Catholic Charities of California is ready to help—before, during and after the next wildfire inevitably strikes
by Andy Furillo
In a state where some 22 percent of the 33 million acres of forested land has been burned by wildfire in the past eight years, Shyama Patel-Melvin is certain about one thing: “We never know where our next disaster is going to be,” she says.
Given such a truth, Patel-Melvin, as the director of the emergency services program for Catholic Charities of California, knows that her agency has to be ready to roll just about everywhere, from one end of the state to the other.
Since it began providing case management for California fire victims in 2017, Catholic Charities has provided services to well more than a million people, both before and after wildfires occur. The organization serves 43 counties and has assisted at scenes of urban and rural devastation that seem to worsen from one relentless wildfire season to the next.
Catholic Charities branches in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Fresno and Santa Clara are four of 73 community-based organizations in the California Governor’s state Office of Emergency Services’ (Cal OES) Listos California program. Cal OES has distributed millions of dollars in grant funding to bolster preparedness and response through the Listos California and Ready Reps programs, with a focus on “diverse populations disproportionately impacted by emergencies,” according to the Cal OES website.
“Through December 2023, Catholic Charities have provided disaster preparedness services to over 1,224,000 individuals,” the organization says on its website. “Successful implementation of this program means that vulnerable populations who are routinely more impacted by disasters will be better prepared and more likely to survive and recover from large-scale emergencies, like California’s wildfires.”
Even before the National Weather Service began warning of blistering 80-mile-an-hour winds that—coupled with nearly a year without rain in the region—sparked devastating fires in Southern California on Jan. 7, Catholic Charities had been out in the targeted communities for more than two years spreading the gospel of preparedness.
“Between the two Listos grants we have received since 2022, we have engaged with 493,351 individuals in the Los Angeles-Ventura-Santa Barbara area,” Patel-Melvin says. “Many lived in the area that was impacted, and we were able to build a lot of trust in that area as a provider.”
As it has done for years, Catholic Charities responded with millions of dollars of its own resources to help fire victims in the hours, days and weeks since the January fires took their toll, connecting people up with state and federal agencies to help them in the process of rebuilding their lives.
But even as it helps Los Angeles recover from the wildfires, the caseworkers for Catholic Charities are preparing for the next disaster by passing out information at libraries, farmers markets, city council meetings, not knowing where—but knowing for sure—that another one is coming. When it comes to wildfires, Don’t Wait, Evacuate!
For more information about Catholic Charities of California, visit www.catholiccharitiesca.org.
Plan Ahead for Wildfires
- Decide on a meeting location and designate a contact person outside of the immediate area in case of separation or downed phone networks
- Know your evacuation zones and practice multiple escape routes
- Make arrangement for pets and larger animals like livestock
For more information on how to prepare for and stay safe during wildfire events and other emergencies, visit www.listoscalifornia.org.
