Homeless Shelter Plans to Shut Down Temporarily
The financially troubled West Hollywood Homeless Organization will temporarily close its La Brea Avenue shelter on Dec. 31, uprooting about 30 residents who live there, officials said Monday.
The shelter’s 20 employees, who received termination notices late last week, are now scurrying to get their clients into other shelters in Los Angeles.
Paul Koegel, vice president of the organization’s Board of Directors, said the shelter has run out of money and would need $150,000 to $200,000 to remain open through the new year. The board plans to restructure the shelter’s finances and services, he said, cutting the $1-million budget nearly in half, to about $600,000.
The 50-bed shelter could reopen as early as Feb. 1, Koegel said, adding that it could continue to operate with a reduced staff if it receives a $100,000 grant earmarked for it by Los Angeles County Supervisor Ed Edelman.
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