Greetings Neighbor,

I hope that this update reaches you in good health and safety. As wildfires continue to impact communities across the LA region, I want to take a moment to help keep you informed about important information and resources.

As always, our district team is here to provide assistance to our constituents. Feel free to reach our district office at (213) 745-6656 or visit our website to email us directly about any further information. 

Sincerely,

Lola Smallwood-Cuevas
Senator, 28th District

FEMA 
To receive Clean-Up and Sanitize assistance, you must first register with FEMA. To apply, please visit DisasterAssistance.gov, call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362, or apply in person at a Disaster Recovery Center listed at lacity.org. The deadline to apply for FEMA assistance is March 10, 2025.

Mortgage Relief
Governor Newsom has announced that 270 state-chartered banks, credit unions, and mortgage lenders and servicers have now committed to providing mortgage relief to impacted property owners. These institutions have committed to offering impacted residents a 90-day forbearance on their mortgage payments, while not reporting late payments to credit reporting agencies. 

Impacted residents, who qualify, won’t have to submit forms or documents and will be protected from foreclosures or evictions for at least 60 days. Relief is available for impacted residents who are customers of the institutions linked here. 

This announcement adds to the five major financial institutions that have already agreed to offer mortgage relief to impacted residents. To learn more about the Governor’s announcement, please visit here.

Tax Relief
Governor Newsom has signed an Executive Order extending state property tax deadlines until April 10, 2026. Please visit here to learn more about how the order affects property tax relief, as well as the zip codes to which this order applies.  

Insurance Policy Moratorium
Insurance Commissioner Lara has announced a one-year mandatory moratorium on insurance non-renewals and cancellations for properties affected by the recent fires. Click here to learn more.

LA County Resources for Workers and Businesses
The LA Department of Economic Opportunity leads economic resilience and recovery efforts while providing information, programs and resources for workers and businesses. To learn more about their emergency resources for workers and businesses, please visit here. 

Care Camp Available for Impacted Kids and Teens
RAP Support Camps are dedicated to assisting families impacted by the Palisades fire at Oakwood Recreation Center in Venice and Mar Vista Recreation Center operating Monday thru Friday, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, now until January 31. Also, to view a list of Care Camps for youth and teens, please visit here.

CalFresh Available
CalFresh recipients in the wildfire-impacted areas can now purchase hot food items with their benefits through February 8. Recipients also have until February 5 to request replacement food benefits if food was lost because of the fires. Meanwhile, 25,000 food boxes are headed to the impacted region. Visit here to learn more. 

Disaster Recovery Center Opens in 28th District
A full-service Disaster Recovery Center is now open, located at Pico and Westwood Boulevards in the 28th Senate District. Formerly the Westside Pavilion and now the Westside Research Park, this huge FEMA run center is an excellent one-stop resource for those impacted by the LA wildfires.

The center offers face-to-face service on fire damage claims, lost records, unemployment, mental health counseling, and much more. It also provides a childcare area run by the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation & Parks and UCLA. 

When visiting the center last weekend, I was pleased to hear that neighbors felt heard and relieved after visiting dozens of tables offering support.

The center operates seven days a week, from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm. Learn more by visiting lacity.gov.