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What does it take to rebuild - not just homes, but a whole community - after disaster?

When 90-mile-per-hour winds swept through Los Angeles County this January, fires devastated neighborhoods in Altadena and Pacific Palisades. In the aftermath, thousands of families faced the impossible: starting over. Among them was Andrew King, a high school principal who quickly became something more.

"Resilience is finding the inner strength to overcome, but it's also finding strength in community," Andrew tells us.

In this powerful conversation, Andrew recounts the night he tracked fire scanners from a hotel room while his children slept beside him. By morning, security alerts confirmed what he feared—his home was gone. Within 24 hours, he’d signed a new lease. Within weeks, he stepped away from his career to focus on his family and help neighbors navigate their own recovery.

Today, Andrew works with the Department of Angels, leading grassroots recovery efforts that fill the gaps left by systems not built for equity. From WhatsApp groups and block captain networks to face-to-face meetings in libraries, his work is a reminder that disasters may not discriminate, but recovery often does.

As the one-year mark approaches and temporary housing support expires, families face new decisions about whether they can afford to return—and what their communities will become.

But Andrew remains hopeful.

"When people say 'we’re not going to take it anymore,’ that gives me hope. No one’s doing this alone—people are trying to do it together."

🎧 Listen now to hear what true grassroots resilience sounds like—and what it looks like when ordinary people become leaders in extraordinary times.

📣 If this episode moved you, please:

• Share it with someone in your neighborhood, school, or city
• Comment to let us know what resonated
• Visit shared-ground.com to get involved or prepare your own community

This is how recovery begins. Together.

Shared Ground is produced by Sean Knierim and Allan Marks. Thanks to Cory Grabow, Kara Poltor, Corey Walles (from The Recording Studio) for your support in launching this effort.

For more stories of resilience & rebuilding, kindness & generosity: visit shared-ground.com and subscribe to Sean's substack. We invite you to share your own stories of resilience at the Shared Ground website - whether in response to the January fires in LA or other situations.

Follow us at seanknierim.substack.com, Instagram, or wherever you listen to podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc).