Bitter Cold Has Those Seeking Refuge Quickly Filling Up Shelters : Weather: With low temperatures in 30s, facilities that cater mostly to Ventura County’s homeless population are at or near their capacity.

With nighttime temperatures hovering in the mid- to upper 30s, cold-weather shelters across western Ventura County are at or near capacity as people seek escape from the bone-chilling cold, shelter operators said Monday.

The shelters, part of a loose-knit network of warm refuges from the cold of the street for many of the county’s homeless, are filling closer to capacity with each night the mercury stays in the 30s, homeless advocates said.

At the Ventura County Rescue Mission and Zoe Christian Center, homeless people are being turned away from the doors at the two small Oxnard facilities.

“We have 44 beds and unfortunately have had to turn away anywhere from five to seven a night,” said Carol Roberg, associate director of the Ventura County Rescue Mission. “We try to give them something warm to wear before they leave. It just breaks your heart.”

Likewise at Zoe Christian Center, founder and organizer Fred Judy said his small 22-bed shelter for women and children has also been overwhelmed by people seeking to get out of the cold.

“When it starts getting cold like this, we run out of room quickly,” Judy said. “This is a bad situation. It wouldn’t surprise me that we find someone out there who dies as a result of exposure to these temperatures.”

In eastern Ventura County, shelter officials in the Simi and Conejo valleys reported similar increases in demand for services.

“We’ve been close (to capacity) recently,” said Chuck Tice, a coordinator of the group, Public Action Delivering Shelter in Simi Valley.

“With a few more people, we will be topped out. We’re hoping that it won’t get any colder than it is.”

The Simi Valley program uses the facilities of six churches on a rotating basis. Each night, the shelter has a new location. Depending on location, the program can accommodate as many as 30 homeless men, women and children.

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In neighboring Conejo Valley, officials with the Winter Shelter Program say they too are near capacity with their 20-bed rotating shelter program.

“We place a priority on families, women and children, but we will take sober men, too,” said coordinator Karen Ingram, whose program uses the help of 23 congregations at seven churches and synagogues. “We haven’t yet, but when we do run out of space, it’s a very tough thing to tell them there’s no room.”

Forecasters at WeatherData Inc., a firm that forecasts for The Times, said nighttime lows will stay between the upper 30s to high 40s for the next few days throughout most of Ventura County. While no frost warnings for the county have been posted, officials are keeping a sharp eye on the mercury, WeatherData meteorologist Curtis Brack said.

At the Red Cross Emergency Warming Shelter at the Oxnard Armory, program coordinator Richard Rink said his 120-bed facility--the largest in the county--has seen a sharp rise in use by the homeless.

“Over the last few nights, we’ve registered between 70 to 80 people--a little more than half our capacity,” Rink said. “We’re the safety net. We are here for anybody who needs to get out of the cold weather. We are, in many cases, the last option between shelter and the street.”

As at other shelters, the homeless are given the chance to get a hot shower, warm meal and a chance--at least for one night--to shake off the cold. In the morning, a light breakfast is provided and they are sent on their way. A Red Cross staff of more than 100 volunteers then scrambles to return the armory to working condition for its National Guard landlord.