ESCONDIDO —— When it rains, the leaks become evident. So with an eye on winter, dozens of homeless advocates and religious congregations began working Wednesday to patch the expected holes in this year's shelter services for the region's homeless.
At a workshop held at Interfaith Community Services' headquarters in Escondido, about four dozen participants agreed to form a task force that will evaluate the needs for resources, facilities and volunteers to help the homeless this winter.
"This seems early (for planning), but the cold weather comes up really fast," said Laura te Velde, social services director for Interfaith.
The task force's charge will be organizing a new inclement weather shelter for North County's homeless now that Interfaith, which has hosted its seasonal shelter for 19 years, has decided not to operate one this winter.
Originally the organization held a 100-bed nightly shelter each winter at Escondido's National Guard Armory, before moving the operation two years ago to a 48-bed warehouse located at Interfaith's headquarters on Washington Avenue.
However, that space is now being renovated for use as a long-term shelter for the region's homeless veterans, seniors and disabled individuals. The 44-bed facility, dubbed "Merle's Place," is scheduled to open in October, according to Interfaith officials.
"It's a great thing because (residents) will be able to stay and really be able to turn their lives around," te Velde said. "But because of (the renovation) we won't be able to have our inclement weather shelter."
Raphael Bernal, executive director of North County Community Services, which operates the region's food bank, will chair the 10-member task force. Bernal said he believes that, given the group's early start and the obvious need, some type of new winter shelter, whether in a fixed location or rotating, will happen this winter.
About one-third of the county's 9,600 homeless individuals live in North County, according to the most recent data from the San Diego Regional Task Force on the Homeless, a nonprofit advocacy group. However, there are only about 125 winter shelter beds planned for the North County region at this point.
The loss of Interfaith's winter shelter beds means an increased need come December for places to house those living on the streets, especially for homeless individuals struggling with substance abuse or mental illness, according to advocates.
Other programs, such as the Interfaith Rotational Shelter Network, a separate group headquartered in San Diego, do exist.
That organization operates two programs in North County that recruit local religious congregations to host winter shelters for two weeks at a time. However, in order to be accepted for one of the 125 beds at either the coast or inland program, participants must submit to a drug screening and consultation with a social service worker.
Rosemary Johnson, executive director of the rotational shelter network, said that last winter more than 50 homeless individuals stayed at the inland and coastal North County shelters, which were hosted by about two dozen congregations.
Last fall, the rotational shelter sent more than 200 letters to North County congregations hoping to attract more volunteers and expand the program, but the group received not one response, according to Johnson.
Bread of Life Rescue Mission, which operates a 50-bed winter shelter four nights a week in Oceanside is also looking to expand its operations, possibly to seven days a week. To do so, the mission would need more funding and additional assistance from social service organizations to do so, according to Executive Director Tom Cox.
Figuring out how to meet those needs was the purpose of Wednesday's brainstorming session, according to Suzanne Stewart Pohlman, executive director of Interfaith Community Services.
"What we hope to do is capitalize on how we all work with one another," she said.
Contact staff writer David Fried at (760) 740-5416 or dfried@nctimes.com.
