Shared Harvest Foundation Announces Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Altadena Families Coming Home After Eaton Fire

Poppyfield block party marks a community celebration in honor of displaced families returning home after catastrophic loss.

ALTADENA, Calif., April 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Shared Harvest Foundation today announced plans to join with three nonprofit partners in Altadena and welcome two neighboring families back home during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 16th. The ribbon cutting will take place at 11a.m., followed by a community block party. This marks an important milestone for families whose homes were destroyed in the Eaton Fire.

The project is part of a collaborative initiative between Shared Harvest Foundation, The SoLa Foundation, MODEL/Z, SoCal NOMA (National Organization of Minority Architects), and Greenline Housing Foundation as part of the Dena Forward Alliance (DFA) — working together to help families return to their properties faster after catastrophic loss.

"This temporary home represents more than housing," said Dr. NanaEfua Afoh-Manin, Emergency Physician and founder of Shared Harvest Foundation. "This collaborative is the first to deliver on the promise to grant no-cost housing for impacted families. We've learned that rebuilding after a disaster is not just a construction challenge—it's a trust challenge. Families have to trust that organizations are going to do what they say and not exploit their loss. We feel grateful to have earned their trust. Families need housing, and they also need to remain proximal to their communities to thrive and to have partners willing to walk alongside them to navigate resources for the long journey home."

For two neighboring residents who have lived side by side in Altadena for more than 30 years, moving back on their block is a meaningful step forward. Both households lost their homes in the fire and were the first two recipients of the program assigned to a Shared Harvest Disaster Care Manager (DCM). One household includes a senior resident living with a family member with disability, the other a single mother and school teacher working through the financial and logistical hurdles of rebuilding- both initially relying only only on each other for information.

"We are thrilled to be in partnership with Shared Harvest." said Matthew Trotter, President of SoCal NOMA, "Families need trusted guidance. Shared Harvest meets them where they are and ensures they have access to the right resources and experts when they're ready."

Shared Harvest has worked with more than 200 families to address the social determinants of health that shape disaster recovery and other coordinated caregiving support.

While moving into these temporary homes is not the final stage of recovery, it brings the families back to their communities. The initiative was designed to give families a place to live on their land as they rebuild their primary residence. The collaborating partners hope that these first move-ins demonstrate the scalability of this model, which integrates housing innovation with care coordination.

"Throughout this journey, we learned quickly that it takes trusted, specialized partners to successfully secure stable interim housing at no-cost to families and get them back home," said Sherri Francois, the Executive Director of The SoLa Foundation. "Working with Shared Harvest has been delightful. We couldn't have asked to be in partnership with a more compassionate and dedicated team that is equally determined to bring more families back home." - Sherri Francois

Ms. Ana, a displaced resident who is moving back, shared, "After the fires, the decisions and obstacles felt overwhelming. Shared Harvest reassured me that I wasn't alone. They helped me first get access to counseling, then get organized, helped resolve a difficult dispute with my neighbor, and understand the benefits of the opportunity to move into stable temporary housing. They made sure I didn't miss anything and were always a call away. I'm in a different place emotionally from that day in June when Dr. Nana asked me what help I needed. It's been a blessing and I'm so grateful to the entire team for their generosity."

The initiative brings together partners with complementary expertise under one mission to offer free temporary housing to families in need:

• Shared Harvest Foundation provides care coordination and case management support, including mental health resources, cross-agency communication, and subgrants to address recovery gap funding.
• The SoLa Foundation and MODEL/Z provide the modular ADU units and project management to install the units on the properties. They worked with their affiliated modular housing factory, MODEL/Z, to grant the ADUs at no cost to families affected by the Eaton fire. The SoLa Foundation's capital partners to support this project include Better Angels, JFEDLA, The Los Angeles County Legislative Delegation led by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (CA-61), the California Fire Foundation, and others.
  
  
• Greenline Housing Foundation helped guide the families through screening and application navigation while coordinating incidental subsidies to offset construction-related costs. Their mission is to provide equitable pathways to homeownership and housing stability through education, financial navigation, and community partnerships.
• SoCal NOMA contributed architectural expertise and design leadership supporting community-centered rebuilding.

About Shared Harvest Foundation (SHF)
Shared Harvest Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization advancing community-centered solutions through capacity building, workforce wellbeing, and disaster recovery. The foundation works alongside local partners to help families rebuild after crises while strengthening the systems that support long-term community resilience. SHF's grant partners for this project include Direct Relief and the Centene Foundation.

Contact:
Alex Zarchy
310.702.3392
[email protected]

SOURCE Shared Harvest Foundation