By Mariana Dale for LAist
Originally published on July 7, 2026
Boyle Heights families of school age children impacted by the warehouse fire have until Wednesday afternoon to apply for $250 cash assistance payments.
The money comes from the LAUSD Education Foundation’s “compassion fund,” a mixture of donations from individuals and the California Community Foundation.
“ There’s tremendous stress and anxiety about how to pay for rent, food [and] childcare,” said Sadie Jefferson, the executive director of the independent nonprofit that frequently supports LAUSD students and programs.
Jefferson said families are reporting asthma flare-ups, missed work and a lack of access to their homes.
An estimated 13,000 Los Angeles Unified families live within two miles of the Boyle Heights warehouse fire. The fire started on June 17 at a refrigerated warehouse owned by a company called Lineage and burned for eight days. The blaze filled the air with acrid smoke and there’s been reports of foul smells, pests and concerns about water-quality as the clean-up continues.
How it works
Families can apply in-person on Wednesday July 8 from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at:
- Sunrise Elementary School— 2821 E. 7th St.
- Humphreys Avenue Elementary School— 500 S. Humphreys Ave.
- Belvedere Middle School— 312 N. Record Ave.
The application requires families to provide a student’s ID.
Families can also connect with district counselors and other resources at those same schools.
Jefferson said the foundation will support more families if more donations to the compassion fund come in.
The foundation started the compassion fund in 2025 to support families in the wake of widespread immigration enforcement actions throughout Southern California.
Jefferson said the Foundation has distributed nearly $900,000 in cash gift-cards from the fund and that most families make less than $20,000 a year.
”We wanted to make sure that people had the dignity of choice on how to use the funding in a way that made sense for their families,” Jefferson said.
