New Grants Aim to Build Neighborly Bonds to Boost Healing for Wildfire Survivors
Block parties. Monthly dinner clubs. Garden walks. Playdates.
Months after wildfires ravaged Altadena, Pasadena, Palisades and Malibu, these neighborhood events aren’t just offering good food and fun. They are fostering social connections – a powerful path to healing and recovery from disaster.
More than money, insurance or effective government, what researchers call “the power of people” makes the critical difference in how quickly disaster survivors recover their sense of well-being. Recognizing the importance of neighbors bonding with neighbors, the California Community Foundation, Pasadena Community Foundation, UniHealth Foundation, Ralph M. Parsons Foundation and New Balance Foundation have teamed up to provide $8 million in grants to more than 60 programs supporting the emotional, spiritual and social needs of Eaton and Palisades fire survivors. To date, CCF has contributed $6 million for this effort, supporting 47 nonprofit organizations.
“Many survivors continue to carry the heavy weight of loss and trauma—this time can reopen deep wounds but also reminds us of the healing power found in coming together,” said CCF President and CEO Miguel A. Santana. “Amid this pain, survivors have shown profound compassion for one another, gently leading the way to restore and rebuild their communities. This same spirit of care is echoed by the generosity of 48,000 donors, whose kindness has enabled CCF to direct over $50 million toward urgent needs and long-term recovery—nurturing connection and supporting survivor-led healing.”
The grants were awarded to nonprofits, grassroots groups and healing practitioners for initiatives that help neighbors build bonds with each other and nurture social networks – a key strategy for community healing. Rather than top-down directives, the two-year initiative will be led by community members, celebrating their interests and cultures with creative practices to support collective resilience.
Big Heart Ranch in Malibu, for instance, will use its grant to expand its work forging healing bonds between animals and people who need loving connections. The ranch is a sanctuary for nearly 80 horses, donkeys, alpacas, pigs, and other critters who were rescued from varied situations and can offer comfort to wildfire survivors. In turn, survivors will be invited to the ranch to help restore fences, repair fencing and stalls and engage in equine therapy. Healing days, mobile pop-ups, small-group sessions and other activities are also planned to remind people they have a community to lean on, said Denise deGarmo, the ranch’s executive director.
“There couldn’t be a better time because the need has grown and we can help so many more people,” added deGarmo, who said she burst into tears when she received news of the grant. “There is something that happens when an animal looks into the face of a child with an illness or who has lost a house. It’s magical.”
A grant to the Rotary Club of Altadena will support pancake breakfasts, summer concerts – and the legendary Christmas Tree Lane, where the towering deodar cedar trees survived the Eaton Fire but the electrical equipment has needed replacement and repair. The Altadena Library Foundation will use its grants to add food, festivities and fun to its many services – adding face-painting and balloon art to Mommy and Me gatherings, for instance.
Mark Mariscal, the Rotary club’s executive club secretary and library foundation’s president, said CCF’s “leap of faith” in providing urgently needed funds to so many organizations in the fire areas had made a big difference in helping them on their road to recovery.
The need for community healing was documented in CCF’s LA Wildfires Recovery Needs Assessment, which surveyed more than 630 community-based organizations across L.A. County in April 2025. The survey found that survivors continued to face significant hurdles, including challenges around housing, job joss, mental health and trauma, financial need and a sense of community connectedness.
Department of Angels survey of more than 2,000 survivors found that three in four reported their mental health had worsened since the fires.
But even as many disaster recovery efforts focus on rebuilding homes and restoring financial stability, research has shown that social ties are a critical factor in promoting resilience, mental health healing and community recovery following a natural disaster.
Daniel Aldrich, a Northeastern University professor who lost his home in the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster, found that social cohesion among survivors in New Orleans, Japan and elsewhere was more important to their sense of recovery than other factors.
In the Fukushima area of Japan, where a devastating earthquake and tsunami nearby triggered a nuclear reactor disaster in 2011, Aldrich’s research team found that the only factor that helped reduce anxiety was not a survivor’s physical health or wealth but having friends and neighbors living nearby. The importance of social ties has been documented in other areas as well. They were a leading factor in whether survivors chose to return to their neighborhoods, and a driving force in establishing mutual aid activities – patrolling neighborhoods in Haiti after a 2011 earthquake diminished police forces, for instance, and creating informal networks in New Orleans to share food, shelter, day care and other services.
The new grant program by CCF and other partners will help build those connections. It represents the latest round of financial aid from CCF’s Wildfire Recovery Fund, which was launched the day after the wildfires erupted on Jan. 7. The record-breaking effort brought in $30 million in less than two weeks, $60 million in a month and to date has raised more than $100 million from more than 48,000 donors.
Ethan White, data and development director of the Boys and Girls Club of Malibu, said the grant will help more than 1,200 youth learn about fire science and practices to reduce the chance of ignition – such as removing nearby brush and relocating woodpiles and surfing boards touching the home. The club will be working with area schools and the Community Brigade, a group of volunteers trained by public and nonprofit fire experts to assist first responders and teach neighbors how best to make their properties safer.
He added that knowledge, along with activities to put it in practice, can be healing.
“Knowledge makes you more resilient,” said White, who lost his home in the Palisades Fire. “The biggest determinant of whether or not people will be able to recover and rebuild their lives in the community is whether they’ve stayed connected to their fellow neighbors.”
Other grant-funded activities could include community potlucks and BBQs to share food, build relationships and exchange recovery updates. Local music and storytelling nights for survivors to share their experiences. Group sessions for painting, collage, pottery or other creative arts workshops to process emotions and foster connections. Photography and oral history projects to document survivor stories. Family wellness activities, such as games and gatherings providing healthy food, to offer emotional support.
Unihealth Foundation President and COO Jennifer Vanore said ensuring access to essential mental health resources and fostering community resilience were particularly important. “Our early investment in this innovative initiative reflects our commitment to helping local-led organizations deliver vital wellness resources to those who need them most,” Vanore said.
The Pasadena Community Foundation also noted that many survivors are facing a range of mental and emotional health challenges as the one-year anniversary of the Eaton Fire approaches. “PCF joined our partners in making these grants because it is critical to ensure our neighbors get the support they need to feel healthy, hopeful, safe, and stable,” said foundation President and CEO Khanh Russo. “By supporting programs that strengthen well-being and reconnect communities, we help those affected not only rebuild but also recover and thrive.”
The current list of grantees can be found here.
– Teresa Watanabe
