Episode 8: Quick Hits - Rising from the Ashes with Caroline Paules

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What happens when everything around you burns to the ground, but your home miraculously survives? For Caroline Paules, this wasn't just a hypothetical question but her lived reality in the aftermath of the devastating 2025 Altadena fires. Standing amid the ruins of what was once a vibrant neighborhood in Jane's Village, Caroline made the remarkable decision to stay, not despite the destruction, but because of it.

Caroline's story weaves together multiple threads of resilience. As co-founder of Casa Nova, she's working to address California's housing crisis through innovative 270-square-foot prefabricated homes. Originally designed for people exiting homelessness, these structures have unexpectedly found new purpose as potential emergency housing for those displaced by disaster. "A lot of us are facing this really rough construction timeline that is scaring people away from their homes," Caroline explains, highlighting how her company's mission evolved in response to immediate community needs.

The heart of this conversation, however, centers on community bonds that strengthen rather than break under pressure. Caroline describes neighbors stopping their cars to talk when they see her outside, or the spontaneous gathering of residents to sit with someone watching their property being cleared – like when she shared a beer with a neighbor while watching the demolition of a fireplace. These small moments of connection reveal how resilience often manifests not in grand gestures but in quiet companionship during difficult times. As Caroline reflects on what sustains her through this challenging rebuilding process, she points to her faith: "Neighborhoods can be destroyed and things can burn and people can leave...but God is very steadfast." This unwavering foundation gives her the strength to remain planted where others might flee, committed to supporting her community through what experts predict could be a decade-long recovery.

Listen now and consider: What would you do if disaster struck your neighborhood? Would you stay to rebuild or start fresh elsewhere? Join the conversation about resilience, community, and finding hope amid devastation.

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).

Episode Transcript

Sean Knierim (00:00):
Caroline Paules, thank you for being here with me
today to talk a little bitabout resilience in your own
story.

Caroline Paules (00:05):
Yeah, thank you .

Sean Knierim (00:06):
So, as you're moving through the world right
now, you're doing a lot of workto support communities, to try
and build a company to help,focused on resilience.
Can you tell us a little bitabout what you got going?

Caroline Paules (00:17):
Yes, about the same time I moved to Altadena in
January of 2024, I alsoco-founded a startup called Cas
a Nova that is building prefab,actually affordable housing.
It's very small 270 square feetbut we believe it's a really
good option for peoplepreviously who were exiting

(00:38):
homelessness in order to addressthe housing crisis in general.
We weren't really expecting itto be used as emergency housing,
but it definitely can be, andwe think it could be a really
wonderful opportunity forAltadenans to build, maybe back
in bungalow courts or as anemergency ADU, because a lot of
us are facing this really roughconstruction timeline that is

(01:00):
scaring a lot of people awayfrom their homes, and so we
wanna be able to use our designin order to fight that.
So yeah, is scaring a lot ofpeople away from their homes,
and so we want to be able to useour design in order to fight
that.

Sean Knierim (01:05):
So yeah, Can you talk a little more about the
underlying mission of thecompany, like why is it that you
need to exist right now?
What's driving y'all?

Caroline Paules (01:14):
Yes, absolutely .
There's not enough houses inCalifornia, and a lot of that is
because of a broken system.
A lot of it is because of greedand deliberate decisions made
by people, but ultimately, whatwe need is enough housing so
that everybody has what theyneed.
We think it's a human right,and so we're trying to construct

(01:35):
and build in a way that'scompletely different than
traditional construction.

Sean Knierim (01:38):
Right on.
So you started the company afew years back, but 2025 has
been an interestingly personalyear for you on the topic of
resilience.
Can you talk a little bit aboutwhat your year's been like?

Caroline Paules (01:49):
Yes, so I live in Jane's Village and when I
moved in, everyone was superfriendly and super amazing and I
knew that Altadena had a reallydeep cultural history that I
really just appreciated beinginvited into, that I really just
appreciated being invited into.
And then, when the fires hit,my husband and I left the night
of the fires, not expecting tocome back to essentially a

(02:11):
crater, and so my street is gone.
I have a standalone home, whichI'm super blessed to have, and
so I've moved back in and becomea neighborhood captain.

Sean Knierim (02:23):
And so your home survived the fires, or?
At least the periphery wasscored, but all around you got
taken out by this fire.

Caroline Paules (02:30):
Yep, and everything up to my garage like
the fire was to within a coupleof feet of my home on all sides,
and so it really it was amiracle that it's still there
and I took that as God justreally wanted me to be planted
there and instead of leaving asI understand a lot of people
would want to to actually justroot me deeper in that I'm going

(02:52):
to stay and I'm going to behere for my neighbors who
rebuild.

Sean Knierim (02:55):
So, as you think about what you've experienced in
the last five, six months, arethere any stories or any moments
of hope that you remember ofkindness, generosity, of how the
community came together tosupport each other?

Caroline Paules (03:07):
Oh yeah, I think right after the fires
happened a lot of generosityflooded in from all over the
world, but we know that's notgoing to last the decade that
it's going to take to rebuild.
And so really where I find themost hope is just one-on-one
conversations with my neighbors.
It's not necessarily in thetown halls or the rallies those

(03:28):
things are fabulous, but reallywhen I sit outside my neighbors
will stop their car, put it inreverse and come to talk to me,
and I think that's what reallygrounds us together.
One example is that when myneighbor's lot was getting
cleared, she and I sat on myfront porch drinking a beer and
watching them knock down herfireplace, and so just whenever

(03:51):
there's somebody out there andsomething emotional is happening
a lot of it's lot clearingthere will just spontaneously
appear five or six people thatjust be with them in that moment
.
So I see that happening a lot.

Sean Knierim (04:03):
Something we've explored in a number of these
conversations is how peoplefaced with hard situations are
able to care for themselves.

Caroline Paules (04:11):
over time, any reflections or any insights
you've gained or any ways thatyou found that you're able to
take care of yourself and undertimes of pressure and stress and
uncertainty- For me, I thinkit's it's really my faith in God
um, which is something that'snot dependent on my physical or
temporal situation um is thatneighborhoods can be destroyed

(04:33):
and things can burn and peoplecan leave um and and die and um
that can all come and go Um, butbut God is very steadfast, and
so that gives me theencouragement to again to stay
um where I think a lot of peoplewere wondering if I would just
like move out cause I have noneighbors Um, but I think to me

(04:55):
this is is where he's planted meUm, and so it doesn't actually
matter what happens to myneighborhood, because he's
something that I can't lose.
So I hope to share thatconfidence with my neighbors.

Sean Knierim (05:06):
I find that waking up every morning with a prayer
of gratitude is a prettywonderful way to start a day,
absolutely Wonderful.
Thank you so much, caroline,for taking time to talk with us
today.