The American Red Cross shelter set up by the City of Pasadena at the Convention Center will be winding down operations soon.
On Tuesday, Feb. 4, the Red Cross said while no official date has been set to close the shelter it is actively looking for a new location for residents to be relocated to closer to their home community.
“When the Red Cross took over management of the Pasadena shelter, the Civic Auditorium Complex requested that the facility be returned to the city shortly after the first week of February,” Red Cross Regional Communications Director Angel Sauceda said in a statement.
Christine Susa, a spokesperson for the Convention Center, referred questions about the shelter to the city.
“The longer we operate the shelter at the Convention Center some business decisions will have to be made,” Finance Director Matthew Hawkesworth said during the meeting. “The Convention Center has contractual commitments to entities that are scheduled to move in and host events and operate there.”
As of Tuesday, Feb. 4, 272 people were sheltered at the site. About two-thirds of those residents are from Altadena, according to the Red Cross. The shelter housed as many as 1,140 people at its peak period during the Eaton fire.
The issue arose during Monday night’s Pasadena City Council meeting when District 6 Councilmember Steve Madison said he had heard a rumor that the shelter would be closing this Friday, Feb. 7.
“Not a single person should be turned out,” Madison said. “I don’t care if they live in Altadena or in Pasadena or wherever. These disasters don’t know city limits.”
During public comment several residents, including those living at the shelter, spoke out against closing the shelter and criticized the lack of transparency for those staying there. Some relayed that residents of the shelter had been told that they needed to be out by Friday.
“Residents in the Pasadena shelter will transition to the new shelter location once identified,” Sauceda said. “At this time, we do not have an official moving date for the shelter.”
Hawkesworth said the commitment from the Red Cross and other partners is to find a place for people housed in the Convention Center to go to once the shelter closes.
The Red Cross said it will continue to have sheltering options until all residents have a plan in place to get them to their next housing solution. Each household will work with a Red Cross shelter resident transition casework to navigate people through available resources.
“While we know shelter transitions can feel sudden, please know that these transitions are carefully planned,” Sauceda said. “Red Cross teams are actively collaborating with local services and continuously communicating with each resident to support a smooth transition.”