More than a year after the Eaton Fire — which Cal Fire says burned 14,021 acres and destroyed at least 9,414 structures in and around Altadena — rebuilding has been slow. A UCLA analysis released in October found nearly seven in 10 severely damaged homes showed no visible progress, and investors had purchased about two-thirds of the properties that changed hands. In a community where Black households were hit hardest, the threat of displacement is real.
But roots run deeper than ruin. Today, you see the proof.
Enter the Rebuilding & Recovery Tour, a morning walk led by Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles County, SoCal NOMA, and the Restore the Legacy LA Coalition — timed to National Homeownership Month. A press conference at 10 a.m. with NHS President and CEO Lori Gay kicks things off at the property of Roosevelt Pullem, an 89-year-old Army veteran rebuilding his Highview Avenue home with financial and technical support from NHS and a grant from the Black Freedom Fund.
From there, meet the Williams family — four homes lost, 17 relatives displaced, multiple members now mid-rebuild on their own properties. Matilda Williams, the family matriarch, faced severe underinsurance after a financial setback before the fire. She’s rebuilding with grant support and NHS assistance, adding an ADU and space for her adopted children. Dr. Eshelle Williams, a renter of nearly 17 years displaced by the fire, is on a path to homeownership after NHS acquired and started redeveloping her former residence so she can return with her son as owner.
Kim and Corie Gilliam are restoring “Flora’s Legacy,” a family home whose history began with their grandmother in 1976 — funded through insurance, an SBA loan, and NHS support. Errol and Nina Adams, residents of 55 years, are rebuilding their historic cottage-style home with design support from NOMA partners. Howard and Vickie Rose, who purchased their Altadena home in 1980 and spent 45 years raising multiple generations there, are rebuilding with support from MASBuild.
The machinery behind these stories matters. NHS, a certified Community Development Financial Institution with more than 40 years in affordable housing, provides low- or no-cost loans and grants, HUD-certified housing counseling, down payment assistance, construction project management, and estate planning to fire survivors. As of last summer, SoCal NOMA’s architects had completed roughly 200 free individualized rebuild plans for displaced Altadena homeowners, according to published reports. The RLA Coalition — formed after the wildfires and more than 80 organizations deep — adds financial counseling, disaster case management, affordable loans and grants, and free estate planning.
NHS’s approach is to keep people in place. The nonprofit buys burned lots and resells them below market to people with Altadena ties. NHS and the RLA Coalition also hold regular Rebuilding & Recovery workshops offering survivors access to grants, lending, and legal services.
This is not charity theater. It’s infrastructure.
Show up, walk the blocks, and let Altadena show you what staying looks like.
2840 Highview Avenue, Altadena; 10 a.m.–11:30 a.m., Monday, June 29
