COMING IN FROM COLD; COUNTY'S HOMELESS FIND WAY STATION TO RESTART LIVES.Byline: David Greenberg The creator of this article, or someone who has substantially contributed to it, may have a conflict of interest regarding its subject matter. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Daily News Staff Writer Ben and Cheryl Savage were two of the first people to move in when the county opened its cold weather shelter Monday. After living the past several months in campgrounds and churches, the couple is glad to have a warm, dry place to sleep at the former Camarillo State Hospital. The only glitch A temporary or random hardware malfunction. It is possible that a bug in a program may cause the hardware to appear as if it had a glitch in it and vice versa. At times it can be extremely difficult to determine whether a problem lies within the hardware or the software. See glitch attack. they see so far is a shortage of transportation, which officials hope is temporary, that the couple need so that they can get to employment interviews. ``I plan on getting a job and getting on with life,'' Ben said. As many as 250 people who call the streets of Ventura County home will be sleeping in warm, dry quarters this winter. Officials with the RAIN Project's Cold Weather Shelter expect that many of the county's homeless will join 49 folks who earlier this month were moved from their makeshift accommodations on the Ventura and Santa Clara river Santa Clara River may refer to:
``People are arriving with their clothing in tatters tat·ter 1 n. 1. A torn and hanging piece of cloth; a shred. 2. tatters Torn and ragged clothing; rags. tr. & intr.v. , and it's their only set of clothing,'' said Diana Vogelbaum, project manager for River Dwellers Aid Intercity Network. The shelter will only take people linked to the streets of Ventura, Oxnard and the county's unincorporated areas, including Oak Park, Newbury Park and Santa Susana Santa Susana can refer to several places:
Cold-weather shelters already exist in Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. and Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. . Vogelbaum said the shelter program, now in its 11th year, dispels the myth that Southern Californians never have to worry about dangerously cold temperatures. Below-freezing temperatures in certain parts of the county at night are not uncommon during the winter months. ``It gets cold enough to be a problem for someone in poor health,'' she said. Both the street homeless and river dwellers will be forced to leave the premises March 31. In the previous 10 winters, the county Public Social Services social services Noun, pl welfare services provided by local authorities or a state agency for people with particular social needs social services npl → servicios mpl sociales Agency funded the shelter, which operated out of the National Armory Guard in Oxnard. But the county agency, seeking some breathing space amid implementation of welfare reform laws, turned the operation over to the county Department of Animal Regulation in October. The shelter's $225,000 budget will be funded by the cities of Ventura and Oxnard and the county. ``We all put it in one budget that was created specifically to operate the RAIN Project,'' said Kathy Jenks, director of the animal regulation office. A staff of 12 people, averaging four per shift, worked tirelessly over the past three weeks to prepare the building for the increase in temporary residents. Four additional staffers were added to the payroll Monday. ``We're talking about a small staff to oversee and supervise the entire program,'' Vogelbaum said. Volunteers among the river dwellers handling some of the workload said their efforts are therapeutic. ``We've been blessed by people putting out for us,'' said Elena Petersen, who was busy sorting out donations of clothes. ``We want to give something back.'' Petersen lived on the Ventura River The Ventura River is a river in Ventura County, California. The river forms at the confluence of Matilija Creek and North Fork Matilija Creek, 15 miles upstream from the Pacific Ocean. bottom for months until the threat of El Nino forced her to seek RAIN Project housing Nov. 6. Cots and blankets will be issued nightly along with three daily meals. Sleeping is dormitory style with families segregated from singles. County health and employment department workers will provide ongoing referral services, in hopes that many residents will be able to find jobs and housing before the March 31 deadline. As Christmas approaches, Vogelbaum has a lengthy ``wish list'' of necessities she hopes will be donated, including kitchenware, office supplies Office supplies is the generic term that refers to all supplies regularly used in offices by businesses and other organizations, from private citizens to governments, who works with the collection, refinement, and output of information (colloquially referred to as "paper work"). , clothing, three Christmas trees Christmas tree Evergreen tree, usually decorated with lights and ornaments, to celebrate the Christmas season. The use of evergreen trees, wreaths, and garlands as symbols of eternal life was common among the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Hebrews. , additional professional medical services, and job trainers. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1 -- color) Ben and Cheryl Savage find a winter shelter thanks to RAIN Project. (2 -- color) Elena Petersen, left, and Claudia Martinez fold up shirts and other clothes for the opening of the winter shelter. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
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