Elizabeth House Workshop Teaches Safe Infant Sleep, Opens a Path to Free Cribs

A one-hour class at a Pasadena nonprofit for pregnant and parenting women could be the first step toward a free crib for eligible local families who have no safe place to put a baby down to sleep.

The Pasadena Public Health Department and Elizabeth House will hold an in-person Safe Sleep Education Workshop from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 559 North El Molino Avenue, according to a city flyer. Residents of Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre who are pregnant or have a baby under 1 receive free safe sleep items after completing the training. Those who are Medi-Cal eligible and have no other safe sleep environment can also qualify for a free crib.

The workshop is open to all members of the community, the flyer says, and the department describes the training as free. The program’s benefits are limited to residents of the three communities. Participants will learn ways to help protect their babies from sudden unexpected infant death, according to the flyer.

The session uses the Safe Sleep Ambassador training developed by Cribs for Kids, a Pittsburgh-based national safe sleep organization, under a partnership described on the department’s website. Cribs for Kids asks each ambassador to share what they learn with at least three other people.

The department launched its Safe Sleep Education Program with Cribs for Kids and the Pasadena Child Health Foundation, according to an Oct. 13 department news release. The release also describes a virtual, 45-minute version of the course. Participants who finish that course receive items such as swaddles, wearable blankets, onesies and educational booklets, the release says.

The workshop falls during Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Awareness Month. In the same release, the department reported eight sudden unexpected infant deaths in Pasadena over the past 10 years. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted about 3,400 such deaths in 2024.

The department urges caregivers to follow the “ABCs” of safe sleep: babies sleep alone, on their back, in a crib. The American Academy of Pediatrics made the same case when it updated its recommendations in 2022.

“If we’ve learned anything, it’s that simple is best: babies should always sleep in a crib or bassinet, on their back, without soft toys, pillows, blankets or other bedding,” Dr. Rachel Moon, lead author of the academy’s policy statement and a professor of pediatrics at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, said at the time.

Elizabeth House, which says it was founded in 1994, provides shelter and lifelong support to pregnant and parenting women in need. Both the nonprofit and the health department received 2025 grants from the Pasadena Child Health Foundation, which serves children in Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre.

Registration is at tinyurl.com/EHSafeSleep, according to the flyer. Questions go to Jenna Feraud, a public health nurse with the department, at (626) 744-7646 or JFeraud@CityOfPasadena.net, according to the city’s online announcement. Requests for accessibility information or accommodations go to (626) 744-7311 or CSC@CityOfPasadena.net, according to the same announcement, which notes that at least 72 hours’ advance notice will help ensure availability.

Families can also reach the department’s resource line at 800-304-0015. Transit information and a trip planner are available at PasadenaTransit.net, according to the flyer.

The Safe Sleep Education Workshop is Tuesday, Oct. 27, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The training is free, participants who complete it receive free safe sleep items, and eligible families can also qualify for a free crib. The workshop takes place at Elizabeth House, 559 North El Molino Avenue. The city’s flyer does not list parking information. For more, call (626) 744-7646 or visit tinyurl.com/EHSafeSleep.

Cribs for Kids founder Judy Bannon described the organization’s aim in a 2017 letter on its website: “helping all babies celebrate their first birthdays.”