Many months on, an incredible collection of neighborhood representatives, community groups, and recovery organizations continue to support the massive recovery efforts following California’s Eaton and Pacific Palisades fires, in January 2025.
Lee Ann Daly from Team Palisades describes how the total devastation of her community forced neighbors and friends physically and emotionally apart: “It looked like a hydrogen bomb went off in our neighborhood. So, it's like it was wiped off the face of the planet.”
With nowhere to return, community members dispersed across California, and more broadly. And while amazing individuals work tirelessly, week in and week out, to help reconnect communities, there is a certain loneliness that too often forms in the wake of a disaster.
“People are starved for connection in the aftermath of the fire.” – Lee Ann
But there is language, shared stories, an understanding among those affected by the fires, that sits only with them. Not only of the event, but the reactions of others and the experiences that have followed.
One community volunteer shares, “I would leave group mental health sessions feeling angry, because they felt ‘vanilla’ and ‘basic’ and took up precious time and energy.”
These events lacked the connection, the kinship to others like her, that the support from Hummingly provides.
“We only want to talk to each other [others that had been through the fires].” – Sustaining the Supporters participant
“We come together and I feel the least alone in grief. You come together with even two people who have been through the same thing, and it’s just this place of feeling seen that is so healing.” – Lee Ann
Yet those supporting the recovery can often have a silent struggle of their own. – “It was a relief to learn [through the Sustaining the Supporters session] that I am not alone in my feelings around exhaustion, forgetfulness, and self-neglect while I support others.” – Sustaining the Supporters participant
Thanks to the generous support of disaster response organization, Direct Relief, Hummingly delivered a series of Sustaining the Supporters workshops, bringing together locals who play a key role in supporting those impacted by the fires, including many of whom had also lost their own homes.
In Los Angeles, as in every disaster, there are individuals and organizations that play a vital role in holding communities together—leaders, frontline workers, community connectors, and service providers. These “supporters” face unique risks. Prolonged pressure, heavy workloads, and repeated exposure to trauma can lead to burnout, decision fatigue, and emotional exhaustion. When their capacity is diminished, the flow-on effects are profound: service delivery slows, decision-making suffers, and the pace of community recovery is hindered. In some cases, turnover or withdrawal of these key people can leave lasting gaps in local support systems.
Direct Relief’s Emergency Response Manager, Staci Richard highlights the importance of tailored approaches and sustained mental health resources for those supporting and impacted by disasters – “The people who hold a community together in a crisis often carry the heaviest burden long after a disaster. Their well-being directly shapes the pace of recovery. That’s why Direct Relief focuses not just on immediate needs but on sustained mental-health and operational support – to ensure community leaders can keep showing up for their neighbors as the recovery process continues.”
The Sustaining the Supporters workshops equip leaders, frontline responders, and community connectors in fire-affected areas with practical strategies to prevent burnout, sustain wellbeing, and remain effective. Strengthening those driving recovery forward safeguards their ability to serve—and accelerates the long-term recovery of the communities they support.
Lee Ann reflects on the shift that she felt as she engaged in the Sustaining the Supporters session –
“It just came into a higher level when she [Jolie Wills, Hummingly] started talking.” “It felt like it was just a neutral ground and potential space in which people could hold themselves with the softest of all possible hands.”
The Doing Well cards helped to offer a language, or reminder, for Lee Ann and others around self-compassion among the ‘multi-dimensional’ challenges of recovery.
“We’re trying in the midst of chaos and trauma to affect interpersonal excellence.” – Lee Ann
“The tools and approach accelerated my understanding and appreciation of the support we as supporters and leaders need to actually create a sustainable way forward for our organization. Deep appreciation for this experience!!” – Sustaining the Supporters participant.
“This is the first time, since the Eaton fires, I was able to say, guilt free, that ‘I Too Matter’” – Sustaining the Supporters participant.
These workshops strengthen the people and organizations who are essential to recovery on the ground. The Hummingly team has seen firsthand—both in the U.S. and internationally—that by proactively supporting the wellbeing and effectiveness of those in these roles, we safeguard the recovery process itself.
Through partnership with Direct Relief, Hummingly created an opportunity to share an important reminder with the fire communities, and those supporting them – You are not alone and your experience matters.
