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County Supervisors to Consider Contribution to Homeless Shelter

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Supervisors are expected today to approve a $32,000 contribution to help with the cost of housing the homeless this winter at the Oxnard/Ventura Cold-Weather Shelter.

The allocation is in response to Oxnard city officials’ request for a county donation to head off a $30,000 deficit such as the one incurred last year.

A dramatic increase in the number of homeless using the shelter is in part to blame for the budget gap, said Mike Ewens, project manager for the Salvation Army, which runs the Oxnard shelter.

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Supervisor Kathy Long said she would support the donation.

“All of the needs of the homeless, whether it be cold weather or year-round needs, should be addressed regionally,” Long said.

“I think it’s healthy that [Oxnard, Ventura, and the county] work together.”

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Oxnard officials would welcome the donation, but said it would be about $16,000 less than what is needed to keep the temporary shelter open through March.

“Instead of ending March 31, we may only be open to mid-March,” Ewens said.

“And it’s usually February and March when the rain comes. So we are really watching our pennies here.”

This year, because nighttime temperatures in November dropped significantly, sometimes into the 40s, the shelter opened Nov. 17 instead of Dec. 1, Ewens said.

Higher gasoline prices have also made matters worse, Ewens said. The Salvation Army’s program involves busing homeless people between Oxnard and Turning Point, an assistance facility in Ventura for the mentally ill, to sleep in the shelter.

Frequent trips have meant using more gas.

But the biggest expense, Ewens said, has been the rise in people seeking shelter. For them, “you need increased staffing, increased food, and you get a corresponding increase in cost.”

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Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez wrote to Long last month asking for $48,000.

Marty Robinson, the county’s chief deputy administrative officer, urged supervisors to make a one-time contribution of about $32,000.

Robinson said in a written report that the county should be responsible for about 12% of the shelter’s operating budget because about 12% of the county’s people live in unincorporated areas.

Robinson’s report also said the county already contributes to the shelter by providing staff members from the Human Services Agency and the Public Health and the Behavioral Health Department for assessments and treatment referrals.

“The county has invested a tremendous amount of money to assist the homeless, and not just when it’s cold,” Robinson said.

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Running the shelter is expected to cost $257,144. Ventura will contribute $58,000, Oxnard $43,600, and Camarillo and Port Hueneme $10,000 together.

Grant money will make up another $97,325, leaving the program $48,000 short.

Robinson said, however, that the cities could always contribute more to make up the difference.

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“One solution was to come to us,” Robinson said. “Another is to say, ‘This is turning out to cost us a little more than we all planned, maybe we should put in a little more.’ ”

Supervisor Frank Schillo also said he would support the contribution as many homeless from unincorporated areas would probably migrate to the shelter for service.

“But still, we haven’t resolved the problem,” Schillo said.

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