November 30, 2025 • 33 mins
Michael speaks with Joey Tuccio, an animal rescuer at Starts With One Today, who exposes the hidden crisis facing dogs on Skid Row. From large-scale breeding operations run in the open to rescuers facing threats on the street, Joey breaks down why 90% of Skid Row’s dogs are being exploited for profit, the dangers rescuers confront daily, and why current city efforts aren’t reaching those already doing the work on the ground.
Later, Dr. Desai from UCI Health joins the show to explain how a groundbreaking cell therapy is transforming the treatment of lupus, including a remarkable success story of a patient bedridden for 18 years who is now living a normal life.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to KFI Am six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
This is Michael Monks Reports on Michael Monks from KFI News.
We've got another hour together. It's not just homeless people
living on LA's skid row. It's also dogs, lots of dogs.
One man works a lot at trying to save them.
He's Joey Tuccio with the rescue starts with one today,
he joins us. Now, Joey Tuccio, thanks so much for
being with us here on KFI.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Yes, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Yeah, everyone around southern California knows about skid Row in
Los Angeles, but primarily we think about it as a
place where homeless people are living, and it may be
surprising to know that there is no shortfall of dogs unfortunately,
that are also living down there. Can you just illustrate
for us what that situation looks like.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Yeah, So, I've been doing rescue primarily in the skid
Row area for the past two and a half years,
and I mean, it's, for lack of a better word,
it's a nightmare. Ninety percent of the dogs there are
used for breeding. We just went recently and there was
yet there was a multiple mom dogs that just gave
birth Sadly, most of those puppies don't survive, and those
(01:11):
puppies that do survive, they're sold. Usually one dog is
left behind and then that dog is used for breeding.
So there's breeding, there's neglect, there's abuse, there's dogs overdosing
on fedanol. Often, there's no shortage of phone calls that
we get on an almost daily basis with some kind
(01:32):
of emergency.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
You talk about. I mean, it sounds like these dogs
face a lot of the same challenges that the people
down there are facing. But when you talk about breeding,
it almost suggests that there's some sort of illicit business
that somehow takes place down their house.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
That so well, the problem is there's no enforcement and
there you go on skid row and you see families suffering,
you see children taking baths in the sewers and the
fire hydrants. But then you also see teslas, you see mercedes.
I went there two days ago and there's a street
that they breed Frenchies and there's a Frenchie there that's
(02:07):
been bred many, many times, and there's Mercedes there, and
you look at the Mercedes and there's mounds of cash.
So they do their business there because they know that
they won't be punished. So it's when you go, it's
kind of when I first went, it was like the
contrast of poverty, and then you see escalades and tesla's
(02:27):
and you see, okay, so this isn't just homeless people.
This is like a criminal enterprise.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Okay, so where's the enforcement? Then you say that there's
not any enforcement. These folks know that. You appear to
know that based on this allegation. Do the local law
enforcement agencies not know about this?
Speaker 3 (02:45):
They definitely know about it. I mean we've been bringing
the alarm for years and they don't, you know, I
think their hands are tied a lot. And there's organizations
down on skid Row that prevent LAPD from doing their
job because they don't want dogs to be removed. I mean,
there's hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars that these
(03:07):
organizations are raking in to keep skid Row skid row.
So we are fighting against that. There was a task
force that was created by Karen Bass and which was,
you know, my opinion and many people's opinion, very loosely done.
We pleaded with her to meet with us and other
rescuers to really create something that's solid. So there was
(03:30):
a bust recently where fourteen puppies were removed and the
parents too. But the problem is they go to shelters
and the shelters are already strained, and these dogs go
in evidence. So they're there for god knows how long.
Some of the dogs will you know, could be returned.
There was another incident recently where on video this person
(03:51):
was beating their dog severely and when the police went
that were trained by this, you know, underneath his umbrella
of the task force, they told the rescuers give the
abuser two hundred dollars and they will give you the
dog and the abuser. The rescuer had no choice but
to give two hundred dollars. That is not enforcement, that
is enabling.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
I think I need you to explain that to me again.
There who was the what agency was officially down there
suggesting that the rescuer pay somebody who was abusing a dog.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
So this is part of the task force. So the
task force really isn't necessarily a task force. They just
received additional training by whoever to start removing dogs. This
is the second thing that they quote unquote busted. The
second and they literally told the rescuers who were going
(04:42):
there risking their lives. They talked to the abusers and
it's on video. It's not like this is hearsay. It's
on video of this person beating this dog senseless, and
the police talked to the abuser and then went to
the rescuer and said, okay, we'll give you the dog
for two hundred dollars, and the rescuer had no choice
otherwise the dog might be dead the next day. So
(05:03):
this is again not enforcement, it's just enabling. And they
go on the news and they say, Okay, we did it,
we're doing it, we're enforcing laws. But then you have
to read the fine friend, or you have to talk
to there what's actually happening, because you like to sweep
things under the rug and you see the truth, and
it's just continuously enabling abusers.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
I want to talk more about this action that took
place on skid Row involving the LAPD and Mayor Bass's
celebration of what they did, because it is not often
that they speak so publicly about any of these efforts.
It's something you talk about a lot on social media.
I'm going to get back to that, but first, as
far as this basically bribing an abusive pet owner to
(05:41):
relinquish an animal to a rescuer. What is the situation
like for people like you who go down to skid row,
which we know is it's unpleasant, it's unclean, and it
can be dangerous. What is that situation like for you
when you approach somebody down there about their animal, Well.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
It's extremely dangerous. There was a situation recently where we
were trying to rescue this dog who's so sweet, covered
in dirt, scars, wounds, just living in trash. And the
person said, if you don't remove this this the the
homeless person there said, if you don't remove this dog,
I'm going to shoot the dog in the head. The
(06:20):
guy took me by the throat and said, let me
show you how I break dog's necks. And so that's
one instance, and we had to get the dog. The
dog was very scared. It'sok. This hours to get the dog.
But there's plenty of times and more times where they
say go after yourself. We're not giving you the dog.
Even though they admit to breeding, they admit to neglect.
