Review board approves winter warming shelter downtown

The Salvation Army says the downtown review board has approved a permit for it to operate a warming shelter for the homeless this winter.

The shelter provided thousands of beds in five and a half months last winter, according to the Salvation Army.

The shelter is located in the 500 block of Weber Street and some neighbors expressed concern about it opening for another season.

The Salvation Army says it met with those neighbors and agreed to implement several measurable and enforceable changes to the operation of the Winter Warming Shelter.

Among the changes this year, The Salvation Army will provide two additional staff members, a security guard, a case worker, security cameras and monitoring throughout the day at the Weber location.

Additionally, the Warming Shelter will stay open until 9:00 a.m., instead of 7 a.m., so The Salvation Army and partner agencies can provide case management and access to other assistance services. The Salvation Army will not feed at the Weber location but will leave their nightly Soup Run at America the Beautiful Park. The facility will continue to provide onsite kennels to encourage those with companion animals to take shelter on cold nights.

The warming shelter will provide bedding for up to 153 homeless individuals, restroom facilities, and case management. It will open October 19.

The Salvation Army says the primary goal of the shelter is to save lives, but there are some rules: 1. Residents must be 18 years or older, and 2. For safety purposes, after the first night of shelter they will be required to have some type of photo identification or to obtain one from the police station. Family accommodations will remain located at The Salvation Army’s RJ Montgomery Center shelter at 709 S. Sierra Madre St. that accommodates up to 200 homeless each night.