Local News in Brief : Countywide : Sheltering Homeless Again in Armories OKd
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to resume operation this winter of emergency shelters for the homeless in National Guard armories in Santa Ana and Orange.
The 5-0 vote also allows the county Social Services Agency to mount a campaign to raise money in the private sector to pay for the shelters and to seek aid in their operation from the governments of the two cities.
Homeless people are allowed to stay in the shelters overnight when the weather is cold or rainy.
Last winter, the shelters served 2,109 people on a total of 18 nights.
They were funded from $30,000 donated by Nathan Shapell, president and chairman of the Beverly Hills-based real estate developer Shapell Industries Inc., which has properties in Orange County.
National Guard armories throughout the state were opened to the homeless last winter for the first time by Gov. George Deukmejian. Orange County was the first county to use them for housing the homeless. Since then, other counties have begun shelter programs in armories.
Of the Shapell donation, $19,861 is on hand for use this winter.
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