HOMELESS SHELTER IN WORKS COUNTY HOPES TO SET UP RELIABLE LOCATION FOR WINTER.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - With renewed focus from public officials on the issue of homelessness, the county is planning to meet with local leaders to determine how to establish a dependable winter homeless shelter in the Santa Clarita Valley.

A report released by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority last week estimated about 82,291 county residents were homeless on any given day last year, including 11,275 from the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys, mainly the latter.

Los Angeles is tackling its 48,103 homeless, with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa committing $50 million on top of supporting a $1 billion bond measure to develop affordable housing. The county Board of Supervisors last year allocated $34 million for shelter and services.

But here in the Santa Clarita Valley, officials are still struggling to find a secured site to stage a three-month emergency winter shelter. The nonprofit group Santa Clarita Community Development Corp., which has operated the facility for nine years, does not own property, and past locations offered by city and county leaders often succumb to NIMBY - ``not in my back yard'' - pressure from residents touting unsubstantiated fears of increased crime should the shelter move nearby.

``Our office is very interested in moving forward with talks to find solutions that's in agreement to all interested parties,'' said Tony Bell, spokesman for county Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, whose 5th District includes the Santa Clarita Valley.

At the current shelter at 21190 Centre Pointe Parkway, 21 people have been spending nights on cots set up in portable buildings in a county public works yard, manager Barbara Preheim said. Families with children - a total of 10 people - have been given vouchers for local motels.

This year's shelter didn't open until two days before Christmas. The set-up was delayed after county officials offered the parking lot of the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic, a move the Castaic Town Council - an advisory body to Antonovich - voted down.

County officials are trying to get an early start this year to head off unexpected delays. Antonovich aide Bob Hauter said it's important to find a solution - whether it's a permanent location or a list of reliable rotating sites - for the shelter.

``The real goal here is not just to provide temporary housing, but to help the homeless get back on their feet so they can be productive members of society again,'' he said.

The city of Santa Clarita, which hosted the shelter for seven years until the City Council opted to divert funding to homeless case management and transition services, said it is looking to the county and LAHSA - a city of Los Angeles-county joint authority - to help address the issue.

The agency has a deal with the county to host the facility in each others' jurisdiction on alternate years. City officials said the shelter should be headed for unincorporated county in December.

``We're not the experts in providing for homelessness,'' city management analyst Tina Haddad said. ``We look to LAHSA for guidance. They are the primary agency that has been designed to handle homeless services in Los Angeles County, and they do cover us.''

The city also plans to renew its $40,000 contract with Lutheran Social Services, which provides counseling and other assistance through the shelter.

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com