BETTER ANGELS AND IMAGINE LA LAUNCH LA DISASTER RELIEF NAVIGATOR

First-of-its-kind online tool is part of comprehensive set of initiatives designed to provide immediate support to victims of the fires

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Better Angels, whose mission is to solve the homelessness epidemic in Los Angeles by harnessing the power of the LA community, and Imagine LA, whose mission is to end family homelessness and generational poverty, have created and launched the LA Disaster Relief Navigator. The online tool helps Angelenos impacted by the wildfires effectively navigate the many resources potentially available to them. The solution was developed in collaboration with the Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles, the Office of Mayor Bass, the Annenberg Foundation, the R&S Kayne Foundation, NavaLabs and the Red Cross.

The Navigator is designed to help people access every aspect of fire relief, including applying for federal, state and local government assistance; making insurance claims; temporary and permanent housing solutions; income loss mitigation; and other critical services. The solution provides victims with a personalized recovery action plan based on their specific situation, making the recovery process immediately actionable and putting the community on a path to recovery. For those in severe economic hardship, the Navigator connects people needing additional help with case management personnel. 

"We have mobilized our entire organization to develop and deliver wildfire relief, providing information, funding and resources for Angelenos impacted by this tragedy," said Adam Miller, Co-Founder & CEO of Better Angels. "We are particularly concerned about individuals and families who were already vulnerable prior to the disaster, and we want to ensure that they are properly supported in the recovery process."

"People who have lost their home or their income because of the wildfires are not only in shock, they are paralyzed by information overload," said Jill Bauman, Founder & CEO of Imagine LA, the creators of the Benefit Navigator. "This solution is human-centered and gives them a clear, actionable plan."

The LA Disaster Relief Navigator is one of a series of initiatives by Better Angels to support victims of the fires. Better Angels is leveraging its team and resources, while working with key partners, to help those who have been left homeless, jobless, or both as a result of the wildfires. The recovery initiatives include:

• Emergency Assistance Fund: Six days after the fires began, Better Angels launched an Emergency Assistance Fund (EAF) to support economically vulnerable families impacted by the fires. For these low-income families, the fires have created a uniquely precarious situation, one which has the potential to plunge many of them into homelessness. The money provides immediate relief around critical items such as food, clothing, transportation and medicine. Applications are reviewed daily, then verified by the Better Angels team, and following an underwriting process, awards are directly deposited into individuals' accounts daily. Better Angels received a significant grant from the LA Tech Community Cares Fund to expand the EAF program. Individuals and families can apply here: https://www.betterangels.la/emergency-assistance-fund.
  
  
• Resource Days: Leveraging Better Angels' existing Resource Day program, these events throughout LA County provide anyone who is unhoused and in crisis with food, water, hygiene supplies, mental health and medical services, housing navigation services, and other essentials. The Better Angels Services Team hosted a Resource Day in Encino while under an evacuation warning, co-hosted an event at Whittier Narrows a few days after it was evacuated for local fires, and partnered with LA Mission to host a services event near Altadena last week. Better Angels will be hosting many more of these events in the coming weeks and months at locations throughout LA County, including some of the areas most impacted by the wildfires.
  
  
• HireMy: In addition to thousands of people who lost their homes, many of the most economically vulnerable Angelenos who were domestic workers in those homes are now unemployed. Better Angels has launched a referral network called HireMy to match experienced housekeepers, nannies, landscapers and other domestic workers who lost their jobs with those who need services.
  
  
• Donation Center: In partnership with social influencer Kiley Coleman and girltalk, Better Angels is supporting the girltalk Donation Center, which provides long-term support to individuals and families who've lost everything. The Donation Center has created a retail-like experience for people who have lost their homes from the fires, providing clothes, shoes, food, home goods and other essentials free of charge. All of the items at the Donation Center have been donated by the LA community.

About Better Angels:
Better Angels is on a mission to solve LA's homelessness epidemic by harnessing the power of the Los Angeles community. Better Angels is taking a holistic approach to solving homelessness with community engagement, advocacy, world-class technology, and a strong dose of pragmatism across five critical areas of need: Prevention, Technology, Services, Shelter and Housing.

For more information or to donate, please visit betterangels.la/wildfire-response. 

About ImagineLA:
Imagine LA, founded in 2006, is a social impact organization specializing in helping individuals and families maximize public benefits and chart permanent pathways out of homelessness and poverty. In 2023, Imagine LA developed the Benefit Navigator, a one-stop-shop online tool that helps case managers and their clients to quickly navigate and access the complex arena of federal, state and local public benefits and refundable tax credits. The Benefit Navigator has helped people access over $125 million in additional benefits and feel confident to increase their earned income by an average of 25%.

About the Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles:
In support of Mayor Karen Bass' work to reduce and end homelessness in Los Angeles the Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles is focused on preventing Angelenos from becoming homeless. It has brought together business, philanthropy, nonprofits, and local government to help keep Angelenos housed. Through outreach, case management and expanded legal services the Fund's We Are LA program has connected over 53,000 Angelenos to needed services and helped stabilize housing for more than 23,000 Angelenos at risk of eviction and homelessness. The Mayor's Fund is spearheading case management services to the Angelenos severely economically impacted by the Wildfires, particularly those at risk of homelessness. 

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SOURCE Better Angels