Monday, August 10, 2026

Writing Group for Altadena Fire Survivors Meets Monday at Altadena Community Center

Disaster-recovery agencies have wound down services at the community center; a free survivors’ workshop meets there Monday afternoon

Altadena wildfire survivors will spend Monday afternoon writing about what the Eaton Fire took from them, in a free community writing group at the Altadena Community Center.

The session, the Altadena Wildfire Survivor Community Writing Group, runs from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at 730 E. Altadena Drive. Participants write to timed prompts about places they valued, what they have lost and found, and how they will move forward, the organizer, Saved by a Story, said in its description of the program.

The group is free and open to all ages, but seating is limited. An RSVP does not hold a seat, the organizer said. Seating opens 15 minutes early, and no one is admitted once the session starts.

Shermaine Barlaan facilitates. She was born in Pasadena and lost her own home in the Eaton Fire, and she leads the organization’s community writing groups as a UCLA Extension Writing Program and VONA scholar, according to her biography on the organization’s site.

Monday’s meeting is the latest in a recurring series at the center. An earlier session met June 10 in the center’s Community Room, and registration for it had closed by the date of the event, a co-listing by the Altadena Library District shows.

The community center sits in unincorporated Altadena, on county ground rather than in City of Pasadena jurisdiction. The Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs took the building over on Jan. 1, 2025, and calls it a hub for county and community events. The Eaton Fire damaged the center, which reopened in June after renovation and recovery work, the office of Supervisor Kathryn Barger said.

Saved by a Story appears on the California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Recovery Fund grantee list, published May 1, 2026, as a recipient for wildfire survivor writing workshops and storytelling salons serving the Palisades and the Altadena and Eaton fire areas. The list does not state an award amount.

Session details are posted at https://www.savedbyastory.com/all-events.

NEED TO KNOW

The Altadena Wildfire Survivor Community Writing Group meets Monday, August 10, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Altadena Community Center, 730 East Altadena Drive, Altadena, CA 91001. The program is free and open to participants of all ages, and Shermaine Barlaan facilitates. Doors open at 12:45 p.m. Seating is limited and first come, first served, an RSVP does not guarantee admission, and late entry is not permitted once the session begins. Participants are asked to bring a notebook and a pen. For more, call (626) 398-6174 or visit savedbyastory.com, where the remaining 2026 and 2027 dates are posted. To reserve a spot, register through Eventbrite.