Charities Gather Goods to Help Homeless Face Winter : Assistance: Thousands of sleeping bags, blankets and pieces of clothing will be distributed. Shelters prepare for a busy season.

With winter nearing, area homeless shelters are gearing up for their yearly battle with the elements.

On Wednesday, cars and vans from area charities backed into a small warehouse in a remote part of Camarillo to collect bundles of supplies that will help Ventura County’s estimated 2,000 homeless people keep warm.

The warehouse is run by Operation Warm-Up, a nonprofit group that will donate thousands of sleeping bags, socks, gloves, diapers and blankets over the next several months.

“This is one of the few organizations we can turn to for these kinds of items,” said Richard Rink, a Red Cross program coordinator. “I’m not sure what we would do without them.”

As soon as the temperature drops below 40, Rink said, the Red Cross will open the doors to the Winter Warming Shelter at the National Guard Armory in Oxnard.

“People will start coming in slowly,” Rink said. “But as soon as the weather drops, we’ll be seeing people in large numbers.”

Other shelters that will begin winter schedules include the Ojai Cold Weather Shelter, the Salvation Army Family Shelter in Ventura, the Conejo Valley Winter Shelter in Thousand Oaks and the Public Action Delivering Shelter in Simi Valley.

Many of homeless people stay out of the shelters until they absolutely need them, according to Pete, a 38-year-old Ventura man who spent five years on the street.

“The rule on the street was to keep as warm as possible with what you had,” Pete said. “There were nights when I would get under a sleeping bag and pile five blankets on top and I’d still be freezing.”

Several hundred of Ventura’s homeless spend their nights near Surfer’s Point or at the Ventura River basin.

George Weight, who has been on the street for more than a year, said his sleeping bag was stolen last week.

“You try to hang on to stuff, but everybody wants them to keep warm at night,” he said.

With the aid of several Ventura County charities, Operation Warm-Up has spent the past four years trying to get those items into the proper hands.

“We know that this homelessness is a much larger problem than people want to believe,” said Valerie Lowerison, an Operation Warm-Up volunteer.

“I’ve watched the numbers grow and I’ve said to myself, ‘What can I do?’ ” Lowerison said. “I think this organization, in its own small way, is making a difference.”

Operation Warm-Up donates the sleeping bags, blankets, gloves and other items to about a dozen local charities that deal directly with the homeless.

Teresa Duran visited Operation Warm-Up’s warehouse Wednesday on behalf of the Salvation Army, which runs a family shelter in Ventura for part of the winter.

She said the 25 sleeping bags, 50 pairs of gloves and four boxes of diapers she was given would be gone in about two days.

“As soon as word gets out that these things are available, they go fast,” Duran said. “This is brand-new stuff. With the cold weather coming, it’s like gold.”

Weight agreed. “These people who are spending their money to help us with the bags and the blankets, these are good people.”

Homeless Shelters The Ventura County Public Social Service Agency lists the following shelters as scheduled to be open for the homeless this winter.

Salvation Army Family Shelter: 40 beds, to open in late January for families with children and single women, 648-5031.

National Guard Armory Winter Warming Shelter: 120 cots, to open Monday (with weather under 40 degrees or under 50 degrees with chance of rain) and Dec. 15 (all weather) for all homeless men, women and families, 654-5000 Ext. 8901.

Ojai Cold Weather Shelter: Opened Nov. 1, with 20 spots for men, women and families, 646-5226.

Ventura County Rescue Mission: In Oxnard. Open year round, with 52 beds for single men, 487-8252.

Vince Family Lodge: Opened in September, with 18 beds for families who pass screening, 652-1326.

Conejo Valley Winter Shelter: In Thousand Oaks. Opens Dec. 1, with 20 beds for men, women and families, (800) 339-9597 (after Dec. 1).

Public Action Delivering Shelter: In Simi Valley. Opened Nov. 1, with 20 beds for men, women and families, 522-5676.

More information is available from the Ventura County Public Social Service Agency at 654-3281.