Local News in Brief : Laguna Beach : Shelter for Homeless to Open in September

Friendship Shelter Inc., a Laguna Beach charitable group, has announced plans to open a dormitory-style homeless shelter for 25 people this September in an apartment building on Coast Highway.

Colin Henderson, the group’s executive director, said organizers hope to give homeless people a chance to become self-sufficient by giving them free lodging and food for 60 days so they can save enough money to pay for their own apartments. Henderson said the shelter would not take people directly from the street, but would require them to obtain referrals from church groups or the police.

Henderson said the apartment building, which his group bought on Monday, has a high tenant turnover rate and is now only partially full. He said his group will begin moving homeless people in as tenants move out.

According to City Clerk Verna Rollinger, the group does not need a special use permit to build its shelter because such structures are permitted under the area’s existing zoning.

Henderson said Friendship Shelter is paying for the shelter with a mixture of federal, state and county grants, as well as private donations. He said the group will hold a fund-raiser Aug. 14 in Laguna Beach. Tickets for the event, which includes dinner, live music and an auction, are $75 each. For more information about the benefit, call Friendship Shelter Inc. at (714) 494-6928.