The County’s Warming to the Idea

The rare chill invariably prompts the county to open the shelters of last resort--but only for a few days. Now the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is considering a proposal that would keep the emergency homeless shelters open all winter. That’s a good idea.

The supervisors on Tuesday approved a motion to examine the cost of keeping the armories open and the cots up from Nov. 1 through March 31. These facilities will rival no Hilton: Some homeless people and their advocates complain bitterly about the large shelters. Fair enough, but such emergency housing helps thousands of desperately poor and sometimes dangerously cold homeless people. More than 28,000 homeless people stayed in the county’s cold-weather shelters last year. The county paid for the shelters with nearly $600,000 in funds, largely from the Federal Emergency Management Administration. Last winter, the shelters were open countywide an average of 39 nights.

A decision to open the shelters for 150 nights would require more money. Are more federal funds are available? The county’s report will identify funds and examine the overall need for temporary housing. The study is not expected to answer basic philosophical questions, such as whether large, warehouse-like emergency shelters are the best way to help the homeless. But the county, which is legally responsible for providing basic shelter, has been indifferent to the basic task for years. Ordering up a study will be a tiny step in the right direction, but only if it results in adequate services for homeless people.