To My Los Angeles Community: Care That Continues After the Fires

Originally published January 16, 2025. Revised September 2026 to support ongoing recovery.

My roots in Los Angeles make this deeply personal. When I first wrote to you after the January 2025 wildfires, my heart was with everyone facing loss, displacement and uncertainty. That care continues, including through the quieter months when recovery still asks so much.

A home holds more than belongings. It holds familiar mornings, family memories and the comfort of knowing where you belong. A neighborhood can carry generations of connection. Losing those places—or watching people you love lose them—deserves tenderness, practical help and time.

Whether you have stayed, relocated or are still deciding what comes next, there is room for your experience here.

Let Your Needs Guide the Next Step

Some days may bring determination; others may bring sadness, anger, exhaustion or very little feeling at all. You can welcome moments of relief while continuing to grieve what has changed.

When everything seems to need attention, begin with one question:

What would make the next twenty-four hours more manageable?

The answer may be a meal, a ride, help finding housing, access to prescribed medication or someone willing to sit beside you while you make a difficult call.

Try putting the need into a specific request:

• “Could you help me organize these documents?”

• “Would you bring dinner on Thursday?”

• “Could you listen for a few minutes while I explain what feels hardest?”

You deserve support even when you cannot yet explain the whole situation.

Offer Help That People Can Use

If you are supporting someone affected by the fires, make your offer specific and leave room for them to choose.

“I can drive you to your appointment” or “I can help with one errand this week” gives someone a concrete option to consider. Ask before taking over a task, sharing their story or making decisions on their behalf.

Keep checking in after the first conversation. Ask about the person as well as the paperwork: “How have you been carrying all of this lately?”

For older adults, people living alone and those managing chronic illness or disability, ask about practical barriers such as transportation, accessible information and continuity of care. Let their preferences guide the help you offer.

If you are donating or volunteering, follow an organization’s current requests so your contribution meets an identified need.

Make Room for Children and Teenagers

Children may need to ask the same questions more than once. Offer honest explanations they can understand, preserve familiar routines where possible and make time for ordinary connection. A story, a game or a conversation can provide a welcome pause from discussions about recovery.

Limit repeated exposure to distressing images, and invite young people to share what is worrying them without pressing them to talk. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network’s guidance for families after wildfires offers additional ways to support them.

Caregivers need care, too. Consider who could share one responsibility so you have room to rest or attend to your own needs.

Find Support for What You Are Facing Now

Choose the resource that fits your most immediate need:

• Practical assistance: Dial 211 to connect with 211 LA for help navigating housing, food and recovery resources. Ask about current options and eligibility.

• Recovery information: Visit LA County Recovers for official updates, rebuilding guidance and links to local services.

• Emotional support after a disaster: Call or text 1-800-985-5990 to reach the Disaster Distress Helpline. This free service is available twenty-four hours a day.

If distress persists, worsens or interferes with daily life, an appropriate healthcare or licensed mental health professional can help you explore further care. For an immediate, life-threatening emergency, call 911.

A Note From Coach Winona

My hope for you is that support becomes easier to reach: someone who follows through, a question answered clearly, a responsibility shared and room to remember what matters to you.

Your future deserves care, and so does everything you are carrying into it. Begin with one honest need and one person or resource that may help you meet it.

With care, Coach Winona

Make Space for Your Own Experience

When practical arrangements fill your days, your emotional needs can be pushed aside. A Soft Place to Land offers a private coaching conversation with Coach Winona to explore what is weighing on you, identify support that fits your circumstances and consider a manageable next step.

You can bring an unfinished thought, a difficult question or a need you have struggled to put into words.

Book A Soft Place to Land 60 minutes · $150

Choose an available appointment and follow the booking steps to reserve your conversation.

IndigoKoi Wellness, LLC

Educational only — Not medical advice. Coaching supports reflection and personal goals; it does not replace medical care, mental health treatment, emergency services or disaster assistance.

Resources reviewed September 2026.