EMERGENCY SHELTERS TO BE OPEN LONGER.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

Faced with the prospect of turning 820 homeless people out on the streets, the City Council on Tuesday approved spending $880,000 to keep the city's year-round emergency shelters open through June.

Homeless activists urged the council to fund the shelters through the end of the fiscal year, rather than closing them March 15, when the cold- weather shelters usually shut down.

``It's clear and well-documented that this program is capable of saving lives,'' Councilwoman Jan Perry told the panel. ``We need to identify the funding to fill the gap.''

The program funds 1,500 emergency beds for the city's 48,000 estimated homeless, officials said.

But the city's $4 million general fund allocation to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Agency was sufficient to keep 820 year-round beds open only through March 15, when the season program for 620 additional beds ends.

LAHSA officials said they needed $1.7 million more to extend the service providers' contracts through June, and Los Angeles County agreed on Monday to split the cost with the city.

The city's portion will be drawn from its Housing Trust Fund, with the intent of replacing those funds in the future.

However, officials warned that $6 million would be needed in the upcoming 2006-07 budget - a $2 million increase - to ensure that the emergency beds can be available year-round.

Council members vowed to continue working on long-term solutions.

``The homeless don't just suddenly, when it's warmer weather, have another place to go,'' said Councilwoman Wendy Greuel. ``This is their opportunity for the transition, to have a place to stay while they figure out what their next step will be.''

Lisa Mascaro, [phone]

lisa.mascaro(at)dailynews.com