27-Year-Old Single Black Mom With 2 Kids Says She’s Still Homeless Since L.A. Wildfires

Kahnai Jackson, a 27-year-old African American single mother from Los Angeles, California, has been living in her car with her two young children since losing their home in the L.A. wildfires. Despite the devastation, Jackson has been unable to get government assistance because she didn’t have the paperwork to prove she lived there. Jackson was renting a room in an Altadena home when the Eaton Fire swept through the neighborhood. The fire destroyed the house, but because her rental agreement was informal, she had no lease or utility bills in her name. Without official proof of residence, she doesn’t qualify for disaster relief.

“Being a renter, you don’t get anything like the owners do,” Jackson told Fox LA. “I just didn’t have the documents to get the help they were giving.”

Since the fire, Jackson and her children, 5-year-old Jeremiah and 8-year-old Jenia, have been moving between motels and sleeping in their car. She’s also a full-time nursing student and picks up side jobs whenever possible to make ends meet.

“I’m working, doing side jobs, or whatever I can to get money,” she said. “But I can’t work as much as I want to because I’m in school most of the day. Then I have to pick up my kids by 6 — it’s a lot.”

Despite these challenges, Jackson is determined to provide a better life for her children. She recently started a GoFundMe campaign in hopes of raising enough money to find stable housing. The campaign has raised nearly $19,000 so far.

“I’m just trying to be strong and give them a stable foundation,” she said. “So they won’t think this is normal.”