CONTINUED GOODWILL; HOMELESS WILL ENJOY NEW YEAR'S MEAL.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY - The holidays are typically a time when people reach out to those in need, but usually, once Christmas passes and the tree comes down, the season of giving is over for the year.

One local restaurateur is pushing it just a bit farther this year by sponsoring a dinner Friday for the homeless, to help them start off the new year right.

Stan Blinn, owner of El Pollo Rancho, said his philosophy is this: The way a person lays his head down at night is the way he will wake up in the morning. So if the homeless have a little something at the twilight of a new year, they may be better off at the end of it.

"They should start the year off with a bellyful," Blinn said.

Although this is the first event Blinn has held for the homeless at his Mexican-style chicken restaurant, he said he wanted to help out because "I've been helped plenty in my lifetime."

"Maybe if other restaurants of my size see what one little guy is doing, maybe next year it'll be like a virus, they'll catch it," he added.

Those who work with the homeless year-round said that while giving during the holiday months is welcome, it is often difficult to extend that charitable feeling past Christmas Day. An event on New Year's Eve, they said, is a rarity.

"We're still here when it's not fashionable to give, like in the summer months," said Janet Gageby, director of the Samaritan Center, a drop-in center for the homeless in Simi Valley. "But we feel blessed and prosperous."

St. Rose of Lima Church had been scheduled to provide dinner for the homeless as part of the local Public Action to Deliver Shelter program on New Year's Eve, but the free dinner at the eatery will take its place.

Clients of the Samaritan Center said they are looking forward to the dinner, a change of pace from the meals served each day by local churches.

"It's refreshing to see a member of the business community step forward at other times of the year," said "Preacher" Mike Smith, a homeless man. "I hope (Blinn) does well and I hope things like this catch on."

Many of the homeless said they were looking forward to the new year and hope that it brings good luck for them.

Their greatest wish, some said, was for a transitional shelter where they can stay overnight year-round. Now, the PADS program offers nightly shelter at the churches only during the winter months.

"We really need to have that, but it's the one piece of the puzzle that is missing," Smith said. "We need a place to call home while we get our lives together."

Others said they simply wished for a year filled with promise for the world at large, and not just their small part of it.

THE FACTS

Free dinners for the homeless will be given out from 3 to 6 p.m. Friday at El Pollo Rancho, 3200 E. Los Angeles Ave., (Number) 8, Simi Valley.

CAPTION(S):

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Photo: (color) Stan Blinn, who owns El Pollo Rancho of Simi Valley, will feed the homeless on New Year's Eve, extending the holiday season a bit.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News

Box: The Facts (see text)