L.A. Approves $125,000 to Help Victims of Building Collapse

The city of Los Angeles will provide $125,000 in emergency aid to more than 100 people left homeless by the collapse last week of an apartment building in the Echo Park neighborhood, officials said Thursday.

Special funds will be tapped to provide $5,000 per unit to the residents of the 25 occupied apartments in the building, which was across the street from Echo Park.

The funds can be used for specific relocation expenses, such as rent, security deposits, utility hookups and the purchase of clothing, furniture and other personal effects lost in the incident. The money will be available early next week, officials said.

“I will help these displaced Angelenos find a new home,” Mayor Richard Riordan declared in a statement. “My heart goes out to the children and adults who are coping with this tragedy and rebuilding their lives.”

City money was sought, in part, to overcome restrictions on federal aid to illegal immigrants, officials said. Many of the building’s occupants are ineligible for federal benefits because of their immigration status.

“We had to find help for the very people who were affected by this collapsed building,” said Sharon Delugach, chief of staff for the City Council district that includes Echo Park, whose representative, Jackie Goldberg, recently became a state legislator. “The hard work of so many will help these families have a home by Christmas.”

According to official counts, 66 adults and 39 young people were left homeless by the collapse of the aging structure. Most are low-income immigrants from Mexico and Central America and their children.

Authorities are still investigating the collapse, which left one man dead and at least 36 injured, mostly with minor cuts and scrapes. Residents said the building had many maintenance problems.

A memorial service was to be held Thursday evening for Juan Francisco Pineda, the 31-year-old father of two, a native of Guatemala, who was crushed to death.

The building is being gradually demolished, even as the police inquiry into the cause of the collapse continues. Firefighters have escorted former residents into the structure to help them find personal belongings left behind when they escaped from the building during the early-morning disaster a week ago today.

A few families have already found apartments, but most continue to stay with friends or family members or at a shelter set up by the Red Cross at a nearby city recreation center. The Red Cross has also provided meals, clothing, counseling and other aid at the Cathedral Center of St. Paul, the Episcopal diocese headquarters, which is a block away from the collapsed building.

“The Red Cross will continue to shelter and feed the victims until we are no longer needed,” said Sharon Counselman-Keith, director of emergency services for the American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles.

Officials say there has been an outpouring of support for the families, many of whom scrape by as factory workers, street vendors and day laborers and in other low-paying jobs.

“People have been very generous,” said the Very Rev. Ernesto Medina, provost of the Cathedral Center, which has received about $6,000 in donations for the victims. “It has been very heartwarming and inspiring.”

Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles) and the Echo Park Chamber of Commerce have established relief funds. Checks, made out to “1601 Park Avenue Families,” can be sent to: Disaster Relief Fund, L.A. National Bank, 1912 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026.

A separate fund has been established for Pineda’s family. Checks, made out to “Juan Pineda Memorial Fund,” may be sent to the bank at the same address.