The Emotional Suffering of Fire Recovery. And How We Can Address It Together.
Jan 16, 2026
Dear friends,
It was deeply moving to see so many of you last week at vigils, ceremonies, and gatherings across our community marking one year since the fires.
Thank you to everyone who organized these moments of connection. We have so many extraordinary community leaders. I feel genuinely privileged to be among you.
During those events, and through more than 1,000 messages we've received responding to our coalition urgent housing proposal, I have been heartbroken by the emotional toll across our community.
Here are just a few of the messages survivors shared with us:
“This entire experience has been a nightmare that shattered my faith in humanity. Destroyed my home, my business, my pets, and my physical and mental health. I feel hopeless and broken.”
“The emotional and financial cost has been so overwhelming that my daughter may have to put college on hold. We may have to walk away from our home of 25 years. I don't know if my husband and I will get through this together.”
“We lost everything we owned and all the systems we believed in. We no longer have the illusion of security and are struggling to remain hopeful.”
These voices are not isolated. They are representative.
What the data reveals about survivors' mental health, one year in
It's no surprise that mental health has emerged as one of the most urgent issues in our survivor community right now.
The newly released one-year Department of Angels survivor survey paints a sobering picture:
83% of survivors report that their mental health is worse than before the fires, up from 73% just three months earlier
44% say their mental health is “much worse”
More than 7 in 10 Eaton and Palisades survivors are still not home
Over half are expected to run out of insurance-funded housing within the next six months
Local mental health providers are now reporting a rise in suicidal ideation tied directly to extreme financial pressure and housing instability.
This is devastating to watch unfold.
Recovery was always going to be hard.
It was never supposed to be this hard.
Why this pain makes sense and why it is not your fault
I speak with survivors every week who feel ashamed when they cannot pay rent or feed their children, even though they have done everything right.
Many survivors turn inward and begin asking what they are doing wrong. People start believing they are failing at recovery, when the truth is that the system is failing them.
Please know this: that shame does not belong to you.
This extreme financial insecurity is not natural. It is not unavoidable. And it is not permanent.
If you or someone you know needs support right now
As we begin Year Two after the fire, let's all commit to caring for ourselves and for one another.
If you ever feel overwhelmed, frightened by your thoughts, or simply want someone to talk to, please reach out. You can call or text 988 at any time. It is free, confidential, and answered by trained counselors who understand crisis.
You can also call or text on behalf of someone else.
People sometimes ask me, When do I know if it's time to call 988?
The answer is simple: if you are wondering whether it's time, it's time.
Through our work with local mental health professionals, I've met some of the people who staff our local 988 hotline. I have been deeply impressed by their care and professionalism. They are there, and they are waiting to help.
Even in grief, community is forming
Alongside all of this pain, something extraordinary continues to unfold.
Survivors are showing up.
Telling the truth.
Holding one another through loss and fear.
Rebuilding community together.
Following EFSN's one-year survivor press conference, more than 450 survivors gathered for our community commemoration ceremony. Together, we created an altar of memories. People shared stories in small groups. Many of you traveled from far away simply to be with other members of our community.
It was beautiful.
A special thank you to the Shared Harvest team for arriving with hundreds of roses to hand out. And deep gratitude to Pastor Amara Ononiwu, Michael Sapp from the Trauma Resource Institute, and the Didi Hirsch Mental Health Care Team for guiding us through connection and reflection.
Many people told me they left feeling deeply connected to our community and more at peace than when they arrived.
Continuing emotional care into the new year
Next Thursday, January 22, we are continuing our emotional wellness series:
Spa for the Soul—Emotional Wellness Gathering by Zoom
This builds on the powerful sessions we held over the holidays.
It is a Spa for the Soul. Instead of massages and facials, you get to choose a session led by a leading emotional wellness provider. Mental health clinicians, art therapists, music therapists, and spiritual leaders will each host a breakout.
The 90-minute gathering begins with brief introductions so you can choose where you want to spend your time. Then you choose your own adventure.
We're grateful to Goodwill of Southern California for sponsoring these sessions, and to the Trauma Resource Institute and the Eaton Fire Collaborative Emotional Wellness Cluster for leading this work.
Palisades survivors often ask if this is for you. Yes. You are absolutely welcome. Every EFSN program is for Eaton and Palisades survivors alike.
Sign up here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/8_hCGxXwQe65BIYkPSnV3w#/registration
How relieving financial pressure also relieves emotional suffering
Much of the pressure driving this mental health crisis is the result of delayed compensation and underpayments following a utility-caused disaster. That pressure can be reduced immediately.
That's why a broad civic coalition of survivors, nonprofits, faith leaders, and community organizations has come together to call for urgent housing relief to keep families housed until we can get back home.
