Here we are, firmly into 2025. I wanted to start my first letter of 2025 by detailing the amazing work we are doing this year to shore up our internal systems and strengthen the organization. But the world is pretty distracting. Like you, I am heartbroken for our neighbors to the south, knowing that the fires in Los Angeles are terrifying, traumatic, and lethal, as well as staggering in size and that the fires are contributing to homelessness and housing insecurity for a community already burdened with a housing shortage. If you’re interested in opportunities to help, check out these organizations: World Central Kitchen and California Fire Foundation.
Climate changes are demonstrably fueling the housing crisis. We can easily see this right now in Los Angeles. Our own state has also faced fire disasters; in 2020 alone fires burned over a million acres and destroyed over 4000 homes. And last year at this time, we were experiencing our own weather event connected to ice, wind, and trees that had stood for over a century, suddenly falling on buildings, including CPAH’s own Oleson Woods.
We need to be planning for our own emergencies and be prepared by building support for CPAH residents and ensure they have access to information that will also help them in their own household emergency planning. The CPAH Resident Advisory Committee (RAC) is thinking through what buildings need in case of emergencies. And CPAH’s asset management works to position our buildings for long-term success. Also, in all honesty, if we have to face the kind of disaster that is in front of Los Angeles right now, our whole community will surely struggle.
Beyond that, I still want to share with you some of the work that CPAH is doing on building and strengthening our internal systems. Over the next year, we are:
- improving our finance and accounting system and the way it interfaces with housing development, asset management, fundraising, and human resources;
- revamping our employee handbook, job descriptions, and adding resources for CPAH’s amazing staff;
- growing our fundraising efforts so that we can ensure organizational success into the future; and
- finalizing a new strategic framework that will include this important internal housekeeping while ensuring we continue to build housing, support CPAH residents, provide homeless services, and continue in our role as a community-based organization.
Having a solid foundation means we can focus on the impact we want to have in our community and planning should support us as we address future unknowns.
Finally, please stay in touch with us this year. Let me know if you have questions about the work we are doing.
Warmly –
Rachael Duke, Executive Director