By Jason Islas
Staff Writer

November 22, 2013 -- People living on the streets in Santa Monica and L.A. County will get some relief from dropping temperatures and wet weather starting next month.

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) announced that emergency winter shelters will operate throughout L.A. County from December 1 to March 14, offering indoor beds to the country’s largest homeless population during the wettest and coldest months of the year.

"The winter shelter program provides critical crisis beds during the cold months where people who are homeless in Los Angeles are most likely to need a warm, dry place to sleep," said LAHSA Executive Director Michael Arnold.

Local nonprofits will provide nearly 1,500 at about a dozen locations in 15 different communities throughout the County, officials said.

On the Westside, First to Serve, Inc. will once again set up a temporary 160-bed shelter in the West L.A. Armory at 1300 Federal Avenue.

For Santa Monica, which saw an increase in the number of people sleeping on its streets at the start of 2013, the Winter Shelter Program is essential in bad weather. ("Rise in Homelessness Could Be Future Trend, Officials Say," February 26)

“Being exposed to the elements is not a good thing,” said John Maceri, executive director of the Santa Monica-based nonprofit OPCC.

OPCC operates one of the City’s largest year-round homeless shelters.

“We see a lot of people with very chronic health conditions,” he said. “If people’s clothes get wet… there’s a greater chance that they’ll get a cold or pneumonia.”

OPCC’s shelter has about 180 beds, Maceri said.

“When our beds are full, our beds are full,” he said. “What the winter shelter program does it provides more immediate access for people when other programs are full.”

There is even a pick-up service.

For the West L.A. shelter, pick-ups happen on Market Street at Ocean Front Walk in Venice every day starting December 1 at 5 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.

While the winter shelter program offers immediate solutions for homeless people stuck out in the rain, it can also be the first step to getting people off the street and into long-term housing, medical treatment and counseling.

"Shelters help resolve the most immediate needs of the homeless: having a bed to sleep and food to eat, in a safe and secure environment," Arnold said. "But more importantly, they serve as entry points into the Los Angeles Continuum (System) of Care for the homeless."

For more information about the winter shelter program, visit LAHSA’s website. For a complete list of shelters, pick-up points and contact information, click here or call 1-800-548-6047.