HOMELESS BACK ON STREETS AS WINTER SHELTER CLOSES DOORS.

Byline: EUGENE TONG Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Dean Farnsworth and a dozen more like him leave their warm cots to return to the cold uncertainty of the streets today as the Santa Clarita Valley's only emergency shelter shuts its doors until next winter.

"I'm probably going to go back - most likely to the bridge," the 19-year-old said, three days before the shelter's closing date.

But he was hopeful. After sheriff's deputies picked him up a month ago from under a bridge near Sierra Highway and sent him to the shelter, he said he has found a job and Lutheran Social Services placed him on the waiting list for a sober-living group home - he's fighting alcoholism - though openings aren't expected until May.

"They don't want 19-year-olds out on the streets," Farnsworth said. "They get into trouble. ... No way in hell I'll still be on the streets in five years. I'm working too hard to stay on the streets."

At least 109 people have sought help at the winter shelter on Centre Pointe Parkway since its opening Dec. 23, said Tim Davis, president of the Santa Clarita Community Development Corp., the nonprofit group that has operated the 40-bed cold-weather shelter for nine years. A handful more arrived over the past month, when Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich extended operation past the March 15 closing date for shelters countywide.

About 44 percent have transitioned to permanent housing, compared to just 38 percent last year, said Linda Malerba, Lutheran Social Services' Santa Clarita director. It's the second year the charity has partnered with the SCCDC to provide counseling and service referrals for shelter residents.

"We had a lot of families and individuals that were staying here," Malerba said. "They were able to look for jobs and find housing. We're very, very happy with the numbers. ... I just hate to see that there are still some who have nowhere to go after Sunday."

The same uncertainty confronts shelter organizers: This is likely the last year the county Department of Public Works equipment yard can host the temporary facility, said Paul Novak, an aide to Antonovich. Novak moderated the first meeting of a Los Angeles County-Santa Clarita city shelter task force last week to find a long-term solution to the facility's homelessness.

The task force, which included Davis, Malerba and local business owners, discussed such recurring hurdles as community resistance, location and timetable. The SCCDC doesn't own property and relies on local government to secure a location.

Neighbors' opposition has forced the facility to relocate every few years, and last-minute changes have led to late openings and higher expenses. Antonovich field deputy Bob Hauter said most Santa Clarita Valley residents do not oppose the temporary winter shelter.

"I don't think I've heard very negative comments, until they see that they're going to be next to it," he said.

"Nonresidental (site) is key in order to avoid NIMBY-ism," Davis said.

Hauter urged the task force to act swiftly.

"Next December, we're going to this again," he said. "There is a lot of money being wasted trying to do something last minute."

Of the shelter residents the Daily News profiled in January, at least one has moved on to permanent housing.

Mark Zaborac, 37, who lost his job and was evicted with his wife and three children from their Canyon Country home in December, found work in Chatsworth and a new home, shelter case manager Marshawn Rodgers said.

John Erickson, a 61-year-old who lived in Canyon Country until a bout with hydrocephalus and depression put him on the streets, was admitted by the Veterans Administration.

"His health was failing him," Rodgers said.

A mechanic who was mending a life shattered by alcoholism, John Bannon, 29, was expelled for trying to bring alcohol inside the shelter, which maintains strict rules forbidding alcohol, drugs and weapons.

At least 19 were expelled for various infractions, Rodgers said. Sheriff's deputies have responded to the shelter 11 times to settle verbal disputes, but no arrests were made.

"They needed more services than we can provide," said Larry Johnson, who oversees shelter security. He said the few troublemakers shouldn't overshadow those who genuinely sought help.

For single mother Janice Burton and her daughter Jannette, the shelter has allowed the pair to stay off the streets while they regroup from financial trouble.

Burton, 39, of Newhall said she had lost her $11-an-hour receptionist job when she took time off to care for 12-year-old Jannette, who was sick. Her car broke down, and eviction from their one-bedroom apartment soon followed.

"My daughter came first," Burton said. "I couldn't make the rent. ... It's been a hard year, 2005. I haven't lived. I've been surviving."

The pair received motel vouchers, meals and financial assistance through the shelter, which allowed Jannette to continue attending La Mesa Junior High and offered Burton enough stability to find a new job and housing.

"Nobody could do this by themselves," said Burton, who planned to move Saturday. "They support you."

Then there's Alfredo Romero, who was released from state prison in Chino last month. He said he's trying to stay clean and sober while undergoing treatment for mental illness - his last shot at freedom with two felony convictions on record, including theft and drug possession.

"I'm just tired of it," said Romero, 48, who grew up in Van Nuys. "I don't like living on the streets. ... I know right from wrong. I don't want to go back."

Romero received counseling and assistance through the shelter, along with a spot on the waiting list for transitional housing. He said he has been collecting recyclables for loose change.

"Easter morning, I'm going to try to find some bottles, so I can get money for food for the night," he said.

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

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4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Jannette Burton, 12, and mother Janice Burton, 39, play cards, above, at the Santa Clarita emergency winter shelter. Above left, Alfredo Romero, 48, smokes a cigarette at the shelter.

(3 -- 4 -- color) Dean Farnsworth, 19, above, has been staying at the Santa Clarita emergency winter shelter. Below, Tim Durrer, 37, eats his dinner at the shelter, which closed this weekend after a winter of being a refuge for the homeless.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer