Churches Open to Homeless as Armories Hold Guard Exercises

About 110 homeless people displaced by military exercises at armories in Orange County found food and shelter at the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Ana through the frigid weekend, church officials said.

“We mobilized for the cold weather in just one day, but we still couldn’t accommodate everyone who needed a cot for the night,” said Mary Lee, who coordinated the emergency shelter at the church at 601 N. Sycamore Ave. “We had to tell some people, ‘Sorry, there’s no room.’ ”

The church’s McFarland Hall auditorium was transformed into a shelter beginning Thursday night, when officials of the Orange County Homeless Task Force and county social service agencies arrived with food, cots and blankets.

Emergency Call for Assistance

The church and a handful of others in the county responded to an emergency call for assistance when it was learned last week that armories in Santa Ana and Fullerton that usually provide overnight shelter when temperatures drop below 40 degrees would instead be used for National Guard training.

Meanwhile, shelters throughout the county braced Sunday for what was predicted to be the coldest night of winter, with temperatures expected to drop to the upper 20s in some valley areas, according to WeatherData Inc., which provides forecast information for The Times.

The mercury hovered around 34 degrees in Santa Ana during predawn hours Sunday, and a blanket of frost was reported throughout the northern county and inland areas.

The coldest night in the county previously this winter was Dec. 29, when temperatures dropped to a freezing 31 degrees, according to WeatherData.

Churches Respond to Plea

Scott Mather, head of the homeless task force, had made an urgent plea for help early last week. In addition to the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Ana, the First Presbyterian Church of Fullerton and two other churches in Santa Ana and Mission Viejo opened their doors to the homeless through the weekend. Mather, who could not be reached for comment Sunday, said last week that a Salvation Army shelter in Fullerton also would accommodate 150 homeless.

The Rev. Bryan Smith, associate pastor of the Santa Ana Presbyterian church, said that homeless people sleeping on the church steps under cardboard lean-tos and around the church had raised the consciousness of church-goers.