Shelters let homeless come in from cold

By Timothy Pratt

Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2003 | 10:39 a.m.

With night temperatures near freezing, the three major shelters in the so-called "homeless corridor" downtown have made room for more than 100 people to come in from the cold.

Catholic Charities opened its doors Monday night to an emergency shelter across the street from its main facility at Main Street and Owens Avenue, making available 82 beds. About half of them were taken by this morning, Frank Richo, director of homeless services for the agency, said.

The shelter was due to open after a Dec. 2 Clark County Commission meeting. However, Darryl Martin, director for Clark County Social Service, said Thursday that the agency didn't have to wait until the meeting to count on county funds.

In addition, shelter workers were able to fix up a building over the weekend that is otherwise unoccupied, Richo said.

Combined with space that neighboring shelters the Shade Tree and the Salvation Army are making available, there will be about 167 extra beds this winter, costing the county nearly $200,000, Martin said Thursday.

Brenda Dizon, executive director of Shade Tree, said 50 extra beds for women and children will be made available Friday. The Salvation Army made available up to 35 extra cots in its chapel in the first week of November, spokesman Charlie Desiderio said.

In addition, Catholic Charities will delay the January renovation of another building that was due to be converted into a one-stop center for services for the homeless, in order to make another 118 beds available, if the need is seen, Richo said.

Richo said this morning that he decided to delay the renovation to make extra beds available "not only because it's cold, but because the county has committed to finding a long-term solution."

A new regional coordinator for homeless issues, to be hired in the coming months, will be given the task of finding a long-term solution to the yearly problem of a lack of winter shelter, Martin told a recently formed regional committee on homelessness Thursday.