STATE GRANT WILL HELP RENOVATE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTER.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Antelope Valley's domestic violence shelter has received a $1 million state grant to renovate and expand aging shelter buildings.

The money is expected to pay to replace old plumbing, wiring and other fixtures in three World War II-era cottages and to build two new ones, expanding the Valley Oasis' emergency shelter capacity from 65 people to 75.

``We've been holding it together, as they say, with baling wire and chewing gum,'' said Darryl Kniss, chief financial officer for the Antelope Valley Domestic Violence Council, which operates the shelter.

Construction is expected to start in fall and last 10 or 12 months, Kniss said.

The money comes from the state Department of Housing and Community Development, which has helped the Lancaster shelter previously.

Eighteen months ago, through a $500,000 state grant, the shelter opened its Genesis House for domestic violence victims with drug and alcohol problems. In the mid-1990s, the agency paid to renovate six cottages used for the shelter's transitional program, whose participants stay for two years.

The emergency shelter houses domestic violence victims - both men and women and their children - for up to 60 days. Last year, the shelter's residents included 20 men, some with children.

The state grants announced Tuesday went to nine organizations in Los Angeles and Orange counties that will collectively receive nearly $10 million to provide shelter for the homeless.

The funding will pay for the construction of emergency shelters and transitional housing for the homeless, said Lucetta Dunn, the stage agency's director.

The largest awards in Los Angeles County were $1 million each to the Salvation Army in Bell; the Antelope Valley Domestic Violence Council; the YWCA of Greater Los Angeles; Volunteers of America Greater Los Angeles; and the Union Station Foundation in Pasadena.

A total of more than $34.5 million in grants is being distributed in 24 California counties to provide shelter for more than 2,100 homeless people, according to the state agency.

The Antelope Valley shelter started in 1981. Its services have grown to include the 24-hour emergency shelter, the transitional housing program, a mobile advocacy team, and counseling for individuals and children.

Charles F. Bostwick, [phone]

chuck.bostwick(at)dailynews.com