Nina Dobrev admitted she’s been feeling “survivor’s guilt” after her home “made it” amid the rapid and going devastation stemming from the Los Angeles wildfires.
“It’s been such a tragic time in Los Angeles recently,” Dobrev said in a video posted to Instagram on Sunday. “I have been absolutely sick to my stomach with all the destruction and devastation that these fires have caused and displaced so many families. My heart is broken for all the people affected by these wildfires.”
The “Vampire Diaries” actor shared that she evacuated from her home on Jan. 9, which happened to be her birthday. “I don’t know about you, but I have been feeling survivor’s guilt,” she said in the video. “Our home, although close to one of the fires, thankfully made it, but so many others were not so lucky.”
Dobrev also admitted that while she wanted to help, she found it overwhelming at first, but she researched the best ways to help impacted communities and found that many shelters have “too many clothes.”
“What people really need right now is financial aid to help them get back on their feet and start rebuilding their lives and their homes,” she said. “The Pacific Palisades, the Altadena, Pasadena community in particular, needs it the most.”
Sharing a link to a spreadsheet full of GoFundMe links for those who lost their homes in the fires, Dobrev said she went down the list and donated to those families, adding that her “birthday wish” would be for her followers to do the same. She clarified that the donations could be “small or big.”
“If you have the ability to help someone, please do,” she said.
“I put myself in the shoes of all these people whose homes have burned down to the ground with their belongings, their memories … everything that made them feel safe in the world now gone, and their insurance dropped them,” Dobrev said. “For some of them, the level of tragedy is immeasurable, and it’s really hard to comprehend. They’ve lost everything, and my heart breaks into a million pieces for them.”
