Members of the Pasadena Senior Center participate in a tap-dancing class. Photo by Barbara Davidson.
Rasheed Ali and Gayle Nicholls-Ali were celebrating their 43rd wedding anniversary in the Bahamas when they saw news of wildfires in Pacific Palisades but never thought their Altadena home would be endangered.
Mary Washington woke up to the smell of smoke and left her home wearing pajamas because she thought she would return the next day. And Andrea and Brian Mark packed for only two days, thinking that’s how long ferocious winds would knock out their power.
But all of these Altadena families lost their homes – and everything in them — when the Eaton fire tore through their town and surrounding areas on January 7. As they wrestle with the arduous task of rebuilding, they are doing so in a stage of life they never imagined would be full of these challenges: their Golden Years.
“It’s so hard, because you’re 83 years old,” Washington said of herself. “The life I had is wiped out and you have to start alone.”
Mary Washington, a wildfire survivor and Pasadena Senior Center volunteer, exercises at the Center’s gym. Photo by Barbara Davidson.
Enter the Pasadena Senior Center, which leaped into action to support Altadena seniors who lost homes or were displaced by the fires. A grant from the California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Recovery Fund helped the center respond to the myriad needs as it became a hub of social and emotional support for those struggling with loss, loneliness and trauma. The center, which is celebrating its 65th anniversary this year, is rebuilding connections within the shattered community of wildfire survivors, empowering them with knowledge and providing food and other essential support. CCF grants have also supported seniors through grants to Pasadena Village, a nonprofit community of older adults who help each other navigate the challenges of aging.
Akila Gibbs, the Pasadena Senior Center’s executive director, said staff “hit the ground running” when news of the wildfires hit; they quickly brought protein drinks, clothes, medications and other supplies to seniors who evacuated to the Pasadena Convention Center. They helped seniors replace wheelchairs and walkers and transformed their facility into a distribution center for food, clothing and supplies. They created phone trees to check in with 3,000 members and friends to see where they were – some were staying in cars – and what they needed.
Mental health support turned out to be the top need. So center staff put together an informational session on coping with anxiety and depression, led by licensed social workers and therapists. They also launched a support group for survivors, who meet regularly to talk through grief and loss.
“A lot of people are anxious because they don’t know what the future holds for them,” Gibbs said. “We’re helping people through this.”
Seniors bond over playing games like Lotería, a type of Mexican bingo. Photo by Barbara Davidson.
She said the CCF grant has helped the staff renovate and expand its food pantry, compile an online resources guide that has been viewed more than 10,000 times and develop a “navigators” program that provides one-on-one guidance on the rebuilding process. The center has sponsored several community events and informational sessions – including a recent one on the insurance claims process.
“We’re grateful to the California Community Foundation for their support,” Gibbs said. “Recovery from the Altadena fires will be a long road, especially for older adults who face unique challenges. The center is uniquely positioned to serve this population—offering not just resources, but connection, guidance, and hope as they rebuild.”
The insurance presentation featured Amy Bach, a consumer advocate and attorney who co-founded United Policyholders, a nonprofit that seeks to help consumers through what often is an adversarial claims process with insurance companies. A CCF grant to the consumer advocacy nonprofit from its Wildfire Recovery Fund supported the program.
Bach explained California’s special rules for insurance claims, what insurers will pay to replace a home without rebuilding, ideas to accurately catalogue losses and how to negotiate alternatives, such as cashing out a lump sum settlement or using insurance for assisted living facilities instead. The audience of about 60 people, many of them seniors, peppered her with questions: How do you communicate with an adjuster who lives in Atlanta? How do you get full value for all of your lost possessions?
Wildfire survivors participate in a workshop on navigating insurance claims. Photo by Barbara Davidson.
“That’s why I’m here: to empower you with information so you can be your own best advocate,” Bach said.
Andrea Mark, a senior who lost her home in Altadena, said the presentation was “very very very useful,” including information about how to reach out to the state insurance commissioner. “You saved us,” she told Gibbs after the session. “You do remarkable work.”
Mark, 73, and her husband Brian, 83, said the senior center has provided new social connections after their neighborhood was obliterated by the wildfires, scattering the close-knit neighbors. They relocated to an apartment in Old Town Pasadena and discovered the senior center a few blocks away.
The couple work out in the gym, attend lectures about classical music and take yoga classes. “It’s been very good for us,” Andrea Mark said. “People are very kind and patient.
“It’s been a really difficult journey to grapple with starting over, especially at our ages and determining what our next chapter looks like,” she said. “You know it’s not something you envision doing this late in your life. But we are resilient people.”
The Ali couple, who stayed in the Bahamas for two months until their son found them a new place in Montrose, said the insurance presentation was “fantastic,” especially the guidance on how to advocate for themselves against insurance companies. They are committed to rebuilding, although they feared that federal policies on immigration and tariffs would make that more challenging with fewer construction workers and higher costs of Canadian wood. They, too, never imagined themselves in this position at their age.
“Having to begin again at 71 is not what you anticipate, not preferred,” Ali said.
Wildfire survivors participate in a workshop on navigating insurance claims. Photo by Barbara Davidson.
Washington said her biggest challenge has been the loneliness of having to start over at age 83 without her husband, who passed in 2019 after nearly 60 years of marriage. But the center gives her emotional, social and material support. The facility, located on the grounds of Pasadena Memorial Park on E. Holly St., features a spacious auditorium, a fitness center, billiards room, computer lab and outdoor patio. On a recent day, several women tapped to tunes in the dance studio; mahjong club members built walls of tile in the fireplace lounge and others played Lotería, a type of Mexican bingo, and learned digital art. A coffee bar offers morning brews and treats, while volunteers such as Washington prepare lunches in a commercial kitchen. There are clubs, classes and lectures to suit myriad interests.
Washington’s favorite activities include “grocery bingo,” offering prizes of food, and working out in the gym. Center friends have given her clothing and other needed items. She has found family here.
“Some things are so deep, I don’t know if it heals,” Washington said. “But you get over it, you go on. And now at least you have the center to help you.”
–Teresa Watanabe