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The Santa Clarita Valley’s homeless shelter has been operating at or near capacity since December, officials said Tuesday
The Santa Clarita Valley’s homeless shelter regularly operates at or near capacity during the winter season

SCV Homeless Shelter Operating Near Capacity

The Santa Clarita Valley’s homeless shelter has been operating at or near capacity since December, officials said Tuesday.


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The seasonal Santa Clarita Valley Emergency Winter Shelter, which operates from Nov. 24 to March 15, has a capacity of 60, but there are a few extra cots, said Tammy McGivern, spokeswoman for the shelter’s operating agency, Bridge to Home.

(Click here for information on how to volunteer for the homeless count.)

Because small children aren’t allowed at the shelter, families are provided hotel vouchers, with five families and a total of seven small children taking part, figures show.

Through Jan. 15, more than 2,500 participants have been sheltered, a count that includes individuals who have stayed multiple nights.

There’s also a seasonal shelter in Sylmar for overflow that also sees Santa Clarita Valley guests, McGivern said.

In addition to an effort to count the local homeless populations, the shelter is in the middle of a fundraising push for at $1 million worth of renovations to the current home on Drayton Street in Newhall.

Homeless-agency officials recently identified the spot as the best location for a year-round home after an extensive search.

The shelter offers programs, resources in addition to shelter for the local homeless population, a number BTH Executive Director Tim Davis estimated could be as high as 2,000.

The count helps officials get a better idea on that number, as well as the types of resources needed to help them.

L.A. County has also joined a national effort to have no homeless vets by the end of 2015 and no chronically homeless by the end of 2016, Davis said.

Bridge to Home officials are working to house the most expensive homeless people and systematically working their way down from there, according to McGivern.

Officials estimate the homeless populations in the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys has increased by 64 percent in the last two years, according to numbers from Bridge to Home officials.

Bridge to Home officials are in the middle of a push for volunteers to help with a countywide homeless census overseen by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

“The count determines how much money Santa Clarita receives from a federal initiative to combat homelessness,” according to the shelter’s website.

The homeless count will begin at 8 p.m. on Jan. 29 with a short training session to be held at the Santa Clarita Activities Center, 20880 Centre Pointe Parkway, followed by pairs of volunteers assigned areas to drive through as they look for signs of homelessness.

Volunteers will be provided with flashlights, clip boards, tally sheets, census track packets with maps and pencils.

Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.

KHTS AM 1220 - Santa Clarita Radio

SCV Homeless Shelter Operating Near Capacity

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About Perry Smith

Perry Smith is a print and broadcast journalist who has won several awards for his focused, hyperlocal community coverage in several different regions of the country. In addition to five years of experience covering the Santa Clarita Valley, Smith, a San Fernando Valley native, has worked in newspapers and news websites in Los Angeles, the Northwest, the Central Valley and the South, before coming to KHTS in 2012. To contact Smith, email him at Perry@hometownstation.com.