Pregnant woman forced to sleep in her car after Eaton Fire
Seven months into her pregnancy and struggling to find a place to live, Marina Morse must now live out of her car after the Eaton Fire damaged her Altadena apartment.
"I slept at the Macy's in Pasadena last night," Morse said. "They said the fire survivors are sleeping in the Macy's parking lot."
Morse had been staying at the American Red Cross shelter at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. She said she went to the hospital last week due to some complications with her pregnancy. When she tried to return to the new shelter location in Duarte she was not allowed back in.
"I went there, but they said 'No, you can't come because you've been checked out already," she recalled.
The Red Cross said in a statement, "Once someone has checked out from the temporary emergency sheltering program, they are generally not eligible for re-admittance."
Morse also lost her job since the Eaton Fire destroyed the store she was working at.
She said she had filed a claim with FEMA and received a $350 gift card from the Red Cross. The organization was also providing her with important services to find housing.
"They said if I found a place they would help me with first and last [month's rent]," she said. "I'm trying to see where I can go to complete my pregnancy."
Morse said she does not have a family able to take her in and doesn't want to stay at a homeless shelter because she is afraid it won't be able to provide her with what she needs.
"My feet are swelling," she said. "I don't want to miscarry my baby. I did not expect this fire to happen."
KCAL News reached out to the Red Cross to ask if they will reconsider Morse's case to allow her back at the shelter but have not heard back.
After the story aired, Morse received help from Morning Star Christian Church. A nonprofit, My TRIBE Rise, also helped her find a room at a local motel and paid for her five-night stay.
Shelley Bruce from the Heart Department started a GoFundMe to help Morse. It can be found by searching "Aid Marina Morse and Her Baby with Immediate Housing Needs."