(06:40):
There was I have on video somebody we visited a
dog there that we know quite well, who was in
the summer, no water, And again this is in the summer,
and they're they're in the sun, no shade, And on
video the person said, I'm not giving my dog water
to teach him a lesson, and that's abuse. And we
made this video there Republic, and the dogs are still
(07:02):
in possession with that person.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
I see dogs down there a lot. As a neighbor
of skid Row, I live in the Fashion district in
downtown Los Angeles. I see animals. I don't I guess
I don't really know what to think about it. You know,
the first reaction is all that poor dog. If the
person doesn't have resources to take care of themselves as
well as they should, what resources do they have for
the dog. On the other hand, you don't want to
(07:26):
take away companionship if they are doing the best they
can with the animals and the conditions in which they
find themselves. How do you balance that when you approach
these folks. I assume that not every animal we see
down there is poorly treated.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
Correct, So you know, we do get messages from people
who will see a homeless person skid Row or anywhere
with a dog and they tell us what do I
do to get this dog? And my response is leave
them alone. Just because they're homeless doesn't that the dog
has to be removed. That being said, there is a
difference between companionship, and there's a different diference between companionship
(08:02):
and monetizing. So some of them are companions for sure,
and some of them are just atm machines. I mean,
there's been times where we have removed female dogs that
were used for breeding where her nipples are literally dragging
on the floor because she's been bred so many times
and then she's discarded. There was one dog in particular, Nina,
(08:22):
where the owner literally threw her into a building on
skid row and said she's your problem now. Her nipples
were still lackating by the way, dragging on the floor.
Her insides were all torn up because when she was
giving birth, they just tore the babies out of her. So,
I mean, it's hard because you do see people struggling
(08:44):
and you do see people trying their best. But again,
since ninety percent of the dogs in skid row are
being used for breeding, that statistic should be enough to
be like, okay, we have to enforce. And again there
is no enforcement.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Well, have more with Joey two next as we talk
about dogs living on skid row and later a breakthrough
in loopus research happening in Orange County.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
You're listening to KFI Am six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
This is Michael Monks Reports. I'm Michael Monks from KFI News.
Our guest is Joey Tuccio. He's with Rescue starts with
one today, very very very active in trying to help
dogs and save them from abuse, particularly on skid row
in downtown Los Angeles. On November fourteenth, there was an
Instagram post made by the LAPD about the situation on
(09:38):
skid row and fourteen animals that had been saved, fourteen
dogs they say was saved from a puppy mill. And
this came less than a month after Mayor Bass said
that there would be a joint effort between the LAPD
and LA Animal Services to investigate allegations of animal cruelty
in skid row. The mayor said, I launched this new
initiative to keep pets with their owners when I possible,
(10:00):
while holding those who commit crimes of animal cruelty and
neglect accountable. You've been critical of this operation. What is
it that you see in this operation that may not
be up to your standards.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Well, the problem is earlier this year, just a few
months ago, Mayor Karen Bass went on ABC and this
is this is after years of hounding her for help,
not just me, but many organizations, and she went on
ABC and she said, quote, the animals on skid Row
are not neglected. End quote. That's what she said. So
(10:35):
she went from that very that the definition of misinformation,
to a few months later saying there is actually an
abundance of neglect and abuse on skid Row. So this
task force was created. So the problem is she's not
doing research, she's not reaching out to people who are
on the ground removing abused and neglected dogs. She makes
(10:58):
these statements and she it's things together without any information.
A few months ago she made that she made that
statement on ABC, which was false. And this is after
years of trying to give her information. We've done protests,
we've done petitions, we've talked in the city Hall. She
is unwilling to listen to the facts. So the problem
(11:19):
is these dogs that are removed, which so far has
just been won, and there's plenty of one group of
dogs there's still plenty of breeding going on, but they're
put into shelters and already strained situations with the shelters
are already over capacity. So what we wanted her to
do is we wanted to work with her LAPD and
(11:41):
Animal Services where we could all be on the same page,
so instead of dogs being removed and thrown into shelters,
that they could go into fosters and home environments so
they don't have to go into the shelters. And she
refuses to listen to us, and she's now straining the
the shelters that are already near collapse.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
That's the other thing is that the shelters we've been
reporting on this for ages since the city found itself
in a budget mess, they're not able to fully fund
them the way they would like. We know that they
were over capacity for a long time, and that's bad
news for the animals that are kept there. It's bad
news for animals that need to be placed in shelters.
Can you describe for us what the situation is today
(12:23):
for the city's animal shelters as you see it?
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Sure? I mean, this is, to your point, the same
conversation we've been having for years and this is another
frustration that we have. It's not just the dogs on
the streets. I was telling somebody yesterday, I'm like, I
don't know what's worse a dog being abused on the
streets or the dogs being in a shelter that they're
only saving grace or officials that could cure less. I
(12:48):
honestly don't know which one is worse. The shelters. The
only reason why dogs get out of the shelters are
because of volunteers who work for free, who take time
out of their day, who are posting and trying to
get dogs out and taking videos and sweating under the
sun and freezing and doing everything they can to get
the dogs out. If there weren't volunteers there for free,
(13:11):
forget it, no dog would get out. So it's terrifying
dogs are being put down because they have a cold.
There was just an incident in Lancaster for hundreds and
hundreds of dogs were put down because there was a
distemper outbreak. But you look at the kind of rewind
and see what happened, and dogs were put down and
(13:31):
they were tested negative for distemper, and there was no
publicity about it. There was no Please all rescues come together.
Let's try to get buses or other kind of you know,
places where we can quarantine sick dogs. There was nothing
of that, and hundreds of dogs were put down, and
many dogs are still being put down because they have
a cold. Nothing distemper related, but they get a cold
(13:53):
and like, oh, the dog must be sick and might
be dying. Let's put this dog down. And this is
not by like the ten we're talk about the hunt.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Well, we should note that that Lancaster is a county operation,
which suggests that not only is the city struggling to
take care of its animal shelters, La County also is.
In Just this week there was a pretty dire budget
presentation suggesting more cuts are coming, specifically to departments like
Animal care and control, up to five and a half
percent possible cuts in that varied department. So this is
(14:21):
this is outside of skid row, this is outside the
city of Los Angeles. You're saying it's a county wide problem.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Yeah, and the county supervisors they don't care. I mean,
nobody's posting about this on their social media. They try
to sweep this under the rug. And thankfully there's there's
amazing rescues and individuals that are sick of it. We've
a lot of us have stopped taking meetings with animal
services and officials because they just give us busy work.
(14:48):
They've had us on the head and they tell us
to leave and then nothing's done. So right now it's
all about exposing these people. Like you know, the LA
supervisors held us Alice, who is part of the team
that oversees skid Row, and she doesn't even post about
skid Row, and she is so vocal about equality and justice. Meanwhile,
I went last night to skid Row to give a
(15:09):
dog food to dogs that are suffering, and it's sad.
I bring dog food and they're gone like this. People
swarm my car and other people's cars and they give
out food. There's no food, there's no supplies, and it's sad.
And mostly every time I go to skid Row, there
is a dog in need that needs to be removed.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
We're talking with Joeytuccio. He is with Rescue starts with
one today. He's very active in rescuing dogs on LA's
skid Row in particular. I know this is a horrible
thing to direct people to see, but if people want
to follow your work because it's you're You're very honest
in what you see and you document it on your Instagram.
