Far from the city, a haven for homeless

Charlotte Hall said the pain from cervical cancer forced her to give up her job three years ago. Unable to afford the trailer home she hoped to buy in Lancaster, Hall and her children lived with friends or co-workers, or in temporary shelters. At her lowest point, she slept in her car.

“I’ve been praying,” Hall, 27, said Thursday. “I’ve never been a bad person. I was asking why it’s not going right.”

A chance for a better life arrived this week when Hall and her children, Caleb, 10, and Jamion, 5, were given a place at Saint Joseph Manor, a long-term transitional care facility for women and children in LIttlerock, and the only one of its kind in the Antelope Valley, according to social services officials.

Before St. Joseph opened this week, families needing long-term assistance had access to only two rooms at a coed community shelter run by Catholic Charities in Lancaster. Others were bused to facilities in Bakersfield.

Located in the small, rural community of Littlerock, St. Joseph has become available at a time when social services groups and homeless advocates say homelessness is on the rise in the Antelope Valley.

The escalation mirrors a nationwide trend of growing suburban poverty fueled by a spike in home prices, a surge in living costs, insufficient income for those dependent on public assistance and real estate foreclosures, researchers said. Poor life choices, substance abuse and mental illness have also contributed to the surge in families without permanent shelter.

“The Antelope Valley is the fastest-growing area of Los Angeles County. So you would expect the homeless population to grow more,” said Bill Pitkin, director of research for United Way of Greater Los Angeles, which is helping to fund St. Joseph Manor.

Every night, more than 3,500 people in the Antelope Valley, including a number of women and children, lack proper shelter, Pitkin said. Officials at the Homeless Solutions Access Center in Lancaster said that each month they assist 30 to 40 homeless families seeking shelter.

“There is a misperception that [homelessness] is only downtown,” said Elise Buik, president of United Way of Greater Los Angeles. “We’ve seen it rising in the Antelope Valley, Pasadena, Glendale, Santa Monica and Long Beach.”

The sprawling, single-story St. Joseph Manor can accommodate up to 24 homeless women and 75 children. The women must be 18 to 27 and the children no older than 9 years unless special permission is granted. The families are expected to transition out of the facility within two years.

“The main criteria is they have to want to change their lives,” said Jenny Garibay, executive director at St. Joseph. “They come because they have goals. This is not just a temporary stop.”

During their stay, mothers may receive help to finish their high school education or pursue college courses. They will get training in job skills, such as using computers and running a small business, and instruction in parenting and money management. Each woman will receive help finding a job and setting up a bank account, with staff encouraging them to save at least 25% of their earnings. Administrators plan to provide affordable child care on site and assistance as the women apply for benefits to offset some of their expenses.

The facility provides linen, towels, toiletries and meals. The rooms are free until the women begin to work, when they are expected to contribute up to $600 a month.

The overall aim of the program is to empower the women to take control of their lives and become self-sufficient, said Vivian Davenport, project and program director at St. Joseph.

Los Angeles County has committed $750,000 in discretionary funds to the home, according to Helen Berberian, deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, whose district includes the Antelope Valley. A small portion of the money will fund services at the facility for six months, with the remainder serving as a down payment for the privately owned 2-acre property that includes the manor. Buik, of the United Way, said her agency had committed a grant of $50,000 to the shelter. And the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has also pledged funds.

Volunteers adopted rooms at the home and helped decorate them using pastel paint. They adorned the beds with stuffed toys and gave some rooms names such as Paradise, Tranquillity and Courage.

The home has received a generally positive reception from area residents. But Littlerock officials acknowledged that some people worried the facility would become a halfway house for all types of homeless people from across the county.

“If it’s going to be used by the county as a dumping ground for anyone that comes around, that’s not a good thing,” said Bill Guild, former vice president of the Littlerock Town Council.

“There will be a positive impact if they hold true to their stated goal of helping homeless mothers,” said Town Council President Steve Rouch.

That’s what Hall is banking on.

She wants to enroll in college, become a counselor and eventually work at St. Joseph, giving advice to women who land in her predicament. She also must continue fighting her cancer.

“I was a hot mess, and now things are getting better,” Hall said. “And they are going to keep getting better.”

ann.simmons@latimes.com