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Wildfire Displacement Drives New Demand for Services in Santa Monica

The People Concern is expanding mental health services for vulnerable people impacted by the wildfires. A $250,000 grant from Direct Relief is supporting additional staff and services.

News

California Wildfires

Staff at the People Concern receive Direct Relief field medic packs to support street medicine outreach on May 7, 2025 in Santa Monica, Calif. (Noah Smith/ Direct Relief)
By Noah Smith

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Since the January 2025 wildfires in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena, The People Concern, a nonprofit that provides support for victims of domestic violence and homelessness, has reported an uptick from the thousands of people they normally serve each month on the street and at their Santa Monica Access Center.

Many of those displaced by the fires have made their way into Santa Monica, shifting an already stretched system into higher gear.

“Just being on the street is traumatic… the fires added to that,” said Carol Ross, assistant director of outreach for The People Concern. “Some people moved into Santa Monica, and in turn, others who had been here moved further south toward Venice,” she said, adding that outreach staffers in the Palisades have still not been able to locate many of the people they used to encounter there.

Outreach teams work five days a week to connect people to services and provide street healthcare. Half a dozen staffers on those teams confirmed the increased need in the city, but said it is hard to track exact figures due to the street-based, transitory nature of their work.

The Access Center provides a critical range of services, including a clinic run by Venice Family Clinic, social workers, and mail delivery, which is needed to receive identification documents, benefits, and other documentation for people who may lack a permanent address. Beyond that, the facility also provides a safe place to rest.

Formed in 2016, The People Concern is one of the largest social services agencies in Los Angeles County. Its work is grounded in long-term, evidence-based support for people experiencing homelessness, domestic violence, and trauma.

Thanks in part to a grant from Direct Relief, The People Concern has expanded its mental health offerings by hiring in-house professionals, a move staff say is essential for maintaining continuity of care.

“Being able to offer mental health services in-house is huge,” said Rebecca Flanagan, who works on the People Concern’s grants team. “It’s really difficult to coordinate appointments for them and even harder to make sure they show up. When services are onsite, people are far more likely to get connected and stay engaged.”

The ability to provide that continuity can be life-changing. Jenna de la Cruz, who works on the outreach team, recalled one client who was able to receive psychological services, begin medication, and move into interim housing.

Ross said that she and her team approach each patient with a unique perspective, trying to determine how they can best provide each individual with what they need.

Carol Ross, an outreach manager at The People Concern, looks through a Direct Relief field medic pack on May 7, 2025, in Santa Monica, Calif. (Noah Smith/ Direct Relief)

“My goal, overall, is to help get people housed, healthy, and happy. But everyone is different and has a different near-term goal. Sometimes, it’s just that a person who usually screams at me doesn’t scream at me that day. For others, maybe it’s to encourage them to being more open to carrying and using Narcan,” Ross said.

“Whatever they (clients) need the most, we strive to meet it… Dignity is a huge thing with us,” Flanagan said.

To support The People Concern’s field work, Direct Relief this week delivered 20 field medic packs, filled with medical essentials for triage care, to the Access Center. Each backpack contains trauma supplies, diagnostic tools, infection control materials, and personal protective equipment. The packs will be used across Santa Monica as outreach workers provide medical aid and transport clients to clinics and shelters.

“Doing outreach is like putting out fires every day,” Ross said. “Having these emergency supplies on hand is really helpful.”

Faced with growing numbers of people to care for in what was already a difficult job, Ross said she finds inspiration to continue the work from her colleagues. “Everyone is passionate about helping others,” she said.

“There’s this perception that no one is doing anything,” Ross said. “But the truth is, a lot of people are doing a lot.”

Since the fires erupted on January 7, Direct Relief has assisted over 60 organizations across Los Angeles County with more than $7.5 million in medical aid and grants

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