(15:49):
And Joeytuccio can be found on Instagram at Joey dot Tuccio.
That's j o E Y period t u c c
Io Joey dot Tuccio on Instagram. Some of the images
are terrible and some of them are uplifting because obviously
you do make some good rescues and the dogs get
a second chance, which is very good. But if you're
looking for the reality on the ground and skid row,
(16:10):
Joy's got it on his Instagram. Joy's with Rescue starts
with one today, Joey, I really appreciate the time you
gave us.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Yeah, thank you so much. I mean, honestly, we could
only do what we're doing because of people like you
that are helping us expose what's going on. Otherwise we're
just scrimming into a vacuum. So thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
You got it up.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Next, a woman from Irvine who has suffered from lupus
for almost twenty years is finally returning to her old self.
Things to break through research at UCI Health. We'll talk
about the clinical trial.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
You're listening to KFI Am six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
This is Michael Monk's reports on Michael Monks from KFI
News with you till nine o'clock tonight. A clinical trial
at UCI Health has shown promising results for patients with lupus.
Doctor Sheet told Desigh is part of that work, and
Joe now, doctor design, thank you so much for taking
some time with KFI.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Hello there. Thank you for having me incited to share
some of our research.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
I'm glad that you're here to do that. Lupus is
something I think a lot of us have heard about,
but I don't know how many of us would be
able to define it easily. Can you just let's just
start with the very basic what is this disease?
Speaker 4 (17:21):
Great question? The way I actually explain it to our
patients is lupas is where the immune system starts attacking itself.
Our immune system is actually set up to attack foreign invaders,
but when it starts attacking your own organs, that is
not a good thing. And so lupas is a classic
(17:43):
autoimmune condition where your own immune system begins attacking itself.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Is it something you catch? Is it something that develops genetically?
Speaker 4 (17:53):
Great question? It's a combination of so many factors. If
it was genetic, you would think that twins would have
an equivalent rate of actually having it if they have
the same genes, but they don't. You know, there's only
a small percentage of twins that if one twin has it,
the other twin will have it as well. So genes
(18:15):
player role, But how the genes are actually acted upon
throughout your life, through your environment, through stressors, there's so
many other things that will come and allow those genes
to actually be activated.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
And UCI Health is conducting this clinical trial and as
I understand that, you're testing an investigational cell therapy to
help treat people with lupus. Again, this isn't a group
of doctors who are sitting here. You're the doctor. I'm
a radio host, and we've got a bunch of listeners
of all stripes out there listening to this breakthrough research
(18:50):
that you're doing. But it's called car T cell therapy.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
What is that?
Speaker 4 (18:54):
That is?
Speaker 3 (18:55):
Correct?
Speaker 4 (18:55):
So let me try to make it a bit simpler.
So car team basically uses either your own immune cells
or donor immune cells to reset the immune system in lupus.
There are certain cells that stay active and make these
anti self antibodies that then attack your organs, and those
(19:21):
are a type of cells called B cells viz In boy.
What car Te does is actually target these B cells
in a very focused way.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Okay, so this is a clinical trial. It's another term
that I think a lot of us know. We know
how important they are in the development of treatments and
medications that could be used in the future. We know
that a lot of folks who are struggling with debilitating
or even terminal illnesses try to get into these as
a way to either help researchers or as a way
(19:52):
to prolong their lives or even save their lives. How
did you seihealth Land this opportunity to know that this
type of research which is happening in Orange County.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
So you see, helped we conduct We're the only academic
center here in Orange County, so we serve a huge
population and it actually spans multitude of counties. Because we
have a lot of academic focused physicians at our site,
a lot of us actually engage in clinical trials. I've
(20:21):
been here now, this is my nineteenth year. I've had
a long standing population of patients with lupus and myself,
like my patients. We've been frustrated over the years of
the lack of available therapeutics we actually have on the market.
So clinical trials is a gateway to be able to
offer therapeutic options to patients earlier than when they would
(20:46):
be approved. So the one that I just did Cartillon
is a phase one clinical trial. By the time the
phase one clinical trial goes through the first phase, the
second phase, the third phase, they've got a complete phase
three to get FDA approval, that could take another five
to ten years, So you can imagine I don't want
(21:07):
to wait that long for some of my patients who've
tried practically every available FDA approved therapeutic option in they're
still doing terribly. I love being able to open the
door to innovative therapies that there's a lot of hope.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
And potential for appears doctor designed that we are seeing
some hope and some potential in the initial results of
the study that you are conducting. In fact, there's a
forty one year old woman from Irvine who is dealing
with lupus. Can you tell us a bit about what
her response has been to this treatment.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
Absolutely, I've been taking care of her since two thousand
and seven since she was pregnant with her son. So
we've had a long relationship over the years, and over
these years, I've tried, like I said, practically every medication
on her and she'll get some to minimal relief. But
despite all of these medication trials, she's had pretty much
(22:06):
daily fevers, feeling fatigued all day, having joint pain rashes.
That's resulted her in spending about eighteen to twenty hours
a day in bed over these last eighteen years. So
just to give you an idea, and so when this
came available, I talked to her, and we've been talking
(22:27):
about this now for the entire year, and she said,
I'm ready to go. I'm ready to try that. So
August is when I actually finally got her into the
trial and we actually infused her. And to be specific
because it was a groundbreaking day for me in my
career as well, but it was August twenty fifth that
(22:47):
we actually did the infusion. And I just saw her
last week at her three month visit. She is off
of practically all medicines for lucas and is living a
normal life as wonderful energy is awake most of the
day and her biggest problem was that her son and
(23:07):
her husband are not used to having her because they've
spent the last eighteen years with her in bed most
of the time. So it's a beautiful problem to have,
because she says, she now sits on the couch with
them and they're watching football and they look over and
they're just not used to integrating her in the way
they've all learned to live. So it's been a huge
(23:30):
learning experience for her and her family. But just how
amazing that she is now going out seeing friends, volunteering.
She told me she just started working out. She's an
athlete that wasn't able to work out in the past.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Doctor, she Teldasai, we wish you all the best with
this study. I we're certainly thrilled to hear that it's
working for one of our neighbors in Irvine who is
back on our feet after eighteen years of struggle. Three
months into this study at this clinical trial at Uceihalth,
it does seem to be showing some results, but like
you said, there's more to be determined. I hope you'll
keep us posted on the progress.
Speaker 4 (24:06):
Absolutely more to be determined, because I want to see
how long this lasts. Is this going to be long term,
lifelong remission? Is this going to be a year? Is
it going to be two years? But I can tell
you three months out, I have not been able to
bring this quality of life to her in eighteen years
of different therapeutics. So it just brings a sense of
(24:27):
excitement that we might be looking at a completely new
generation of therapies that right now we are reserving in
early phase clinical trials for those that have failed everything
else where the benefit does outweigh the risk for them
to go through this. But as we study it more,
I'm hoping it's opened up to more patients. If we
(24:49):
have great.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
Efficacy, that's great. Thank you so much for being with us,
doctor Desai. We do appreciate your time.
