Armory Won’t Remain Open for Homeless : Shelter: Money was raised so the facility could be used through March 31. But state officials say it must close after Feb. 15 except for emergencies.

State officials have denied a request to keep the Oxnard armory open for the homeless through March 31, angering community leaders and officials who raised funds to keep the shelter operating through the winter.

An unprecedented grass-roots effort, including a $25-a-head camp-out with the homeless, raised $33,000 to help keep the shelter open every night until March 31. But state officials are refusing to keep the Oxnard National Guard Armory open past Feb. 15.

“We are not prepared to extend the armory program until we can step back and evaluate it,” said Kassy Perry, a spokeswoman for the state Health and Welfare Agency.

Local officials were not happy with the state’s response. “This is a typical example of government working against the people,” said Ventura County Supervisor John K. Flynn, one of several elected officials who camped out with the homeless.

Flynn and other local officials said they plan to lobby state representatives for a reversal of the decision.

The armory program began in 1988, when then-Gov. George Deukmejian made the armories available for the homeless between Nov. 15 and March 31 whenever temperatures dipped below 40 degrees, or 50 degrees with a 50% chance of rain.

Under the program, the state pays a nighttime supervisor and covers the armory’s utility bills. Local governments and charities must pay for everything else, including food and maintenance.

This year, for the first time, Gov. Pete Wilson extended the program, allowing the armories to remain open continuously from Nov. 15 to Feb. 15. From Feb. 15 to March 31, armories may open only in case of weather emergencies.

The governor’s announcement came in November, catching Ventura County’s homeless activists by surprise. The Red Cross, which runs the local armory program, had budgeted only $47,000 to keep the shelters open for about 60 days of bad weather.

Enter the Community Challenge Committee.

Committee Co-chairman Bill Martin, a retired schoolteacher, said that one cold night in late November, he walked out of a Vons supermarket with his groceries and saw a barefoot homeless man dressed in rags.

“A couple of nights later, it was raining. I was lying in bed and I kept thinking, ‘My God! That guy is out there with no clothes,’ ” he said. That’s when he decided to help.

Others followed. Contributions started to pour in.

The week after Christmas, the K Street armory opened nightly, and dozens of grateful homeless people poured in. The armory has been open ever since, averaging about 80 people a night. Most of them are single men with nowhere else to go because most of the area shelters cater to women and families.

Already, it has provided individuals with 3,500 nights of shelter, almost three times as many as in previous years.

“The armory is a pretty nice place, actually,” said Marin Williamson, an activist for the homeless, who took part in the fund-raising drive. “They don’t demean you by forcing you to go to chapel or by locking you up all night like other places do. They let you step outside for a smoke.”

On Jan. 11, the committee and a few of the county’s homeless got together at a benefit camp-out. Temperatures dropped into the 30s, but about 100 people showed up and most of them stayed the night.

They burned 2-by-4s, roasted marshmallows and sang “We Shall Overcome.” Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria) came to lend support, as did County Supervisors Flynn and Susan K. Lacey. Oxnard Councilman Manuel Lopez and Ventura Councilmen Tom Buford and Gary Tuttle also attended.

“To have accomplished what we’ve accomplished--it’s amazing!” said Brian E. Bolton, director of the Ventura County Red Cross chapter, who had expected no more than a dozen people. “This is the quickest, most effective fund-raising effort I have ever seen.”

By the time the last camper was raising his tent, committee members were busy organizing the next event: a $25-a-bowl benefit soup kitchen at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, with entertainment donated by local rock and country-western groups.

The event will take place tonight at 6:30. Unless the state changes its decision on closing the armory, most of the money raised will not be spent until next year.

Meanwhile, the Red Cross asked the governor’s office to keep the armory open until March 31.

The answer was no. The governor can’t make an exception for Ventura, state officials said. Besides, “armories are not the best place to house the homeless,” said Perry of the state welfare agency.

“There are safety concerns and military concerns. Gov. Wilson was very compassionate in allowing the armory to remain open 90 consecutive days. . . . When we agreed to the extension, we were really concerned the locals would try to push it further,” she said.

Some local officials are unhappy with the decision.

“We can pay the utility bills and the watchman,” said Tuttle, the Ventura councilman. “But what’s the point of raising all this money if government can be so uncaring? We’ve worked hard to raise money, now we’ll work hard to make sure the money goes to where we want it to go.”

“Big government tells us to solve our problems by ourselves, so we go out and raise funds, and now they tell us we can’t do it,” said Lopez, the Oxnard councilman.

Martin, the committee’s co-chairman, was more blunt: “I wish the people in Sacramento would stay out when it’s 52 degrees and raining. Maybe they’ll learn something.”

Williamson, the homeless activist, said the state’s decision should teach homeless people a lesson. “We homeless people and former homeless people need to start taking care of ourselves, without relying on governments or charities,” she said.

Others were more sympathetic. “I’m saddened and disappointed, but I haven’t always gotten my way, and I’m willing to accept next-best,” said Gene Daffern, an electronics store manager who co-chairs the committee. “The governor has a very broad stroke he has to look at.”

Bolton of the Red Cross said he understood the state decision. “Some people are disappointed, but I’m very excited about what we’ve accomplished.”

Several committee members have called Assemblyman O’Connell and other state representatives asking for help. O’Connell said he’ll do his best.

“If the state can be held harmless, there’s no justification whatsoever for closing the armory,” he said.

“I’ll find out if there’s an appeals process. I’ll see what I can do.”