La Canada Flintridge Outlook
Union Station Foundation, the San Gabriel Valley’s largest private agency serving poor and homeless people, broke ground for a new Women’s Dormitory as they expand their Adult Center at 412 S. Raymond in Pasadena. The new addition will assist up to 70 more homeless women each year. The event was attended by Field Deputy for Supervisor Michael Antonovich Rita Hadjimanoukian, Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard, Senator Jack Scott, Assemblymember Carol Liu, Congressman Adam Schiff, Board members, donors, supporters of Union Station Foundation, area business owners and local residents. Completion of the project is scheduled for March 2007.
The new dormitory for homeless women is even more urgently needed now than when the project was originally conceived in 1999. The city of Pasadena’s 2005 Homeless count found that 1,217 men, women and children were homeless on a single day, an increase of 42% over the total number of homeless people counted in 2003 and the highest number since the city began conducting such counts in 1992. More than one-third of the homeless adults in Pasadena are women.
Currently housing up to 36 homeless adults every night of the year, the project will increase the size of the Adult Center from approximately 6,700 square feet to 10,650 square feet with the addition of a new two-story building adjacent to the existing facility.
The Adult Center has been in operation in its current configuration since it was constructed in 1989. It includes a dormitory, commercial-grade kitchen, dining/community room, meeting room, offices, showers, and restrooms. It is also the site of Union Station’s community meals program. The 36-bed dormitory currently houses both men and women. When the women’s dormitory opens, the 36-bed dormitory will return to its original use as a shelter for single men.
The building renovation and expansion will include a new 20-bed dormitory for women that will allow Union Station to help more than twice as many single women; offices for clients to meet privately with their case managers; a multi-purpose room for classes, support groups and meetings; expanded food storage and freezer capacity to allow Union Station to accept larger donations, thereby cutting operating costs; and additional parking for staff and volunteers.
Union Station Foundation is a community-based, non-denominational, non-profit social service agency serving the homeless and impoverished of Pasadena and the West San Gabriel Valley. Its professional staff, along with over 500 community volunteers, provides a wide array of supportive services to residents and clients. It serves more than 155,000 meals each year to homeless and hungry people. All programs and services are provided free of charge.
For more information about the groundbreaking contact Kandy Nunn at (626) 240-4559 or visit www.unionstationhs.org.