Speaker 4 (24:55):
Thank you so much for having me. Looking forward to
coming back up next.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Californians have ACCES has to help with their mortgages if
their homes have been destroyed or damaged by recent disasters.
One of the program's directors explains, after this.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
This is Michael Monks reports on Michael Monks from KFI News.
Three months of mortgage payments taken care of by the
state in the wake of disaster, and now this California
program is available to more people. Let's talk with California
Housing Finance Agency Chief Deputy Director Rebecca Franklin. Rebecca Franklin,
thank you so much for taking some time for KFI.
Speaker 5 (25:37):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
This is a program that provides financial relief to folks
at times where they really need it. We're talking about
their homes burning down, We're talking about severe weather that
may destroy their property and cost them income. How busy
has cal HFA been this year?
Speaker 5 (25:58):
CALAJABA has been pretty busy. We you know, recognized that
not only their disasters that had happened prior to the
fires in the Eton and Palisades area, but we also
wanted We saw that the need for kind of relief
to these survivors of these disasters, and we quickly, you know,
(26:18):
kind of got pen to paper and started designing a
program that could provide those homeowners some financial relief and
so they could focus on building back their community and
their home and kind of that recovery journey that they're on.
We launched the program in June of this year, and
we've been steadily helping homeowners, survivors of disaster all throughout
(26:42):
the state. Actually since then.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
We know all too well here in southern California the
price of disaster on people's lives, with the two major
wildfires that we suffered here in January and the numerous
homes and businesses that were lost. Can you share with
us a bit what the messages have been like from
those families effect good by those disasters.
Speaker 5 (27:01):
Yeah, I mean, we try to connect with those survivors
and those families everyone that we have you know, been
able to have touch points with and talk to. You know,
they have found that this program is providing much needed
financial relief to them. You know, three months of mortgage
payments is you know, an opportunity for you to focus
(27:22):
kind of those funds somewhere else, whether than you're having
a longer commute or you know, we have homeowners saying
this is going in my rebuild fund. And we've been
really you know, happy to be a support system to
reach out to homeowners so that they don't feel alone
in this recovery process. Additionally, we know we talk about
the application process and with homeowners and we actually most
(27:45):
recently actually got a quote from a homeowner that we
helped in the Northern California area. But she said, you know,
the biggest hurdle was me just scared I wasn't going
to qualify. The application process was easy, that what we
were asking her to provide was readily available, but she
just had to, you know, kind of make that phone call,
(28:06):
go to the website, pick up the phone and just
ask for help, because you know, they didn't cause this
circumstance or in and they really want homeowners to see
the CALLOUSUS Mortgage Fund program as an opportunity to.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Help and to that in. This is a program that
recently raised the amount of money a household could be
making an income in order to qualify, and it raised
it pretty significantly. And I think it's an important point
because you know, when you compare Pacific Palisades to a
lot of places in Los Angeles County, you know that
you expect the income disparity to be significant. But even
(28:42):
if folks in Pacific Palisades are high earners, one their
income may have been completely disrupted by the loss of
their home, and two, they may not be much different
than people in lower income communities in the fact that
they're a check or two away from missing a mortgage payment.
So we talk about the significance of raising that cap
(29:03):
from seventy thousand I believe to more than two hundred thousand.
Speaker 5 (29:07):
Yeah, So we recently did raise the income cap not
only for the southern California area, but all counties across
the state. We've raised that income cap, and it was
really a recognized when we launched the programs. Of course,
we want to make sure that we are focusing the
assistance to those that maybe are more likely to have been,
(29:30):
you know, as you stated, living check by check, or
more at risk of missing those mortgage payments in that sense.
But you know, we do collect a lot of data.
We're very responsive to what we're hearing from those survivors,
from the case workers, from our other partners in the
recovery efforts, such as Caloees. And so we recognized that
(29:52):
the income was a limiting factor and we wanted to
raise that income level. But I would also say that
if you're a homeowner and you're listening to this and
you work, you are a survivor of a recent disaster
in the state of California that affected your home, I
would connect to the program regardless of what my income
is because even if you don't need that income criteria
(30:12):
and this program is in a good fit for you,
we can get you connected to a HUD certified housing counselor.
It's a free service for homeowners in the state of California,
and there are plenty of programs out there. This administration
that you know, kind of the state government is State
of California, is really focusing on supporting these homeowners through
(30:32):
the recovery process, and there's a litany of programs out
there for them.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Our guest is Rebecca Franklin, Chief Deputy Director of the
California Housing Finance Agency also known as cal HFA. This
is a funding that is available for what you call
qualified disasters that happened between January first of twenty twenty
three and January eighth, twenty twenty five, around the time
that the Pacific Palisades Fire and the Eaton fire and
(30:58):
Altadena to place here. So qualified disasters include the Eaten fire,
the Palisades fire, the Park fire, the floods in San Diego,
and others across the state. I mean, this is a
state that has unfortunately really gone through it when it
comes to those disasters in recent years, and I can
imagine that at this time of year, with Thanksgiving, Christmas,
(31:19):
that it's particularly important that folks have a bit more
peace of mind. So I know this is an important
program for folks, and if you wouldn't mind just just
share a bit about that as folks search for that
I guess bit of comfort in a year of complete discomfort.
Speaker 5 (31:38):
Yeah, I mean, I think that's a really good point
that you're making that you know, we for the Callousis
Mortgage Fund program, you know, really recognize that these homeowners
are you know, amazing survivors of a disaster that they
never started, that you know, they just were victim to
that and that you know, especially during the holidays when
(31:59):
you who gather in your home and you you know
have grandparents' house you go to and whatnot to have
you know, them be in a recovery process, you know,
provides it's just a stressful and it's a personal stressful situation.
And at the Calasus Mortgage Fund program, we really want
those homeowners to know that we're here to help. We
(32:21):
it's an easy program to apply for and you know,
three months of mortgage payments can give you a little
bit of relief and so that you can focus on
enjoying the holidays with your family, you can focus on
the rebuilding effort, and really just focus on maintaining your
community and not losing that at the end of the day,
is really why we're here.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
Rebecca Franklin is the Chief Deputy Director of the California
Housing Finance Agency. We've been talking about the cal Assist
Mortgage Fund, which is available for folks whose homes were
affected by natural disasters since January first, twenty twenty three,
through January eighth, twenty twenty five. Rebecca, thank you so
much for spending some time and explaining this program with
us as our friends and neighbors continue their recovery from
(33:02):
the wildfires here in La County.
