Community Grants That Helped Neighbors Heal Together

One year after the fires, the road to recovery is long for many families—but one thing can’t wait: coming back together.

Recovery is about more than permits, insurance claims, and construction timelines. It is also about memory, grief, resilience, and the simple act of being with neighbors again.

To support communities through the one-year milestone and the holiday season, the Department of Angels launched the 1-year community grants program. The initiative invested directly in survivor-led gatherings across Altadena and Pacific Palisades, allowing residents to shape remembrance and healing in ways that felt meaningful in their own neighborhoods.

Between November 2025 and February 2026, the Department of Angels awarded 21 community grants — 13 in Altadena and 8 in Pacific Palisades. Nearly $20,000 in grants supported gatherings that reached an estimated 2,000+ residents, creating moments of connection, reflection, and renewed community during a difficult anniversary.

Altadena: Neighbor-to-Neighbor Healing

In Altadena, the grants fueled hyper-local gatherings organized by Altagether’s volunteer block captains, neighborhood groups, and informal networks that have supported each other throughout the year. These events were intimate, creative, and deeply rooted in the relationships that define the community.

Neighbors on Highland Avenue marked the anniversary by marching together and placing flowers at the 33 homes lost on their street before sharing breakfast. Residents on Las Flores gathered for reflection, art, and dinner. A simple Cookie Day on East Woodbury brought neighbors together to decorate ornaments and share homemade treats.

Other gatherings celebrated progress. On Navarro Avenue, the “Destructo to Constructo” block party welcomed more than 100 residents for music, food, and activities with a focus on providing creative outlets for anger (axe throwing, anyone?) marking the shift from demolition to rebuilding. Groundbreaking ceremonies along West Mariposa Street celebrated the moment neighbors began rebuilding their homes.

Many events centered community identity and healing. Cafecito y Pan created a culturally grounded space for the Latino community in West Altadena. Home Microphone, an open mic night launched by survivors, brought nearly 100 residents together for storytelling, poetry, and music reflecting on the year since the fires.

Together, these gatherings strengthened the neighborhood networks that continue to carry recovery forward.

Pacific Palisades: Restoring Presence

In Pacific Palisades, the grants supported events that helped residents return to shared spaces after a year of disruption.

Some gatherings were quiet and restorative. Pieces of Home, a trauma-informed arts workshop, invited survivors to create keepsakes using salvaged materials from their homes. The event filled immediately, with a waiting list of more than 25 people — a reminder of the deep need for healing-centered spaces.

Others focused on restoring visible community presence. The Light Your Lot initiative installed solar-lit trees and stars on burned parcels during the holidays, transforming dark, empty lots into symbols of hope.

Neighborhood block parties also returned. In Marquez Knolls, approximately 250 residents gathered for tacos, music, and conversation — one of the largest gatherings in the area since the fire. In Lower Marquez, neighbors revived a long-standing block party tradition that had paused after the disaster.

Across the Palisades, these gatherings brought people back onto their streets, back into school auditoriums and yards, and back into the shared spaces that anchor community life.

A Different Kind of Recovery Investment

These community grants covered practical costs — food, tables, tents, art supplies, lighting, and accessibility accommodations — ensuring events remained free and accessible for residents already facing the financial strain of rebuilding.

But their impact went far beyond logistics.

As one grantee from Light Your Lot shared:

“By lighting these lots during the holidays, we helped remove the darkness—both literal and emotional—that had settled over Pacific Palisades.”

Another participant from the Pieces of Home workshop described the experience simply:

“The Department of Angels grant didn't just fund a workshop. It funded healing, connection, and hope. It reminded 30 families that they're not facing this alone. That recovery is possible. That they matter.” 

Relational Recovery

The one-year anniversary was a powerful reminder that recovery is not only structural — it is relational.

These small investments allowed neighbors to define what healing looked like for their own streets and communities. In doing so, they represented the Department of Angels’ mission in action: to ensure that fire-impacted communities in Los Angeles lead their own recovery — on their terms — with the support, resources, and expertise they need to thrive.