Local philanthropists Greg and Jodi Perlman gave checks and gift cards on Tuesday to hundreds of families displaced by the Palisades Fire and struggling with expenses, with help from the Change Reaction platform and GoFundMe.
The Perlmans, who made their fortune in real estate, have long been recognized for their charitable work in Los Angeles. In 2021, they were the subject of a profile in the Los Angeles Jewish Journal titled, “Meet the Couple Giving Away their Fortune to Uplift the City of Angels.” The family’s strategy is to avoid donating to large organizations — with costly overhead — and rather to give funds directly to individuals in need, via the Change Reaction platform.
For victims of the Palisades fire, the Perlmans donated checks of $1,000 to families that were displaced, but who still theoretically had homes to which they can return one day. Families who had lost their homes received $2,500 each.
On Tuesday, with the Santa Ana winds blowing on a chilly January evening, Palisades residents who had applied for relief lined up outside the YMCA in Sawtelle to register and to receive their checks.
Before the money was distributed, there were speeches by local faith leaders, many of whom lost their homes — including Pastor John Shaver of the Community Methodist church, which was entirely consumed by the fire — except for the cross in the sanctuary.
First-term L.A. City Council member Traci Park broke down in tears during her speech as she spoke about how hard it might be for residents to handle the scale of the devastation in the community when they returned. But she was also determined, she said, to help residents rebuild their community.
For many local residents, the fire has not only been traumatic, but humbling. Some lost everything they owned in the blaze, including those who had lost their fire insurance literally days before the disaster, thanks to state policies that caused insurance companies to cancel their policies or leave California completely.
Even those who managed to save their homes found themselves in a sudden cash crunch, having to lay out money for long-term accommodation at prices juiced by the entry of thousands of people into the rental market at once. Families who had long given charity generously to others now find themselves in need of donated clothes, food — and cash.
“We do direct giving to people in need, and there is no one more deserving, especially at this moment,” Jodi Perlman told Breitbart News.
The relief on the faces of many residents was evident — as was the trauma. The gathering was, for most, the first time they had seen each other since the evacuation. People could not stop sharing stories about the fire — some of which were stories about neighbors helping neighbors, but many of which were also stories about being abandoned by city leaders and public services as they watched their homes burn.
There will be a reckoning. For now, there is some relief — and hope.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