Speaker 5 (33:04):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
That's it for us tonight. Grateful for you listening. Hope
you had a great Thanksgiving and you survive the first
weekend of holiday shopping. With another edition of Michael Monk's
Reports right here on KFI AM six
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Forty, KFI AM six forty on demand
You're listening to KFI Am six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
This is Michael Monks Reports on Michael Monks from KFI News.
We've got another hour together. It's not just homeless people
living on LA's skid row. It's also dogs, lots of dogs.
One man works a lot at trying to save them.
He's Joey Tuccio with the rescue starts with one today,
he joins us. Now, Joey Tuccio, thanks so much for
being with us here on KFI.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Yes, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Yeah, everyone around southern California knows about skid Row in
Los Angeles, but primarily we think about it as a
place where homeless people are living, and it may be
surprising to know that there is no shortfall of dogs unfortunately,
that are also living down there. Can you just illustrate
for us what that situation looks like.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Yeah, So, I've been doing rescue primarily in the skid
Row area for the past two and a half years,
and I mean, it's, for lack of a better word,
it's a nightmare. Ninety percent of the dogs there are
used for breeding. We just went recently and there was
yet there was a multiple mom dogs that just gave
birth Sadly, most of those puppies don't survive, and those
(01:11):
puppies that do survive, they're sold. Usually one dog is
left behind and then that dog is used for breeding.
So there's breeding, there's neglect, there's abuse, there's dogs overdosing
on fedanol. Often, there's no shortage of phone calls that
we get on an almost daily basis with some kind
(01:32):
of emergency.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
You talk about. I mean, it sounds like these dogs
face a lot of the same challenges that the people
down there are facing. But when you talk about breeding,
it almost suggests that there's some sort of illicit business
that somehow takes place down their house.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
That so well, the problem is there's no enforcement and
there you go on skid row and you see families suffering,
you see children taking baths in the sewers and the
fire hydrants. But then you also see teslas, you see mercedes.
I went there two days ago and there's a street
that they breed Frenchies and there's a Frenchie there that's
(02:07):
been bred many, many times, and there's Mercedes there, and
you look at the Mercedes and there's mounds of cash.
So they do their business there because they know that
they won't be punished. So it's when you go, it's
kind of when I first went, it was like the
contrast of poverty, and then you see escalades and tesla's
(02:27):
and you see, okay, so this isn't just homeless people.
This is like a criminal enterprise.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Okay, so where's the enforcement? Then you say that there's
not any enforcement. These folks know that. You appear to
know that based on this allegation. Do the local law
enforcement agencies not know about this?
Speaker 3 (02:45):
They definitely know about it. I mean we've been bringing
the alarm for years and they don't, you know, I
think their hands are tied a lot. And there's organizations
down on skid Row that prevent LAPD from doing their
job because they don't want dogs to be removed. I mean,
there's hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars that these
(03:07):
organizations are raking in to keep skid Row skid row.
So we are fighting against that. There was a task
force that was created by Karen Bass and which was,
you know, my opinion and many people's opinion, very loosely done.
We pleaded with her to meet with us and other
rescuers to really create something that's solid. So there was
(03:30):
a bust recently where fourteen puppies were removed and the
parents too. But the problem is they go to shelters
and the shelters are already strained, and these dogs go
in evidence. So they're there for god knows how long.
Some of the dogs will you know, could be returned.
There was another incident recently where on video this person
(03:51):
was beating their dog severely and when the police went
that were trained by this, you know, underneath his umbrella
of the task force, they told the rescuers give the
abuser two hundred dollars and they will give you the
dog and the abuser. The rescuer had no choice but
to give two hundred dollars. That is not enforcement, that
is enabling.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
I think I need you to explain that to me again.
There who was the what agency was officially down there
suggesting that the rescuer pay somebody who was abusing a dog.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
So this is part of the task force. So the
task force really isn't necessarily a task force. They just
received additional training by whoever to start removing dogs. This
is the second thing that they quote unquote busted. The
second and they literally told the rescuers who were going
(04:42):
there risking their lives. They talked to the abusers and
it's on video. It's not like this is hearsay. It's
on video of this person beating this dog senseless, and
the police talked to the abuser and then went to
the rescuer and said, okay, we'll give you the dog
for two hundred dollars, and the rescuer had no choice
otherwise the dog might be dead the next day. So
(05:03):
this is again not enforcement, it's just enabling. And they
go on the news and they say, Okay, we did it,
we're doing it, we're enforcing laws. But then you have
to read the fine friend, or you have to talk
to there what's actually happening, because you like to sweep
things under the rug and you see the truth, and
it's just continuously enabling abusers.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
I want to talk more about this action that took
place on skid Row involving the LAPD and Mayor Bass's
celebration of what they did, because it is not often
that they speak so publicly about any of these efforts.
It's something you talk about a lot on social media.
I'm going to get back to that, but first, as
far as this basically bribing an abusive pet owner to
(05:41):
relinquish an animal to a rescuer. What is the situation
like for people like you who go down to skid row,
which we know is it's unpleasant, it's unclean, and it
can be dangerous. What is that situation like for you
when you approach somebody down there about their animal, Well.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
It's extremely dangerous. There was a situation recently where we
were trying to rescue this dog who's so sweet, covered
in dirt, scars, wounds, just living in trash. And the
person said, if you don't remove this this the the
homeless person there said, if you don't remove this dog,
I'm going to shoot the dog in the head. The
(06:20):
guy took me by the throat and said, let me
show you how I break dog's necks. And so that's
one instance, and we had to get the dog. The
dog was very scared. It'sok. This hours to get the dog.
But there's plenty of times and more times where they
say go after yourself. We're not giving you the dog.
Even though they admit to breeding, they admit to neglect.
(06:40):
There was I have on video somebody we visited a
dog there that we know quite well, who was in
the summer, no water, And again this is in the summer,
and they're they're in the sun, no shade, And on
video the person said, I'm not giving my dog water
to teach him a lesson, and that's abuse. And we
made this video there Republic, and the dogs are still
(07:02):
in possession with that person.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
I see dogs down there a lot. As a neighbor
of skid Row, I live in the Fashion district in
downtown Los Angeles. I see animals. I don't I guess
I don't really know what to think about it. You know,
the first reaction is all that poor dog. If the
person doesn't have resources to take care of themselves as
well as they should, what resources do they have for
the dog. On the other hand, you don't want to
(07:26):
take away companionship if they are doing the best they
can with the animals and the conditions in which they
find themselves. How do you balance that when you approach
these folks. I assume that not every animal we see
down there is poorly treated.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
Correct, So you know, we do get messages from people
who will see a homeless person skid Row or anywhere
with a dog and they tell us what do I
do to get this dog? And my response is leave
them alone. Just because they're homeless doesn't that the dog
has to be removed. That being said, there is a
difference between companionship, and there's a different diference between companionship
(08:02):
and monetizing. So some of them are companions for sure,
and some of them are just atm machines. I mean,
there's been times where we have removed female dogs that
were used for breeding where her nipples are literally dragging
on the floor because she's been bred so many times
and then she's discarded. There was one dog in particular, Nina,
(08:22):
where the owner literally threw her into a building on
skid row and said she's your problem now. Her nipples
were still lackating by the way, dragging on the floor.
