This Week Will Shape Altadena's Recovery. Here's How You Can Help.

For the past 18 months, we’ve fought to recover our homes, our community, and our future.

If the first year of recovery was about surviving, the second year is about protecting everything we’ve fought for.

In many ways, it feels like like we are under siege. New legislation. Critical funding decisions. Insurance battles. Utility accountability. Recovery dollars. Development pressure. Every week seems to bring another challenge demanding our attention.

This is the reality of long term disaster recovery.

The good news is that we’ve learned something over the past 18 months. When our community shows up, we make a difference. This week is another one of those moments.

Year two is when recovery shifts from emergency response to decisions that determine who returns, who rebuilds, and what kind of community emerges on the other side.

Here’s what’s happening this week…

Wednesday, July 22
7:00–9:00 PM
Eaton Fire Collaboratory
540 W. Woodbury Road, Altadena

Tomorrow evening, the Altadena Town Council is hosting another community update and panel on SB 1090.

Whether you’ve been following this legislation closely or are still trying to understand what it means for Altadena’s future, this is an excellent opportunity to hear the latest updates, ask questions, and better understand where the bill stands as it continues moving through Sacramento.

SB 1090 has made tremendous progress because thousands of survivors stayed engaged, showed up, made calls, wrote letters, traveled to Sacramento, testified, and refused to give up.

While we’re fighting here in California, another important battle is taking place in Washington.

Senator Ted Cruz continues to hold up H.R. 5366, the Doug LaMalfa Federal Disaster Tax Relief Certainty Act, that would extend tax relief on settlements for disaster stricken communities like ours recovering from catastrophic fires.

This one is a clear non-partisan issue supported on both sides of the aisle. If you have just a few minutes today, check out the flyer here from Jen at After the Fire USA and please make the call.

One phone call may seem small, but thousands of calls together move mountains.

Friday, July 24
Eaton Fire Collaboratory

☕ 8:30 AM — Coffee and connect with fellow survivors

🎤 9:00 AM — Survivor led press conference

✍️ 9:30–11:30 AM — Postcard writing party to Governor Newsom

On Friday morning, Beautiful Altadena will proudly stand alongside Senator Sasha Renée Perez, the Every Fire Survivor’s Network (EFSN), Consumer Watchdog, Pasadena NAACP, Eaton Fire Survivors United (EFRU), Altagether, My TRIBE Rise, Essie Justice, and many other local, statewide and national partners as we urge Governor Newsom to protect wildfire survivors—not the perpetrators responsible for California’s catastrophic fires. I’m especially proud to be working alongside Joy Chen and the coalition she has brought together on this effort, because this is another battle that needs the whole village.

Next week, Governor Newsom is expected to consider proposals that could dramatically affect survivors’ ability to recover compensation from Southern California Edison, including placing caps on our non-economic damages in settlements that would be retroactive and apply to Eaton Fire survivors.

Before those decisions are made, we want him to hear loud and clear from the people living this recovery every single day.

We’ll gather over coffee, hear from survivor leaders during the press conference, and then stay to write personal letters and postcards to the Governor. Why? Because they work!

And yes…

Bring your signs. Our “Great Hair Don’t Care” protest signs weren’t made just for photos. They were made to remind our elected leaders that survivors are still here, we’re watching, and we’re going nowhere. Sadly, our numbers are also just going to keep growing.

Can’t make it in person? Visit dearnewsom.org for more info and actions you can take, wherever you are!

It’s easy to look at these as three unrelated events. They’re not. They’re three parts of the same fight.

• Protect federal legislation.

• Protect survivors’ legal rights.

• Protect our ability to rebuild.

Ultimately, this is about protecting the financial future of thousands of Altadena families. The compensation survivors deserve. The resources that allow families to come home instead of being forced to leave Altadena forever.

Every delay costs survivors. Every victory helps keep recovery where it belongs—with the people rebuilding this community.

I hope to see many of you Wednesday evening.

And again Friday morning.

Let’s keep showing Sacramento and Washington that Altadena doesn’t give up and set an example for other disaster survivors fighting the same battles.

I’m Shawna Dawson Beer—a 16-year Altadena resident, former hospitality executive, entrepreneur, brand builder, community organizer, and, like too many of you, a total loss survivor of the Eaton Fire.

I created Beautiful Altadena in 2015 because I loved this community and wanted to help neighbors connect. After the pandemic, and then the fire, it became something much bigger.

Today, Beautiful Altadena has grown into a trusted community platform reaching tens of thousands of people through this Substack, our social media channels, a private Facebook community for survivors and current residents, our After the Ashes podcast, community office hours, public education efforts, and advocacy campaigns.

Our mission is simple. Connection. Community. Advocacy.

We believe an informed community is an empowered community, and that recovery works best when survivors have a meaningful voice in the conversation and seat at the table.

Whether we’re breaking down legislation, explaining complicated policy, organizing community meetings, amplifying survivor voices, or simply helping neighbors stay informed, our goal has always been the same.

To help Altadena recover and to make sure the people who built this community help shape its future.

I’m grateful you’re here. Welcome to Beautiful Altadena.

P.S. We’re also putting the finishing touches on Beautiful Altadena Alerts—a new text and email notification system designed to deliver urgent community updates, advocacy actions, important deadlines, and recovery news when timing matters most.

More on that very soon.

Helping Altadena recover. One informed neighbor, one advocacy effort, and one step forward at a time.