CONEJO VALLEY : Shelter Offers Hot Meals, Place to Sleep

The Conejo Valley Winter Shelter opened this week, drawing several homeless people in from the cold with hot meals and a warm place to sleep.

This is the third consecutive year that the shelter has operated in the Conejo Valley, and organizers expect it to be the busiest yet, program coordinator Karen Ingram said.

“For the first time in three years, we had overnight guests on opening night,” Ingram said. “It’s an indicator of just how many needy people there are in the area.”

The winter shelter, which opened Monday, will be located each night at a different church, where volunteers will provide hot meals, take part in social activities and help do participants’ laundry, said Ingram, who helped start the shelter program.

For the first time, the shelter is extending meals to those who have homes but are having difficulty feeding themselves or their families, Ingram said.

“We want to help the people who have homes but can’t afford to put food on the table,” she said.

According to Ingram, people are being referred to the shelter by Lutheran Social Services, pastors of local churches and other homeless people who have used the shelter. There is a brief screening and no one will be admitted after 6:30 p.m., she said.

The shelter will be open from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. every night until April 15. The shelter is available to homeless families, including single-parent families, and to single men and women.

Anyone seeking information about the program can call 378-5042 for a recorded message for the location of the day’s shelter.