I’ve been struggling with how to respond to these devastating fires, as so many of our Listers have lost their homes or been otherwise affected. This disaster will surely reshape the face of Southern California, and we will neither forget it nor be capable of remaining the same as we were. Just days before the “wind event” got started, several of us were predicting that 2025 was going to be a big and very different year. I don’t think any of us thought this is how it would all start.
I encourage members of our private Facebook group to post needs and GoFundMe links there, if they would like to. (You can also send them to me.) You can post links of your own or links on the behalf of someone in our music community. So many people have asked how they can help, and don’t know where to donate or what they can provide. Give us some clues.
I encourage all of you to reach out, offer love, offer your couch if you can, and consider offering a gig or two (even one of your own) to the musicians who may need extra work right now. Some will not be up for that, but others will find healing power in making music and working at what they love. You all know people who have been displaced, who have lost their homes or who have lost work and community and all kinds of other things. Ask them what you can do, and encourage them to be honest about what will help the most. Consider donating gift cards to viable charities so they can either share those with victims or use them to source more supplies. Always ask what will be most helpful.
There are a variety of resources floating around, and I will be posting them there on and off. Please feel free to do the same. If you see something on those lists that you can help provide, feel free to post about it in this private group. There is little any one of us can do to help so many thousands of people get through this crisis. But together, we can make a dent.
Be safe, everyone, and please keep me posted. Love you all.