\t\t\t\t\tAfter helping a family select up to 330 items for their new home, a Sense of Home volunteer gave them a wooden heart with the volunteers\u2019 names and words of encouragement.<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Organization<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tBut when the fires were finally fully contained after 24 days, the city\u2019s needs were only just beginning. Rents spiked despite anti-gouging laws, insurance companies were slow to pay out claims, and even people whose homes hadn\u2019t been completely destroyed were often coping with costly and dangerous damage from smoke and toxic chemicals that required them to relocate for months. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has yet to act on a request from California Gov. Gavin Newsom in February for $40 billion in additional federal aid for rebuilding schools, churches, homes and hospitals.<\/p>\n \n\tSo, philanthropic organizations have been trying to fill the widening gap between what fire-affected communities still need and what the government and insurers are providing. A Sense of Home, for instance \u2014 an organization independent film producer Georgie Smith founded in 2015 to help young people transitioning out of foster care furnish their first apartments \u2014 reinvented itself as a disaster relief organization in the first 48 hours of the wildfires. Smith and her team filled a donated warehouse space with furniture and home goods, supplying displaced people with up to 330 items, from beds and dining tables to forks and shower curtain rods, all in one place, helping to alleviate some of the emotional overwhelm of home loss. \u201cThere are obstacles with FEMA, there are obstacles with insurance,\u201d Smith says. \u201cNot only is there the financial obstacle, but there is just so much to do in order to reorganize their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAfter months of couch surfing with family and friends or living in Airbnbs and hotels, many fire victims are only just now getting into longer-term housing, Smith says, and A Sense of Home is currently furnishing about 20 homes a week, with a long waiting list. Much of the organization\u2019s inventory comes from large companies like Living Spaces, Ruggable and Sit \u2018n Sleep that donate showroom models and unsold merchandise. Because of the uncertainty created by President Trump\u2019s tariff policies, some companies are holding on to their inventories longer, meaning there is less merchandise available just when families need it most. Some critical items, like bed frames, have become hard to get.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tBaby2Baby co-CEOs Kelly Sawyer Patricof (left) and Norah Weinstein distributed diapers during the fires. <\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Organization<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tBaby2Baby, an L.A.-based nonprofit that provides diapers, formula and clothing for children in need, saw 20,000 new donors pour in from across the country during the fires and received $52 million in donated goods from hundreds of companies. They\u2019ve since distributed 20 million items and now see fire-affected families\u2019 needs shifting.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIn the earliest days, the families we were serving had lost everything, so they were showing up at our distributions in robes and slippers,\u201d say Kelly Sawyer Patricof and Norah Weinstein, co-CEOs of Baby2Baby, via email. \u201cAs the months passed, families are catching up but are still in need of basic items for their children like diapers and food. But they are also struggling to replace items like backpacks, school supplies and clothing. Once they find permanent housing, they need the bigger and more expensive items to start rebuilding, like new cribs and strollers.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tOften, what nonprofits have been able to give fire victims hasn\u2019t been just practical, but personal. Aselton, of The Soul Points Fund, learned of one household that had lost an heirloom, a very specific lampshade. She was able to locate a similar one in another country on eBay, bought it and flew it in for them. For another family, Soul Points helped replace a beloved record collection.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOn some days, I feel really good about what we\u2019re able to do,\u201d says Duplass. \u201cAnd on other days, I feel like, \u2018Are we actually able to put a dent in this massive crisis?\u2019 The thing we want is to let people know we still see them. We want to provide them at least half a brick to stand on.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tBaby2Baby\u2019s team hosted a drive-through distribution center at its L.A. headquarters, where families impacted by the fires could get diapers and food. <\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
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