Door of Hope Executive Director Megan Katerjian and PCF Program Director Kate Clavijo celebrate the new Community Center at an evening reception on December 8.
Door of Hope has an especially happy reason to celebrate the season this year: Its brand-new Community Center just opened its doors, thanks in part to a $50,000 Capital Campaign Grant from Pasadena Community Foundation.
PCF awarded three local organizations a Capital Campaign Grant this fall, recognizing projects that are transformative to their missions and to the community at large. Pasadena Heritage and Villa Esperanza join Door of Hope as PCF’s selected Capital Campaign grantees.
Door of Hope’s mission is to empower families facing homelessness to transform their lives through holistic transitional housing and homelessness prevention services. Its new Community Center will provide space for critical administrative and client support services that to date have been conducted in crowded conditions on the third floor of the organization’s northwest Pasadena shelter. Best of all, by moving these services to the new center, Door of Hope can transform the third-floor space into three new residential units to shelter more families, thereby increasing its transitional housing capacity by 9%.
A Critical Time to Increase Capacity
Executive Director Megan Katerjian points out that this ability to increase the organization’s capacity comes at a critical time:
“Last year in our community of LA County, homelessness shot up by 12% and family homelessness increased by 46%. And, of course, because of the pandemic, so many more families are at risk of eviction and homelessness. All of this increases the need for homelessness services and housing in Pasadena. In 2021, we will serve 145 families— 4.5 times more than 2019. We are thrilled to receive support from PCF and our other community partners to help bring our dreams for a multipurpose, collaborative Community Center to fruition.”
