A friendly campaigner against homelessness is now living on the streets himself after his family’s home was destroyed by the Los Angeles bushfires.
Anthony Ruffin said he was left heartbroken after the home his father first bought in 1972 in a red-lined area of Altadena, California, was lost this week to the Eaton Fire.
The house he grew up in and later bought from his parents was among more than 12,000 buildings razed since the Los Angeles fires broke out a week ago, killing at least 24 people.
He told the LA times that he and his wife Jonni Miller, who is also a social worker in the homeless community, were forced to evacuate their home on January 8, leaving behind a trove of precious family heirlooms.
“It’s terrible,” he told the newspaper in tears this week.
He previously worked for the Housing Works charity and currently works on Skid Row for the County Department of Health Services.
Ruffin became a well-known public servant in the area as he visited clients on weekends and nights and helped countless people from California’s growing homeless community find housing.
But after losing everything in the fires, Ruffin said he and his wife already went back to work to help people even less fortunate than themselves.
“I have to meet someone who is homeless today and try to help them find housing,” he said. ‘I did that on Friday too. I have to help someone every day… I have my own problems, but I’m lucky.
“So many people out there on Skid Row are dealing with addiction and homelessness and don’t have the resources that I have. I mean, I have a motel room right now, and they don’t have one.”
Anthony Ruffin and his wife Jonni, both homelessness campaigners, said they lost ‘all material possessions’ in the Los Angeles fires
Ruffin said he was left heartbroken after the home his father first bought in 1972 (pictured) in a red-lined area of Altadena, California, was lost this week to the Eaton Fire.
Ruffin and his wife set up a GoFundMe this week to rebuild their lives, but said they plan to share the money with neighbors after their entire street burned to the ground.
He wrote in the fundraiser: “We have lost all our material possessions, including many family heirlooms.
‘We are fortunate that we made it to safety with our dog and one of our cats. Unfortunately, in addition to our house, we also lost a cat and two of our chickens in the fire.
“My house on that side of Altadena was bought by my father in 1972 because only African Americans were allowed to live on that side. With a low-paying job and hard work, my father was able to secure that house.
“I don’t want to lose the house my parents worked so hard for.”
He said losing the home a week ago was heartbreaking because he was “working two jobs to keep that property because I knew how much it meant to my family.”
“We’ve really spruced up the house and made it look really nice.”
He said his mother and stepfather, now 76 and 83, were “devastated” when they heard the house burned to the ground, saying they “couldn’t stop crying.”
In a Facebook post this week sharing the fundraiser, Ruffin’s wife Jonni said her family was “trying to manage this tragedy privately” but admitted that “we are human and we need help.”
“We would love to welcome any support and love you can send our way…whether it’s $5, prayers, or positive vibes. With all our hearts, thank you.”
Even after losing everything in the fires, Ruffin said he and his wife already went back to work to help people even less fortunate than themselves.
“I have my own problems, but I’m lucky,” Ruffin said as he vowed to return to work
As the death toll rose to 24 in recent days, officials warned that figure is expected to rise as crews struggle to access the smoldering wreckage of entire neighborhoods.
Experts warn that drought-like conditions and high winds have created the perfect conditions for wildfires to break out and spread quickly
It comes as Los Angeles was placed under an unprecedented wind warning amid fears that gusts of 70mph could spark another inferno.
The National Weather Service has issued a fourth “extremely hazardous situation” warning that will go into effect at 4 a.m. Tuesday, warning that winds of up to 75 mph will continue through Wednesday afternoon.
Much of the bone-dry city is under Ventura’s new warning in much of the San Fernando Valley, while areas from San Diego to San Bernardino remain under conventional red flag warnings.
The fourth warning comes after the previous three wreaked havoc in the densely populated area this fire season, including the ongoing Palisades and Eaton fires that have become some of the deadliest in California history.
Much of the area around Malibu and the Pacific Palisades is also under the new warning, where at least 24 people have died and more than 12,000 buildings have been destroyed by multiple fires.
Meteorologists warn that unusual drought-like conditions have turned the city into a potential flashpoint as strong winds pick up.
The last significant rainfall in downtown Los Angeles occurred in May 2024, and only 0.16 inches of rain has fallen since Oct. 1 — compared to a historical average of 5.34 inches by then, the LA Times reports.
Climatologist Bill Patzert told the newspaper that “the past nine months have been among the driest in recorded history dating back to 1900. In my career, I have never seen the severe events in Santa Ana so overwhelming the normal winter rainy season.”