Nursing student living in car with 2 kids after losing home to LA wildfire
Mom, her 2 kids living in car after LA wildfire
Kahnai Jackson opens up about the struggle of living out of her car with her two kids after losing everything in the Jan. 2025 wildfire that devastated Altadena.
LOS ANGELES - While many families are celebrating this Mother’s Day, 27-year-old Kahnai Jackson is just trying to hold her life together. The single mother of two is among a growing number of renters who fall through the cracks during disasters — not because they weren’t impacted, but because they don’t have the paperwork to prove they lived where they did.
Jackson was renting a room in an Altadena home when the Eaton Fire swept through the neighborhood and destroyed everything. She didn’t have a lease or utility bills in her name, and because of that, she doesn’t qualify for any government assistance.
"Being a renter, you don’t get anything like the owners do," Jackson said. "I just didn’t have the documents to get the help they were giving."
With no support and nowhere to go, Jackson and her children — 5-year-old Jeremiah and 8-year-old Jenia — have been living out of her car and bouncing between motels. She’s also a full-time nursing student attending classes during the day and picking up side jobs whenever she can.
"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 everything, Jackson is determined to give her children a better future. She recently launched a GoFundMe campaign in hopes of raising enough money to secure stable housing.
"I’m just trying to be strong and give them a stable foundation," she said, holding back tears. "So they won’t think this is normal."
A GoFundMe page has since been launched in hopes of helping Kahnai and her kids. Those looking to help can click here.