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A crowd of tired, bundled people waited outside. Some murmured greetings to the driver. Others just climbed in, clutching their faded backpacks and worn bags.
"Everybody in?" asked driver Ron Joller, 68.
A collective "yep" came from the passengers. Some closed their eyes and kept quiet.
"How many we got?" Joller asked.
"Five from here," a couple of the passengers responded. In the front passenger seat, Pat Gunther, 73, tallied the number on his clipboard.
The van rolled out of the parking lot, headed to its next pick-up spot. Passengers passed the time staring out the windows and quietly talked to one another.
The windows creaked as a cool breeze swept through the van. Soon, the passengers would arrive at the Santa Clarita Valley Emergency Winter Shelter.
There, they would enjoy a hot meal and spend the night away from the streets and the cold.
Joller and Gunther are volunteer drivers who pick up most of the shelter's clients from three local stops.
The two, who have been friends for nearly two decades, are the first of the shelter's volunteers to greet the community's homeless each Thursday night.
They know that a change in the weather can mean more clients.
"It depends on how cold it is," Joller said on a recent drive. "It makes a big difference."
The two stops in Canyon Country - one at the Home Depot parking lot and another at the Canyon Country Jo Anne Darcy Library - are always the busiest. The Newhall Metrolink Station is often the final location before the packed van heads back to the shelter.
Volunteers wake up early each morning to drop clients back at their stops when the shelter closes for the day.
A piece of operation
More than half of the clients rely on drivers to pick them up each night, said shelter Executive Director Tim Davis. Clients can also use their own transportation or can be dropped off directly at the shelter by friends or family.
While it's discouraged, some will walk up the hill off Golden Valley Road, despite the lack of street lights and sidewalks, to get to the shelter.
It takes a team of about 15 volunteers to make sure the Santa Clarita Valley's homeless population finds a place to stay every night the shelter is open.
Generally, a volunteer driver is on duty each night. Often, volunteers work in pairs - one drives, another counts the clients they pick up at the three stops.
Because the drivers are not paid for their services, they save the shelter about $5,000 a season, Davis said. The shelter requires about $250,000 to run each year, he said.
For Davis, the volunteer drivers do more than pick up clients. They help combat stereotypes about the people who stay at the shelter.
"It helps us get the word out that homeless people are just people without houses," Davis said.
Something you do
Joller and Gunther of Valencia have volunteered for almost as long as the shelter has been open. They've come to recognize the people they pick up each week.
The homeless people often know each other and know who gets picked up at what location, he said.
"They're always so thankful when we pick them up and take them," Joller said.
The two men see volunteering as something one just does.
"You get that little feeling in your heart that you did something for someone," Joller said.
Many of the drivers are members of the Knights of Columbus and have been friends for a long time.
Robert Gonzalez, 54, of Saugus is another driver who volunteers. He drives every other Tuesday.
"It makes you feel good about it because they're in good hands," he said.
Gonzalez has come to know the clients he serves.
"The faces is one thing I'll always remember," he said.
The clients recognize the efforts of the volunteers.
Omar Perez, 26, has spent nearly two months staying at the shelter. It's the first time he's ever stayed at a shelter, he said.
He spends his days walking the streets or staying at a local library. At night, however, the shelter is his only option.
"I think I would be suffering, and would be very cold and hungry and sad," he said after being picked up from the Newhall Metrolink Station.
"It's not all messed up like I thought it was going to be." he said.
"I consider it a home," he said. "For now."
