The warehouse fire affecting Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles, and surrounding communities is a stark reminder that even as one crisis fades, another can quickly emerge. For more than a week, families have endured smoke-filled skies, school and business disruptions, lost wages, and serious concerns about the long-term health impacts of poor air quality.

In 1994, I experienced a moment of political awakening. That’s when Californians passed Proposition 187, a measure that sought to deny education, health care and other public services to undocumented immigrants. I joined efforts — including legal action and community organizing — to fight against enacting the law, and our activism ultimately ended efforts to implement it.

The UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs released its latest Quality of Life Index (QLI) earlier this month, and the findings reflect the daunting challenges facing Angelenos today. In a year marked by wildfires, intensified ICE raids and rising costs, the index found Angelenos have record low levels of satisfaction with their quality of life.

Every day, across Los Angeles County, people wake up and do what they have always done — go to work, take their children to school, care for aging parents, tend to their communities. They are not asking for much. They are asking for a fair shot at a good life.