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Ecumenical Council Pasadena Area Churches

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Friends In Deed - ECPAC
A trusted community leader
striving to reduce poverty and homelessness in the Pasadena area.

Pasadena Bad Weather Shelter

Homelessness Shelter • Operation • Staffing • Advisory Board • Volunteers
Funding • History • Annual Report

A program of the Ecumenical Council/Friends In Deed, the Pasadena Bad Weather Shelter provides shelter for homeless individuals and families each night in January and February. It is also weather activated (40 degrees or below or 40% chance of rain) from the day after Thanksgiving until the end of December, and from the first of March until the 15th of March. The Bad Weather Shelter is located in the gymnasium of the Pasadena Covenant Church, 539 N. Lake, next to the Fire Station, and near the Gold line. This year the families will register and eat at Pasadena Covenant, and then will be transported either to Altadena Community Church or another site where they will sleep.

Homelessness in Pasadena

The 2009 Pasadena Homeless Count recorded that there were 1144 homeless individuals on a given night in Pasadena. From 2005 until 2008 the number of homeless had decreased but with the economic climate changing, the number increased 16% this year over last. Our shelter numbers have increased by at least 18% with our highest night at 196 people.

During the 2008-9 season, the Bad Weather Shelter housed 672 unduplicated individuals over the course of 72 days. This includes 398 men, 178 women, 42 girls and 52 boys. The 2008-9 Bad Weather Shelter report will be available in June, 2008.

In 2008-9 we saw a significant increase in Hispanic clients, two-parent families. The number of seniors over 70 years old increased from 4 to 14 individuals over 70 since last year.

To learn more about the 2009 Pasadena Homeless Count, go to www.phhn.org.

How the Shelter Operates
The Bad Weather Shelter is located in the Pasadena Covenant Church Gymnasium at 539 N. Lake Avenue, Pasadena. The Bad Weather Shelter is a high tolerance shelter. At 7 pm families with children are admitted to the shelter, registered and fed a hot meal by volunteers. At 8 PM individual adult guests are admitted, registered, and fed. Guests leave the shelter by 7AM each morning. There is no discrimination due to race, sexual orientation, gender, ancestry, national origin, legal status, or disabilities. To find out if the shelter is open, call the hotline, 1-888-915-8111. For all other questions, call 626-797-2402.

Staffing
The shelter is staffed by professionals who are experienced with the homeless, mentally ill and drug addicted populations. Several work as professionals at Union Station, Lake Avenue Foundation and Passageways. A nurse from Passageways/Pacific Clinics provides flu shots, health evaluations and palliative care. Special programs include Twelve Step Programs, Foot Washing (Pasadena Covenant), and Women Talk (All Saints Women’s Issues Committee).

BWS Director: David Kotce
Assistant Director: William Shelby
Assistant Director: Kari Herwig
Homeless Outreach Workers: Kitty Galt, Ruben Gallegos

Advisory Board
Wayne Walker, Pasadena Covenant Church
Ron Grassmann, New Hope Christian Fellowship
Jan Ratliff, Pasadena Covenant Church
Leo Hurtado, Lake Avenue Foundation
Linnie Riboli, Lake Avenue Foundation
Kitty Galt, Passageways/Pacific Clinics
John Depew, City of Pasadena Housing Department
Ann Lansing, City of Pasadena Housing Department
Roz Lindstrom, Administrative Staff
David Kotce, Program Director
Pat O’Reilly, Executive Director

Volunteering for the Bad Weather Shelter
For your group to volunteer for the Bad Weather Shelter, please email andrew@ecpac.net during October or November.

Funding

The majority of the funding for the Pasadena Bad Weather Shelter comes from the City of Pasadena Emergency Shelter funds. The remaining funds come from the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, individual and church donations and the Fall ECPAC/Bad Weather Shelter Fundraiser.

Twenty-two volunteer groups from churches and other agencies provide healthy, hot meals for our clients each night. We average 100 clients a night, and at times serve up to 150 clients. 

History of the Bad Weather Shelter

The Bad Weather Shelter first opened in 1986 in response to the emergency needs of homeless persons in Pasadena. These were individuals who for a variety of reasons lacked adequate refuge during the cold and wet winter months. The shelter was located at the Salvation Army gymnasium until 1989 and then moved to its present location in the gymnasium of the Pasadena Covenant Church.

The first director of the shelter was Dr. Joe Colletti whose vision, care and energy made the shelter possible. In 1989 the shelter became an official program of the Ecumenical Council of the Pasadena Area Churches (ECPAC).

Annual Report
2006-7 Report (pdf)
2007-8 Report (pdf)
2008-9 Report (docx)