Her insides were all torn up because when she was
giving birth, they just tore the babies out of her. So,
I mean, it's hard because you do see people struggling
(08:44):
and you do see people trying their best. But again,
since ninety percent of the dogs in skid row are
being used for breeding, that statistic should be enough to
be like, okay, we have to enforce. And again there
is no enforcement.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Well, have more with Joey two next as we talk
about dogs living on skid row and later a breakthrough
in loopus research happening in Orange County.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
You're listening to KFI Am six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
This is Michael Monks Reports. I'm Michael Monks from KFI News.
Our guest is Joey Tuccio. He's with Rescue starts with
one today, very very very active in trying to help
dogs and save them from abuse, particularly on skid row
in downtown Los Angeles. On November fourteenth, there was an
Instagram post made by the LAPD about the situation on
(09:38):
skid row and fourteen animals that had been saved, fourteen
dogs they say was saved from a puppy mill. And
this came less than a month after Mayor Bass said
that there would be a joint effort between the LAPD
and LA Animal Services to investigate allegations of animal cruelty
in skid row. The mayor said, I launched this new
initiative to keep pets with their owners when I possible,
(10:00):
while holding those who commit crimes of animal cruelty and
neglect accountable. You've been critical of this operation. What is
it that you see in this operation that may not
be up to your standards.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Well, the problem is earlier this year, just a few
months ago, Mayor Karen Bass went on ABC and this
is this is after years of hounding her for help,
not just me, but many organizations, and she went on
ABC and she said, quote, the animals on skid Row
are not neglected. End quote. That's what she said. So
(10:35):
she went from that very that the definition of misinformation,
to a few months later saying there is actually an
abundance of neglect and abuse on skid Row. So this
task force was created. So the problem is she's not
doing research, she's not reaching out to people who are
on the ground removing abused and neglected dogs. She makes
(10:58):
these statements and she it's things together without any information.
A few months ago she made that she made that
statement on ABC, which was false. And this is after
years of trying to give her information. We've done protests,
we've done petitions, we've talked in the city Hall. She
is unwilling to listen to the facts. So the problem
(11:19):
is these dogs that are removed, which so far has
just been won, and there's plenty of one group of
dogs there's still plenty of breeding going on, but they're
put into shelters and already strained situations with the shelters
are already over capacity. So what we wanted her to
do is we wanted to work with her LAPD and
(11:41):
Animal Services where we could all be on the same page,
so instead of dogs being removed and thrown into shelters,
that they could go into fosters and home environments so
they don't have to go into the shelters. And she
refuses to listen to us, and she's now straining the
the shelters that are already near collapse.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
That's the other thing is that the shelters we've been
reporting on this for ages since the city found itself
in a budget mess, they're not able to fully fund
them the way they would like. We know that they
were over capacity for a long time, and that's bad
news for the animals that are kept there. It's bad
news for animals that need to be placed in shelters.
Can you describe for us what the situation is today
(12:23):
for the city's animal shelters as you see it?
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Sure? I mean, this is, to your point, the same
conversation we've been having for years and this is another
frustration that we have. It's not just the dogs on
the streets. I was telling somebody yesterday, I'm like, I
don't know what's worse a dog being abused on the
streets or the dogs being in a shelter that they're
only saving grace or officials that could cure less. I
(12:48):
honestly don't know which one is worse. The shelters. The
only reason why dogs get out of the shelters are
because of volunteers who work for free, who take time
out of their day, who are posting and trying to
get dogs out and taking videos and sweating under the
sun and freezing and doing everything they can to get
the dogs out. If there weren't volunteers there for free,
(13:11):
forget it, no dog would get out. So it's terrifying
dogs are being put down because they have a cold.
There was just an incident in Lancaster for hundreds and
hundreds of dogs were put down because there was a
distemper outbreak. But you look at the kind of rewind
and see what happened, and dogs were put down and
(13:31):
they were tested negative for distemper, and there was no
publicity about it. There was no Please all rescues come together.
Let's try to get buses or other kind of you know,
places where we can quarantine sick dogs. There was nothing
of that, and hundreds of dogs were put down, and
many dogs are still being put down because they have
a cold. Nothing distemper related, but they get a cold
(13:53):
and like, oh, the dog must be sick and might
be dying. Let's put this dog down. And this is
not by like the ten we're talk about the hunt.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Well, we should note that that Lancaster is a county operation,
which suggests that not only is the city struggling to
take care of its animal shelters, La County also is.
In Just this week there was a pretty dire budget
presentation suggesting more cuts are coming, specifically to departments like
Animal care and control, up to five and a half
percent possible cuts in that varied department. So this is
(14:21):
this is outside of skid row, this is outside the
city of Los Angeles. You're saying it's a county wide problem.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Yeah, and the county supervisors they don't care. I mean,
nobody's posting about this on their social media. They try
to sweep this under the rug. And thankfully there's there's
amazing rescues and individuals that are sick of it. We've
a lot of us have stopped taking meetings with animal
services and officials because they just give us busy work.
(14:48):
They've had us on the head and they tell us
to leave and then nothing's done. So right now it's
all about exposing these people. Like you know, the LA
supervisors held us Alice, who is part of the team
that oversees skid Row, and she doesn't even post about
skid Row, and she is so vocal about equality and justice. Meanwhile,
I went last night to skid Row to give a
(15:09):
dog food to dogs that are suffering, and it's sad.
I bring dog food and they're gone like this. People
swarm my car and other people's cars and they give
out food. There's no food, there's no supplies, and it's sad.
And mostly every time I go to skid Row, there
is a dog in need that needs to be removed.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
We're talking with Joeytuccio. He is with Rescue starts with
one today. He's very active in rescuing dogs on LA's
skid Row in particular. I know this is a horrible
thing to direct people to see, but if people want
to follow your work because it's you're You're very honest
in what you see and you document it on your Instagram.
(15:49):
And Joeytuccio can be found on Instagram at Joey dot Tuccio.
