat
28:02
Speaker 1: la dot org