RAID RAISES HOMELESS ISSUES ARRESTS AT ENCAMPMENT SHINE LIGHT ON RISING RENTS, LACK OF AREA SHELTERS.

Byline: GIDEON RUBIN Special to the Daily News

LANCASTER -- Sheriff's deputies responding to a tip about a theft at a Lancaster homeless encampment last week found a treasure trove of alleged lawbreakers living in makeshift homes.

While the raid Wednesday in the 45300 block of Trevor Avenue produced no evidence of theft, deputies arrested 16 people on suspicion of charges ranging from parole violations and trespassing to drug possession.

The incident also put a spotlight on a community that lives in the shadows of the Antelope Valley.

About 4,000 homeless people are estimated to live in the Antelope Valley, according to a study commissioned by Grace Resource Center, a faith-based charity that provides food and outreach to the homeless and indigent.

Many of the area's homeless are allowed to create makeshift homes in undeveloped parts of the desert near the Kern County border. Some live in shelters, while others live in encampments such as the one on Trevor Avenue.

Such encampments become increasingly popular in the winter because they are near Grace Resource Center on Avenue I and Sierra Highway. Several government-funded outreach organizations, including the Homeless Solution Access Center and Lancaster Community Shelter, also are nearby.

Steve Baker, executive director of the Grace Resource Center, said the housing boom of the past 10 years has changed the face of Antelope Valley's homeless population.

He said as rents have risen -- in some cases tripling in the past five or six years -- he has seen more families and children among the homeless seeking aid.

``For property owners, it's been great, but for those who need affordable rent, that's just not cool,'' Baker said. ``The scary part is there's more and more moms with kids sleeping in their cars.''

The Lancaster Community Shelter has established a cold-weather program, increasing its capacity from 40 to about 90 beds from November to March.

But there are still many left in the cold.

``We need more shelters out there,'' GRC administrator Linda Padilla said. ``There are still people out there who need a place to go.''

Baker said it's impossible to make broad generalizations about the homeless but about 40percent of the homeless men in the Antelope Valley are veterans.

``There's a lot of people out here with different circumstances,'' said Ben Coryell, a 39-year-old homeless man who said he is battling a drug addiction.

``There are a lot of people here with mental problems, and they can't function. A majority of them are good people, but you do have to deal with the criminal element,'' he said.

Coryell was among a handful of homeless people who spent part of Friday afternoon in a courtyard at Grace. The center serves as a daytime sanctuary for the homeless, who can be cited for loitering if they sit on Lancaster park benches with their life's possessions.

``My goal is to become sober and someday get a job and a place to stay,'' said Bobby Lewis, a 19-year-old who said he's been homeless since getting kicked out of a foster home a year ago.

Ronald Eure, an unemployed 47-year-old homeless man, said last week's arrests on Trevor Avenue don't paint an accurate picture of Antelope Valley's homeless.

``It's in every (group of) society,'' he said. ``There's somebody doing something they shouldn't be doing even in Beverly Hills, but that makes everyone else look bad.''

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Photo: Grace Resource Center client Ben Coryell talks to another client as others rest on benches at the Lancaster center Friday.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer