11/13/2025
“I went over there and started to help my neighbors move their stuff… it was just fire everywhere.”
Across Pasadena and Altadena, nearly forty Black and women-of-color–owned businesses shared stories like this: stories of people who kept showing up even when there was nothing left to give.
They juggled caregiving, payroll, grief, and cleanup all at once. They became the heartbeat of recovery, not because they had resources, but because they had roots.
In Altadena, those roots run deep. This is a community where people know one another across generations — where the same families have built, worked, and cared for decades. “Black Pasadena is small,” one resident said. “Everybody knows somebody.” That closeness is why, when disaster struck, people moved instinctively to help. Business owners checked on neighbors, churches opened doors, and local networks became lifelines. Their response wasn’t just selfless; it was continuity — a commitment to face hardship together.
This assessment, led by Fractal Strategies, documented by Blacklight Imaging, and conducted in partnership with The Wild Seed Collective and Umoja Food Collective, explores the realities and impact of relief efforts more than half a year later. The picture is heartbreaking: business owners still navigating displacement, lost income, and burnout — trying to recover while holding everyone else up. Relief remains tangled in red tape, built for those with time, paperwork, and capital few here could spare.
This assessment aims to turn those truths into strategies for lasting, equitable change. The full report will be released soon. In the meantime, together with our partners at the Latino Community Foundation, Community Partners, and Care First Community Investment, we say to every business owner who shared your story with us — we see you, we hear you, and we’re demanding a rebuild with you at the center.
To stay informed as the findings and next steps are shared, subscribe to The Wild Seed newsletter and join us in following the path toward collective recovery.
Photo Credit:
Brittany Dacoff, Rashida Zagon, and Kendra Harris
