ACORN responds to California fire emergency
ACORN has established clothing distribution site at Southern California shelter.
California ACORN – the state's largest community organization with more than 37,000 member families – has begun the fight for those impacted by the wildfires that are devastating Southern California. ACORN is working with over 500 low- and moderate-income families affected by this crisis, and organizing to ensure that the voices of working families are heard. Almost half a million Southern California residents, many of them renters, have been forced into makeshift shelters run by private relief organizations. While many emergency needs are being met, questions remain about transitional housing, medical care and basic supplies for evacuees.
Click here to donate to the ACORN Institute California Fire Response and Recovery Fund now!
In San Bernardino, ACORN member Meg Coons of Lake Arrowhead, who was forced to evacuate her home with four relatives and three pets, said she has been frustrated by the response to the fires. Along with about 3,300 other evacuees, Meg and her family sought shelter at the Orange Show Fairgrounds, where she said she has had trouble obtaining the proper asthma medication and has been forced to sleep in her car in order to keep her pets with her instead of leaving them in cramped cages. ACORN members have set up clothing and food distribution sites at the fairgrounds.
Meanwhile, hundreds of residents of Ramona, a city nestled in the north eastern portion of San Diego County, are living in temporary shelters like one at Escondido High School. Many evacuees are undocumented, working families who worry about when they will be able to return to their homes. As renters, most fear eviction because they can’t get into Ramona to pick up their paychecks and pay their rent. Oliva Barrera, a new ACORN member, was evacuated on Sunday with her four young children. She is pregnant and worried about contacting her husband, who was in Mexico before the fires. She was unable to let her husband know where to find her because of a power outage that struck just before she fled her home with her children. Uncertain how long she will be away from home and worried about her children, Oliva joined ACORN to be part of an organized disaster response.
Having learned important lessons after Hurricane Katrina about disaster response, long-term recovery and survivor mobilization, ACORN is kicking its disaster response program into high gear in Southern California. We are visiting shelters, organizing committees of victims and developing a program for immigrants to ensure that all levels of government respond appropriately - particularly FEMA. ACORN's protracted struggles with FEMA after Katrina resulted in crucial expansions of short-term housing assistance and increased funding for Gulf Coast restoration. As ACORN members returned home after Katrina, the organization has led the charge toward recovery, gutting and preserving thousands of homes, building the first new homes in the Lower 9th Ward and fighting for fair and equitable distribution of rebuilding funds. For more information about ACORN’s wildfire organizing efforts, email caacorn(at)acorn.org.
26-10-07 14:05
Category: California, Chula Vista, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Orange County, San Diego, San Bernardino
California ACORN – the state's largest community organization with more than 37,000 member families – has begun the fight for those impacted by the wildfires that are devastating Southern California. ACORN is working with over 500 low- and moderate-income families affected by this crisis, and organizing to ensure that the voices of working families are heard. Almost half a million Southern California residents, many of them renters, have been forced into makeshift shelters run by private relief organizations. While many emergency needs are being met, questions remain about transitional housing, medical care and basic supplies for evacuees.
Click here to donate to the ACORN Institute California Fire Response and Recovery Fund now!
In San Bernardino, ACORN member Meg Coons of Lake Arrowhead, who was forced to evacuate her home with four relatives and three pets, said she has been frustrated by the response to the fires. Along with about 3,300 other evacuees, Meg and her family sought shelter at the Orange Show Fairgrounds, where she said she has had trouble obtaining the proper asthma medication and has been forced to sleep in her car in order to keep her pets with her instead of leaving them in cramped cages. ACORN members have set up clothing and food distribution sites at the fairgrounds.
Meanwhile, hundreds of residents of Ramona, a city nestled in the north eastern portion of San Diego County, are living in temporary shelters like one at Escondido High School. Many evacuees are undocumented, working families who worry about when they will be able to return to their homes. As renters, most fear eviction because they can’t get into Ramona to pick up their paychecks and pay their rent. Oliva Barrera, a new ACORN member, was evacuated on Sunday with her four young children. She is pregnant and worried about contacting her husband, who was in Mexico before the fires. She was unable to let her husband know where to find her because of a power outage that struck just before she fled her home with her children. Uncertain how long she will be away from home and worried about her children, Oliva joined ACORN to be part of an organized disaster response.
Having learned important lessons after Hurricane Katrina about disaster response, long-term recovery and survivor mobilization, ACORN is kicking its disaster response program into high gear in Southern California. We are visiting shelters, organizing committees of victims and developing a program for immigrants to ensure that all levels of government respond appropriately - particularly FEMA. ACORN's protracted struggles with FEMA after Katrina resulted in crucial expansions of short-term housing assistance and increased funding for Gulf Coast restoration. As ACORN members returned home after Katrina, the organization has led the charge toward recovery, gutting and preserving thousands of homes, building the first new homes in the Lower 9th Ward and fighting for fair and equitable distribution of rebuilding funds. For more information about ACORN’s wildfire organizing efforts, email caacorn(at)acorn.org.
26-10-07 14:05
Category: California, Chula Vista, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Orange County, San Diego, San Bernardino
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