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“We’ve never turned anyone away,” said Executive Director Tim Davis. “I think this will be the winter that we do.”
Because men and women sleep in different dorms at the shelter, officials are worried that they’ll hit capacity with the number of men allowed to stay, Davis said.
“It’s really single men we’ve seen a big surge in,” Davis said, adding that nearly 30 men sleep at the shelter every night.
Local assistance organizations like the shelter have seen a jump in demand for services as the recession affects Santa Clarita Valley residents.
Up to 45 men and women can stay at the shelter while another six families can use the voucher program, which provides motel rooms.
The shelter season runs 105 days from Dec. 1 through March 15. Roughly 14,000 meals are served every season.
Last winter, the shelter served 21 families.
Along with a place to stay for the night, the shelter provides food, clothing and social services to people in need.
The shelter’s dining area already is converted into a dorm at night that allows for a handful of additional clients to stay, Davis said.
Usually the shelter, which is in its 13th season, sees a slow start in the number of clients a night, with a gradual increase, Davis said.
“The numbers are up much more rapidly than in the past,” he said.
The recent round of chilling temperatures and rain have also led to a spike in the number of homeless people seeking shelter every night, Davis said.
Clients with children cannot stay at the shelter and are sent to a motel through the organization’s voucher program.
Since the shelter’s opening at the start of the month, about two or three families have sought assistance from the shelter a night.
