A Community Open House Will Take Place Saturday, September 6
By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief
Palisades Community Renewal Center will open to serve “anyone affected by the Palisades wildfires” with free programming with a community open house on Saturday, September 6.
“The PCRC is a first-of-its-kind program created by the Picerne Family Foundation,” read information about the center, which has been in the works since late January. “The PCRC’s innovative approach offers trauma-informed resources that help those affected by the fires strengthen and sustain themselves and their sense of community after the devastating losses caused by the wildfires.”
Juliet Curry, who has more than two decades of experience in community-based programming, as well as a “lifelong commitment to arts education and learning,” will serve as director of the center.
Following a nearly four-decade career at Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences—the last 13 as head of school—Bob Riddle is the center’s advisor. Riddle worked with and knew “a few thousand” families from Pacific Palisades through the school—many of which were “deeply impacted by the fires.”
For the first six or so months, he said, people were focused on finding things like homes and schools, while dealing with insurance and permitting, but that many studies show that “six to nine months after disaster is when people start to hit rock bottom,” which is when a lot of the “help goes away” and a lot of the “attention goes away.”
“Disaster recovery isn’t just about rebuilding structures—it’s about helping to restore communities by addressing both social and emotional capacity to thrive—and nine months after the wildfires, much of the real work of community rebuilding is just beginning,” Picerne Family Foundation Executive Director Victor Nelson said. “The Picerne Family Foundation’s mission is to empower individuals and communities, and our long-term investment recognizes that recovery goes far beyond the media attention and immediate crisis response and requires ongoing, sustained support.”
Programming that will be available at the 6,200-square-foot PCRC space includes therapy and counseling sessions, art classes, and wellness programs—designed to create “a space for community support, creativity, renewal and connections as people cope with trauma, loss and upheaval.”
“When the fires hit in January, myself, like many of us, we were all grappling for ways to support and help,” Curry, a resident of Santa Monica for “many decades,” said to the Palisadian-Post. “For me, in hard times, darker times, I have really turned to art as a way of healing. It’s been important for me to provide opportunities through the work that I’ve been doing in the nonprofit world … to provide an opportunity for people to express themselves. I see this center as the perfect way to support community healing.”
She also touched on the importance of mental health, noting that the center allows people to explore their creativity as well as receive “trauma-informed care and mental health services” under one roof.
PCRC is working with licensed mental health professionals via Maple Counseling, which will offer 12 free counseling sessions to individuals, as well as options for family and group therapy.
“The Briskin I Wilder Welcome Center, staffed on-site, connects individuals to a wide network of mental health providers across LA County and provides immediate help for those in crisis,” according to PCRC. “Continued therapy is available on a sliding fee scale, making ongoing support accessible regardless of financial situation.”
Arts programming at the center, which is slated to launch the week of September 15, will be led by P.S. ARTS teaching artists, who will offer free visual and performing arts classes designed for all ages, including drawing, painting, theater and movement. After school on weekdays four times per week there will be programming for elementary school, middle school, teens and adults, according to Curry, with multigenerational programming available on Saturdays.
“Additional services, such as social activities, guest speakers, and mindfulness and wellness programs, will be added in the coming weeks and months based on community needs and feedback,” according to PCRC. There will also be the option for community groups to use the space to meet or gather.
The resources—whether individual or community oriented—at PCRC will be available to anyone who lived, worked, studied or served in a community affected by the Palisades fire.
“We’re going to be really responsive [to the community’s needs],” Curry described, with the idea to “iterate or change the model as we go, based on what is needed by the people that are coming to the center.” “It’s going to be customizable.”
The center will celebrate its opening with a Community Open House on Saturday, September 6, from 1 to 5 p.m. The event will include “interactive art activities” led by P.S. ARTS, time to speak with counselors and staff, an opportunity to sign up for free art workshops, events, therapy services and more, as well as live entertainment and afternoon snacks.
The open house will include three “micro workshops” that are focused on dealing with stress and coping in difficult times.
Palisades Community Renewal Center, located at 3212 Nebraska Avenue in Santa Monica, will remain operational through at least 2029, or “as long as the need exists.” It will initially operate five days per week, remaining “flexible to expand programming, dates and hours of operation based on community demand and evolving needs.”
Beginning the week of September 8, the center will be open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., as well as Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information, visit pcrcsm.org.
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