Why some LA shelter beds are empty, despite the rains

Even with L.A.'s cold, wet winter, the county and city's seasonal shelters for the homeless have empty beds this year.

Shelters run through the county are slightly below capacity this year, according to last month's tally by the L.A. Homeless Services Authority, while city shelters are running at 50-60 percent capacity overall.

Part of the explanation: December wasn't quite so wet, and shelter operators say January has seen an influx of homeless. The other: operators also say NIMBY-ism has kept them out of some of the places that need shelters most. 

"People of the Pacoima area don't really want a shelter there — that's the truth," said Aaron Montes, cold weather shelter director for Hope of the Valley. Last year, the organization ran a shelter in Pacoima, but this year, they were only able to secure a space in the Sylmar Armory, which sits in an industrial area at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains.

"There's that travel, they've got to come from wherever they're located, get on the van all the way to Sylmar then they got to be back early in the morning," Montes said. "But if the weather's bad enough, people decide they'd rather be sheltered."

Highland Park's winter shelter, on the other hand, is full every night, said Rebecca Prine, of Recycled Resources.

"I think you would actually see a lot more people using winter shelters if they were places people needed them," she said.

Ascencia, the provider that oversees Highland Park's shelter operated a second location last year in Glendale, but couldn't find a place to rent this year. It was hard for Prine to find a place in Highland Park, too, but got lucky with All Saints Episcopal Church.

"There's a lot of people who like what we're doing and support what we're doing and even come out and volunteer and financially contribute," Prine said. "But they're just not interested in having it here in the neighborhood."

The L.A. County Homeless Services Authority runs shuttles to the shelters, which is how a lot of the Sylmar clients get there from all over the valley. But Prine said it's a long ride, and it's tough for someone to do if they're carrying all their belongings. Winter shelters, unlike some year-round shelters, operate at night only and generally have no daytime storage. 

Ian, who stays at All Saints, has been out on the streets with his mother since the two were evicted from their Highland Park apartment two years ago.

"I grew up poor and being homeless was always something I feared," said Ian, who asked that his last name not be used, because he's currently applying for work. 

He said he might be persuaded to get on a bus to Sylmar if All Saints didn't have space, but it would be hard.

"Even though we're homeless, we don't like to leave the things we're comfortable with, the places we go, even the little contacts we have," he said. 

If it weren't for the shelter in Highland Park, he said, he and his mother would likely be curled up outside somewhere in Northeast L.A., keeping warm in their sleeping bags.