What do you picture when thinking of the New Year? Maybe goals, resolutions, and a fresh start. However, for many Pasadena and Altadena residents, the beginning of 2025 brought something completely different: flames, smoke, and huge losses. In January 2025, the Eaton Canyon fires swept through hundreds of neighborhoods, leaving over a thousand families in despair. Yet as quickly as the fire came, many in the community came together and took charge, showing that even in destruction, strength perseveres. Although many are still battling the emotional effects of losing a home, Pasadena’s unity became a symbol of hope and renewal, allowing our city to slowly heal.

“What I mourned the most was the memories, community, and the feeling of being home rather than the material items,” says Makayla Gatmaitan, a senior at Mayfield Senior School. As one of our community members who lost their home in the fire, she immediately experienced shock. It especially hurt her to see her parents, “strong figures in [her] life, who [she] thought could withstand any hardship, that could no longer fake a front that everything would be okay.” Because of this, Makayla “felt a lot of fear and uncertainty as [they] moved from different Airbnbs and were constantly struggling.” Among these feelings, she remembers having extreme brain fog and difficulty focusing in classes or having normal conversations with friends. 

“One of the most crucial parts in my healing was group counseling sessions,” said Gatmaitan. “I was not the only one experiencing this unusual mix of emotions by listening to the thoughts and emotions of other girls, and ultimately realizing how similar their experiences were to [her] own.” Makayla was astonished to see all the people in her community ready to show up for her and to support her, especially when a classmate “came with bags of essentials for every person in [her] family.” Through home cooked meals from friends, card and board games, she “received hundreds of kind messages from mutual friends, parents of friends, contacts [she] had fallen out of touch with, and…classmates [she] was close to or only shared a few words with.” In spite of the grief she was experiencing, the support and love she felt from her community “gave way to a deeper sense of gratitude.”

“Realizing that [the situation] is traumatic” because “it is something that is unexpected…[and] is not an easy fix” is the first step to recovering, says Erika Mastrobuono, a student counselor at Mayfield Senior School. Although the loss of a home may pose dangerous to one’s mental health, she recommends to be “patient with yourself” and to “allow yourself to go through that process,” especially since the loss is different to everyone. With the loss of personal belongings and a strong attachment to their home, some may even lose their sense of stability or identity. To help her community, Mastrobuono organized a group counseling session with other Mayfield girls who had lost their homes. Through this experience, she allowed the girls to feel a sense of belonging that they may have lost with the fires.

Members of our community have stepped up, supporting those who are facing the overwhelming task of rebuilding a home. Ted Moreno, a local Pasadena hypnotherapist partnered with his colleague, Matthew Rahban, to offer complimentary hypnosis sessions for residents coping with the strong emotional toll of losing a home. Their support helped many to manage stress, maintain a sense of control, and to navigate the next phase of their lives. Ted helped individuals remember personalized items, which ultimately allowed them to file accurate claims and receive compensation from the insurance. This kind of detailed assistance both released financial burden and reclaimed their life, reminding them of the power the community has when they stand strong together.

The strength and perseverance of the community rising above the ashes to help other members reflects the importance of having people to talk to, to support, to love, and to enjoy company with. Although it may be difficult dealing with severe loss of something so crucial to one’s happiness and comfort, a community who is willing to sacrifice their own time and energy for others is truly the reason why we persist. Because of Mrs. Mastrobuono’s strong work in creating a group counseling session in which students can share experiences, among Mr. Moreno’s work in helping those psychologically in the rebuilding process, students like Makayla Gatmaitan and families alike were able to heal effectively and maintain their strength.