Los Angeles County family loses 5 homes in Eaton, Palisades fire

Non-profit helps Eaton Fire victims stay afloat

The Johnson family has lived in Altadena for generations, and lost five homes in the Eaton Fire. The non-profit The Change Reaction has helped them with money for things like rent and groceries.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. - It's bad enough to lose one home to a fire, as so many did in the Eaton and Palisades fires. Imagine five houses destroyed and another one so damaged, it's unlivable—all in the same family!

That's what happened to Tina Johnson. Altadena residents for three generations (with more than a dozen grandchildren representing the fourth generation), her large family is Altadena to the core. They all lived within minutes of one another until their homes were destroyed.

"Now we are all spread out," says Johnson. A retiree, like her husband, she explains that they never imagined themselves in a situation where they had nothing but the clothes on their back.

That's when the nonprofit The Change Reaction stepped in. Founded in 2019 by Greg and Jodi Perlman, they specialize in providing much-needed cash infusions for people who find themselves in unexpected situations, like an unplanned medical emergency or losing everything you own in a fire.

"I don't know where we'd be without them," says Tina. "From cash for groceries to replacing our burned vehicle," she adds. Both she and her husband are retirees, who still have to pay the mortgage on a home they can't live in, while renting another place, while still waiting for their insurance to send them a check.

The Change Reaction was one of the beneficiaries of funds raised by the Fire Aid Concert, which raised millions of dollars. Their president, Wade Trimmer, explained they got about $2 million from the concert, which has already made it into the hands of victims like Tina.

If you want to find out more, reach out to them at changereaction.org.