Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, gathered 15 community groups Tuesday for a roundtable meeting with representatives from government agencies, advocating for a direct leasing program for Eaton fire survivors desperate for housing help.

The Direct Lease housing program would activate the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as the master owner of leases, allowing it to act as a lender and rent to fire survivors who cannot find housing.

FEMA officials have said the program isn’t necessary, pointing to their data that Los Angeles County has many rental units available.

“We know from anecdotal evidence that it is far from the truth,” Chu said, saying she will urge FEMA to explore every available housing program for disaster survivors, including direct leasing.

Jasmin Shupper, founder of Greenline Housing Foundation, said there is a huge gap between availability and vacancy and accessibility. The people the nonprofits are trying to help are finding rentals that don’t accept FEMA stipends or are priced out of places that do. Some don’t have enough for three-month’s deposit, or their credit scores are too low, Shupper said.

FEMA has contributed to wildfire recovery, including $40 million four housing assistance, but “some survivors of the Eaton Fire are slipping through the cracks and have been unable to find temporary or long-term, stable housing,” Chu said.

Enter community groups such as My Tribe Rise, Friends In Deed and Civic Soul, founded by Caitlin Stamos, who urged government representatives to believe them when they say the need is urgent.

“All of us have lists, a database of folks who are still in need of long-term, emergency housing, every single one of us,” Stamos said, refuting government claims that there are enough rental units across the county. “There are so many people still unhoused. We need direct leasing. If FEMA and CalOES won’t do it, then support the nonprofits who will do make sure that everyone is being placed.”

Chu said she will urge FEMA to explore every available housing assistance program for fire survivors, including the direct leasing program. The nonprofits will also submit their data to FEMA.

“These people who have suffered so much, to put so many barriers to them getting in housing, I think should be criminal,” Stamos said.

Lori Gay, president and CEO of Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles County, said fire survivors and the nonprofits who are helping them need clear answers to what their next steps should be.

“If you put your hand out in America and you can’t get a response, that’s a problem. Or if the response you get is no, you don’t fit, that’s not acceptable in America,” Gay said. “Amend the current system. It’s not working.”

A FEMA spokesperson echoed the agency’s stance, saying its findings show there are enough rental resources available at fair market rent to meet disaster-caused housing needs for both Eaton and Palisades fires. More than 75% of survivors who initially needed assistance with housing have found long-term solutions, officials said.

“FEMA is coordinating closely with the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) on program implementation and if conditions change, will act quickly to support survivor needs. We are continuing to monitor the market, and survivor needs closely to assess any gaps in assistance,” the spokesperson said.

That answer didn’t satisfy the nonprofit leaders at the meeting, who said they see the people falling through the cracks every day.

“We need the people who are supposed to help in crisis to step up,” said Ash Level of Altadena Rising. There are still too many people who aren’t able to survive day to day and have no place to stay, she added.

Other attendees included Victoria Knapp and Nic Arnzen, chair and vice chair of the Altadena Town Council; Brandon Lamar of NAACP Pasadena; Heavenly Hughes of My Tribe Rising and leaders from Beacon Housing; Clergy Community Coalition; Change Reaction; Community Women Vital Voices; CORE;  Day One; Friends in Deed; and Habitat for Humanity.

Government agencies who spoke with them include Bob Fenton, regional administrator of FEMA; Bob Troy, assistant director, Interagency Recovery Coordination for CalOES; and Janet Golrick and Laurie Udit of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; as well as representatives from the Cousumer Services and Housing Agency and Los Angeles County Development Authority were also present.

Since the mammoth fire, housing in the Altadena area has been a major concern. In a town known for an array of small to large properties, owned by young and old across many classes, generations of Black homeownership are at stake in the unincorporated area.

A consistent concern has been the race to rebuild at the expense of vulnerable tenants and landowners, who could see the properties where they’ve built lives go to developers and speculators.

Earlier this month, from the parking lot of Fair Oaks Burger, residents who lost everything in the Eaton fire called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to use the state budget to defend the town from corporate speculation of local property.

State Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez stood alongside about 30 residents advocating for $200 million to be allocated toward a fund that would help local nonprofit organizations purchase fire-damaged housing and commercial properties, which could then be redeveloped and sold at affordable prices.

Pérez said she and her colleagues are working to push legislation that would allow Los Angeles County to create a list of eligible nonprofits that could purchase the fire damaged properties.

Brian Ferguson with Newsom’s office said in an email at the time that state and federal agencies have awarded more than $2.7 billion in small business assistance and $39 million in direct housing assistance to fire survivors.