Rotating Homeless Shelter Operating in Ojai

A nonprofit group, together with Ojai Valley churches, has begun operating a rotating, overnight homeless shelter, the third such rotating shelter in Ventura County.

The Ojai shelter opened Saturday night and will be at a different church each night of the week until spring, officials said.

Funded by the city of Ojai and local churches, the program is operated by the nonprofit Ojai Family Shelter, said Wilbur Skeels, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Ojai and leader of the shelter program.

Organizers estimate that about 50 residents of the Ojai Valley, including Meiners Oaks and Oak View, are homeless.

With about 20 cots set up each night, the shelter will offer homeless people a dry, warm place to sleep during the wet winter months, Skeels said. But it will not offer meals or showers because some of the participating churches don’t have facilities, he said.

The shelter will be open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., but Skeels said the group is not publishing the rotation schedule so that guests will register before going to the shelter.

On weekdays, registration will take place between 3 and 5 p.m. at the Help of Ojai office at Blanche and Santa Ana streets. On Saturdays and Sundays, shelter registration will be available during the same hours at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church at Ojai Avenue ad Bristol Road.

Eventually, Ojai Family Shelter may try to find a permanent shelter in the area, Skeels said.

Churches in Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley also operate rotating shelters during the winter months.