How the nonprofit Change Reaction gets money to LA households impacted by wildfires so fast
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — As Angelenos reel from the devastating wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes and businesses and killed at least 29 people, an LA-based nonprofit is handing out cash payments of as much as $5,000 to provide fast, unrestricted help to some of those impacted.
The Change Reaction, a philanthropic nonprofit founded by real estate investor Greg Perlman and his wife Jodi, has distributed checks to 3,000 people across LA so far to help them meet immediate needs in one of the most expensive cities in the United States.
“It’s kind of like oxygen,” The Change Reaction founder and main funder Greg Perlman said of the cash payments. He and his wife seeded the group’s Wildfire Direct Giving Fund with $10 million, nearly half of which has already been given away.
The money helps people like Katherine Anderson, 80, who lost her home of more than 30 years in the Eaton Fire last month.
Anderson is in Montebello, 30 miles away, sharing a motel room with four other people, including her sister, Paulette Allen, who used to stay with Anderson while getting cancer treatments at the nearby City of Hope cancer hospital.
“We’re making do,” said Anderson.
Last week, Anderson got a text from the minister of her church, which also burned down, telling her to come to a Change Reaction event in the gymnasium of Pasadena City College where she could receive financial relief.
“I need it,” she said. “I lost everything.”
A check was waiting for her, with no application required and no conditions on how she spends it. Anderson said she'll put it toward finding a place to rent.
“Going from motel to motel, no clothing, and not being able to cook,” she said. “I need to be stable somewhere,” she said.
Stabilizing households is a key role of direct cash assistance, according to experts. Federal assistance, insurance money and unemployment are often slow to arrive. Quick cash infusions can prevent people from falling into debt or foregoing basic needs. They also give households agency over how they use their resources.
“It creates an incredible amount of empowerment for individuals to not fall as far behind as they could,” said Patricia McIlreavy, president and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.
The Change Reaction has been offering cash relief in Los Angeles since 2019, when the Perlmans started supporting households receiving care at UCLA hospitals with related and burdensome expenses like hotel stays.
Families were referred to the organization through hospital social workers, cutting red tape and lowering the hurdles they had to jump for help. The social workers were already trusted and vetted, so when they applied on behalf of a family, the Perlmans didn’t need to know more. They just cut checks.
The Change Reaction now works with a network of 250 nonprofits and around 2,000 “change makers” — social workers, teachers, and community advocates empowered to apply on behalf of households experiencing financial emergencies like a car repair, lost wages, or help transitioning into stable housing. Most requests are filled within 48 hours.
“We’ve got all these community leaders and we trust them,” said Perlman, who amassed his wealth through real estate investments in affordable housing buildings. “So just get behind that person, give them the money. Don’t get in their way.”
When the fires devastated communities across LA, impacting tens of thousands, The Change Reaction’s system was well positioned to offer immediate relief.
The group reached out to clergy members in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena asking them to refer households impacted by the fires. They started writing checks: About $1,000 for people who didn’t lose housing but were evacuated, and between $2,500-$5,000 for those with more dire needs. A $1 million donation from GoFundMe allowed them to pass out $500 gift cards, too.
That money is sorely needed, said Charles Johnson, pastor of Cochrane Avenue Baptist Church in west Los Angeles and one of the clergy members who referred congregants to The Change Reaction. “They’re meeting people where they are,” he said. “An opportunity like this is phenomenal because it’s immediate.”
Johnson worries about kids who missed meals when schools were shut down, and families placed in hotels and Airbnbs 50 miles from home with nowhere to cook. He said that while some families were receiving $770 payments from FEMA for immediate needs, that wasn’t enough in LA.
“If you know the price of food, if you go shopping three times and you have a family of four, that’s the money,” said Johnson.
Philanthropic foundations, nonprofits and FEMA have all been expanding their use of cash relief after recent natural disasters. After Hurricanes Helene and Milton, GiveDirectly used AI to find households in some of the worst-impacted areas and send them $1,000 through an app that helps people manage federal benefits like SNAP.
The Community Foundation of Sarasota County has a longstanding program that pays housing, transportation, utilities and childcare bills in emergencies.
Programs like these are challenged to find everyone who needs help and to deliver payments efficiently.
At the Change Reaction event in Altadena last week, 1,000 cash recipients — many elderly or towing kids and dogs — waited in a long line to enter the gymnasium, then navigated more lines inside to pick up their checks. Only the people connected by the group’s change makers had access to the program, possibly leaving out those with weaker community ties or who are reluctant to come forward to get help.
“We hope to raise enough money where we can help everybody,” said The Change Reaction President Wade Trimmer. “But the reality is that right now, we can’t, so we’re really relying on these faith leaders and embedded community members to identify the people who need the help the most.”
More technical approaches that use data to find households or leverage electronic payments leave people out, too. McIlreavy said it’s expected for a program to be unable to capture everyone.
After handing out nearly 3,000 checks last month, The Change Reaction is looking next to how it can help households with new housing costs like security deposits, rent and furnishings. It's dedicating $500,000 dollars for people impacted in the foster system and also focusing on the elderly.
With $15 million donated so far, the group wants to raise $50 million for the effort — and to give it away fast. “This is not just about raising money,” said Trimmer. “We are a clearinghouse, we’re getting this money out daily.”
Walking out of the Altadena event last week, Angelica Martinez looked relieved. Her house didn’t burn, but she hasn’t been allowed to return to it yet. She said she could use some assistance to pay for laundry for her and her three kids, for food and gas. She hadn’t looked at the amount yet.
“Anything is a blessing,” she said. “This is the first help we’ve gotten.” ——
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