That's j o E Y period t u c c
Io Joey dot Tuccio on Instagram. Some of the images
are terrible and some of them are uplifting because obviously
you do make some good rescues and the dogs get
a second chance, which is very good. But if you're
looking for the reality on the ground and skid row,
(16:10):
Joy's got it on his Instagram. Joy's with Rescue starts
with one today, Joey, I really appreciate the time you
gave us.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Yeah, thank you so much. I mean, honestly, we could
only do what we're doing because of people like you
that are helping us expose what's going on. Otherwise we're
just scrimming into a vacuum. So thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
You got it up.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Next, a woman from Irvine who has suffered from lupus
for almost twenty years is finally returning to her old self.
Things to break through research at UCI Health. We'll talk
about the clinical trial.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
You're listening to KFI Am six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
This is Michael Monk's reports on Michael Monks from KFI
News with you till nine o'clock tonight. A clinical trial
at UCI Health has shown promising results for patients with lupus.
Doctor Sheet told Desigh is part of that work, and
Joe now, doctor design, thank you so much for taking
some time with KFI.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Hello there. Thank you for having me incited to share
some of our research.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
I'm glad that you're here to do that. Lupus is
something I think a lot of us have heard about,
but I don't know how many of us would be
able to define it easily. Can you just let's just
start with the very basic what is this disease?
Speaker 4 (17:21):
Great question? The way I actually explain it to our
patients is lupas is where the immune system starts attacking itself.
Our immune system is actually set up to attack foreign invaders,
but when it starts attacking your own organs, that is
not a good thing. And so lupas is a classic
(17:43):
autoimmune condition where your own immune system begins attacking itself.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Is it something you catch? Is it something that develops genetically?
Speaker 4 (17:53):
Great question? It's a combination of so many factors. If
it was genetic, you would think that twins would have
an equivalent rate of actually having it if they have
the same genes, but they don't. You know, there's only
a small percentage of twins that if one twin has it,
the other twin will have it as well. So genes
(18:15):
player role, But how the genes are actually acted upon
throughout your life, through your environment, through stressors, there's so
many other things that will come and allow those genes
to actually be activated.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
And UCI Health is conducting this clinical trial and as
I understand that, you're testing an investigational cell therapy to
help treat people with lupus. Again, this isn't a group
of doctors who are sitting here. You're the doctor. I'm
a radio host, and we've got a bunch of listeners
of all stripes out there listening to this breakthrough research
(18:50):
that you're doing. But it's called car T cell therapy.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
What is that?
Speaker 4 (18:54):
That is?
Speaker 3 (18:55):
Correct?
Speaker 4 (18:55):
So let me try to make it a bit simpler.
So car team basically uses either your own immune cells
or donor immune cells to reset the immune system in lupus.
There are certain cells that stay active and make these
anti self antibodies that then attack your organs, and those
(19:21):
are a type of cells called B cells viz In boy.
What car Te does is actually target these B cells
in a very focused way.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Okay, so this is a clinical trial. It's another term
that I think a lot of us know. We know
how important they are in the development of treatments and
medications that could be used in the future. We know
that a lot of folks who are struggling with debilitating
or even terminal illnesses try to get into these as
a way to either help researchers or as a way
(19:52):
to prolong their lives or even save their lives. How
did you seihealth Land this opportunity to know that this
type of research which is happening in Orange County.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
So you see, helped we conduct We're the only academic
center here in Orange County, so we serve a huge
population and it actually spans multitude of counties. Because we
have a lot of academic focused physicians at our site,
a lot of us actually engage in clinical trials. I've
(20:21):
been here now, this is my nineteenth year. I've had
a long standing population of patients with lupus and myself,
like my patients. We've been frustrated over the years of
the lack of available therapeutics we actually have on the market.
So clinical trials is a gateway to be able to
offer therapeutic options to patients earlier than when they would
(20:46):
be approved. So the one that I just did Cartillon
is a phase one clinical trial. By the time the
phase one clinical trial goes through the first phase, the
second phase, the third phase, they've got a complete phase
three to get FDA approval, that could take another five
to ten years, So you can imagine I don't want
(21:07):
to wait that long for some of my patients who've
tried practically every available FDA approved therapeutic option in they're
still doing terribly. I love being able to open the
door to innovative therapies that there's a lot of hope.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
And potential for appears doctor designed that we are seeing
some hope and some potential in the initial results of
the study that you are conducting. In fact, there's a
forty one year old woman from Irvine who is dealing
with lupus. Can you tell us a bit about what
her response has been to this treatment.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
Absolutely, I've been taking care of her since two thousand
and seven since she was pregnant with her son. So
we've had a long relationship over the years, and over
these years, I've tried, like I said, practically every medication
on her and she'll get some to minimal relief. But
despite all of these medication trials, she's had pretty much
(22:06):
daily fevers, feeling fatigued all day, having joint pain rashes.
That's resulted her in spending about eighteen to twenty hours
a day in bed over these last eighteen years. So
just to give you an idea, and so when this
came available, I talked to her, and we've been talking
(22:27):
about this now for the entire year, and she said,
I'm ready to go. I'm ready to try that. So
August is when I actually finally got her into the
trial and we actually infused her. And to be specific
because it was a groundbreaking day for me in my
career as well, but it was August twenty fifth that
(22:47):
we actually did the infusion. And I just saw her
last week at her three month visit. She is off
of practically all medicines for lucas and is living a
normal life as wonderful energy is awake most of the
day and her biggest problem was that her son and
(23:07):
her husband are not used to having her because they've
spent the last eighteen years with her in bed most
of the time. So it's a beautiful problem to have,
because she says, she now sits on the couch with
them and they're watching football and they look over and
they're just not used to integrating her in the way
they've all learned to live. So it's been a huge
(23:30):
learning experience for her and her family. But just how
amazing that she is now going out seeing friends, volunteering.
She told me she just started working out. She's an
athlete that wasn't able to work out in the past.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Doctor, she Teldasai, we wish you all the best with
this study. I we're certainly thrilled to hear that it's
working for one of our neighbors in Irvine who is
back on our feet after eighteen years of struggle. Three
months into this study at this clinical trial at Uceihalth,
it does seem to be showing some results, but like
you said, there's more to be determined. I hope you'll
keep us posted on the progress.
Speaker 4 (24:06):
Absolutely more to be determined, because I want to see
how long this lasts. Is this going to be long term,
lifelong remission? Is this going to be a year? Is
it going to be two years? But I can tell
you three months out, I have not been able to
bring this quality of life to her in eighteen years
of different therapeutics. So it just brings a sense of
(24:27):
excitement that we might be looking at a completely new
generation of therapies that right now we are reserving in
early phase clinical trials for those that have failed everything
else where the benefit does outweigh the risk for them
to go through this. But as we study it more,
I'm hoping it's opened up to more patients. If we
(24:49):
have great.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
Efficacy, that's great. Thank you so much for being with us,
doctor Desai. We do appreciate your time.