Stabilizing housing and cashflow is one of the fastest ways to stabilize mental health. It reduces acute stress, interrupts the slide toward homelessness, and gives families breathing room to heal.
If you haven't already, I invite you to add your name in support of the coalition urgent housing proposal. If you are a survivor, or an ally who empathizes with survivors facing extreme financial insecurity, this is a meaningful way to care for our community. edisonrelief.org
Collective voice matters. And relief now would save lives.
EFSN Virtual Town Hall with Senator Sasha Renée Pérez
One of the largest drivers of financial stress and mental health strain right now is something specific and something we can work together to fix:
Illegal insurance delays and underpayments.
Families are running out of money not because recovery is impossible, but because payments that should have been made long ago are being delayed or quietly reduced.
Our courageous Altadena Senator, Sasha Renée Pérez, is addressing this head-on.
She is authoring two major bills designed to curb these practices and restore basic fairness in disaster recovery. These bills were developed based on survivors' lived experiences. Her legislative team worked through the holidays to seek our input, and Consumer Watchdog provided expert policy insight.
Senator Pérez is coming to EFSN to share these bills with our community.
At the town hall, she will explain how illegal delays and underpayments happen, what her bills do to curb them, and how survivors and allies can help move them forward.
Please join us, and invite your survivor friends, networks, and allies. You're also welcome to share the image above on social media to help spread the word.
Palisades survivors, this is for you too.
Register here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_uQB093w8QY6rrfSY6QdZIg#/
A quiet policy decision with enormous consequences for families and communities
A broader question is quietly brewing beneath all of this, under the bland-sounding name SB 254 Study. The question at the center is simple, but the stakes are enormous:
Should utility shareholders receive even more protection from the costs of fires caused by their own negligence?
The answer will shape far more than balance sheets. It will affect whether future survivors are made whole, whether communities can recover, and whether California reduces or repeats catastrophic fires.
Survivors across California are seeking balance so that protections do not flow only to shareholders and executives, while survivors and taxpayers absorb the very real costs of mass homelessness, emergency housing, healthcare, school disruption, and permanent displacement.
Today, Los Angeles Times investigative reporter Melody Petersen published an article that brings this question into the open:
“Wildfire victims decry state law protecting utilities from cost of disasters they cause.”
Her reporting explains how Edison expects to pay little for the Eaton Fire, despite potential damages reaching $45 billion, with the utility's liability capped at roughly $4 billion under current state law. Survivors and consumer advocates argue that this structure creates a moral hazard, one that reduces accountability and increases the risk of future fires.
As I shared in the article:
“The predictable outcome of continuing to protect shareholders and executives from the consequences of their own negligence is not theoretical. It is observable. More catastrophic fires.”
An authority spokesperson noted that survivors' perspectives have been “invaluable” as officials complete the study, which is due April 1.
We are encouraged by California state officials' openness to engaging survivors in this conversation, and we look forward to continued dialogue this spring about how to balance utility stability with accountability and public safety.
This policy will continue to unfold this spring.
We will be sharing updates here as it develops.
Read the Los Angeles Times investigation:
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2026-01-16/wildfire-victims-decry-state-law-protecting-utilities-from-cost-of-disasters-they-cause
Survivor voices matter more than ever
As we move into Year Two, sustaining public attention will only get harder.
Survivors do not have billion-dollar ad budgets or lobbying teams. What we have are our voices and our lived experience.
EFSN supports survivor leadership in the public sphere. Journalists have told us that without this coordination, they would no longer be covering the Los Angeles fires.
This work also supports emotional recovery. Research shows that opportunities for self-advocacy after loss can restore agency and support healing.
If you are an Eaton or Palisades survivor willing to speak with media, please join the Survivor Media Corps:
https://www.efsurvivors.net/survivor-media-corps
Media may reach us at joy.chen@efsurvivors.net. Please include story specifics and as much lead time as possible.
Property tax clarity for rebuilding
Many of us learned we can rebuild up to 110 percent of our original home size. There was concern this could trigger higher property taxes.
LA County Assessor Jeff Prang acted quickly to ensure survivors rebuilding up to 110 percent to meet current codes can retain their pre-fire assessed value.
Directive:
Webinar replay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TN_g53v-PY
Small business support event this Wednesday in Altadena
Bank of America and Visa invite you to Rebuilding Altadena, a free event created to help local small business owners rebuild, reopen, and grow stronger after the Eaton Fire.
January 21, 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Alta Design Works: 409 E Woodbury Rd, Altadena, CA 91001
As we move through Year Two, please remember this:
What you are feeling makes sense.
This pressure is not your fault.
And together, we are working to ease it.
With love,
Joy Chen
on behalf of the EFSN Team
P.S. If this resonated with you, please share it. Every new survivor and ally strengthens us all.