Speaker 4 (24:55):
Thank you so much for having me. Looking forward to
coming back up next.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Californians have ACCES has to help with their mortgages if
their homes have been destroyed or damaged by recent disasters.
One of the program's directors explains, after this.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
This is Michael Monks reports on Michael Monks from KFI News.
Three months of mortgage payments taken care of by the
state in the wake of disaster, and now this California
program is available to more people. Let's talk with California
Housing Finance Agency Chief Deputy Director Rebecca Franklin. Rebecca Franklin,
thank you so much for taking some time for KFI.
Speaker 5 (25:37):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
This is a program that provides financial relief to folks
at times where they really need it. We're talking about
their homes burning down, We're talking about severe weather that
may destroy their property and cost them income. How busy
has cal HFA been this year?
Speaker 5 (25:58):
CALAJABA has been pretty busy. We you know, recognized that
not only their disasters that had happened prior to the
fires in the Eton and Palisades area, but we also
wanted We saw that the need for kind of relief
to these survivors of these disasters, and we quickly, you know,
(26:18):
kind of got pen to paper and started designing a
program that could provide those homeowners some financial relief and
so they could focus on building back their community and
their home and kind of that recovery journey that they're on.
We launched the program in June of this year, and
we've been steadily helping homeowners, survivors of disaster all throughout
(26:42):
the state. Actually since then.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
We know all too well here in southern California the
price of disaster on people's lives, with the two major
wildfires that we suffered here in January and the numerous
homes and businesses that were lost. Can you share with
us a bit what the messages have been like from
those families effect good by those disasters.
Speaker 5 (27:01):
Yeah, I mean, we try to connect with those survivors
and those families everyone that we have you know, been
able to have touch points with and talk to. You know,
they have found that this program is providing much needed
financial relief to them. You know, three months of mortgage
payments is you know, an opportunity for you to focus
(27:22):
kind of those funds somewhere else, whether than you're having
a longer commute or you know, we have homeowners saying
this is going in my rebuild fund. And we've been
really you know, happy to be a support system to
reach out to homeowners so that they don't feel alone
in this recovery process. Additionally, we know we talk about
the application process and with homeowners and we actually most
(27:45):
recently actually got a quote from a homeowner that we
helped in the Northern California area. But she said, you know,
the biggest hurdle was me just scared I wasn't going
to qualify. The application process was easy, that what we
were asking her to provide was readily available, but she
just had to, you know, kind of make that phone call,
(28:06):
go to the website, pick up the phone and just
ask for help, because you know, they didn't cause this
circumstance or in and they really want homeowners to see
the CALLOUSUS Mortgage Fund program as an opportunity to.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Help and to that in. This is a program that
recently raised the amount of money a household could be
making an income in order to qualify, and it raised
it pretty significantly. And I think it's an important point
because you know, when you compare Pacific Palisades to a
lot of places in Los Angeles County, you know that
you expect the income disparity to be significant. But even
(28:42):
if folks in Pacific Palisades are high earners, one their
income may have been completely disrupted by the loss of
their home, and two, they may not be much different
than people in lower income communities in the fact that
they're a check or two away from missing a mortgage payment.
So we talk about the significance of raising that cap
(29:03):
from seventy thousand I believe to more than two hundred thousand.
Speaker 5 (29:07):
Yeah, So we recently did raise the income cap not
only for the southern California area, but all counties across
the state. We've raised that income cap, and it was
really a recognized when we launched the programs. Of course,
we want to make sure that we are focusing the
assistance to those that maybe are more likely to have been,
(29:30):
you know, as you stated, living check by check, or
more at risk of missing those mortgage payments in that sense.
But you know, we do collect a lot of data.
We're very responsive to what we're hearing from those survivors,
from the case workers, from our other partners in the
recovery efforts, such as Caloees. And so we recognized that
(29:52):
the income was a limiting factor and we wanted to
raise that income level. But I would also say that
if you're a homeowner and you're listening to this and
you work, you are a survivor of a recent disaster
in the state of California that affected your home, I
would connect to the program regardless of what my income
is because even if you don't need that income criteria
(30:12):
and this program is in a good fit for you,
we can get you connected to a HUD certified housing counselor.
It's a free service for homeowners in the state of California,
and there are plenty of programs out there. This administration
that you know, kind of the state government is State
of California, is really focusing on supporting these homeowners through
(30:32):
the recovery process, and there's a litany of programs out
there for them.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Our guest is Rebecca Franklin, Chief Deputy Director of the
California Housing Finance Agency also known as cal HFA. This
is a funding that is available for what you call
qualified disasters that happened between January first of twenty twenty
three and January eighth, twenty twenty five, around the time
that the Pacific Palisades Fire and the Eaton fire and
(30:58):
Altadena to place here. So qualified disasters include the Eaten fire,
the Palisades fire, the Park fire, the floods in San Diego,
and others across the state. I mean, this is a
state that has unfortunately really gone through it when it
comes to those disasters in recent years, and I can
imagine that at this time of year, with Thanksgiving, Christmas,
(31:19):
that it's particularly important that folks have a bit more
peace of mind. So I know this is an important
program for folks, and if you wouldn't mind just just
share a bit about that as folks search for that
I guess bit of comfort in a year of complete discomfort.
Speaker 5 (31:38):
Yeah, I mean, I think that's a really good point
that you're making that you know, we for the Callousis
Mortgage Fund program, you know, really recognize that these homeowners
are you know, amazing survivors of a disaster that they
never started, that you know, they just were victim to
that and that you know, especially during the holidays when
(31:59):
you who gather in your home and you you know
have grandparents' house you go to and whatnot to have
you know, them be in a recovery process, you know,
provides it's just a stressful and it's a personal stressful situation.
And at the Calasus Mortgage Fund program, we really want
those homeowners to know that we're here to help. We
(32:21):
it's an easy program to apply for and you know,
three months of mortgage payments can give you a little
bit of relief and so that you can focus on
enjoying the holidays with your family, you can focus on
the rebuilding effort, and really just focus on maintaining your
community and not losing that at the end of the day,
is really why we're here.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
Rebecca Franklin is the Chief Deputy Director of the California
Housing Finance Agency. We've been talking about the cal Assist
Mortgage Fund, which is available for folks whose homes were
affected by natural disasters since January first, twenty twenty three,
through January eighth, twenty twenty five. Rebecca, thank you so
much for spending some time and explaining this program with
us as our friends and neighbors continue their recovery from
(33:02):
the wildfires here in La County.
Speaker 5 (33:04):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
That's it for us tonight. Grateful for you listening. Hope
you had a great Thanksgiving and you survive the first
weekend of holiday shopping. With another edition of Michael Monk's
Reports right here on KFI AM six
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Forty, KFI AM six forty on demand
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