If all continues to go well, the new homeless shelter, located in South San Francisco, will open no later than Dec. 15, according to county and Samaritan House officials. The Samaritan House is a local non-profit organization which runs the homeless shelter during the winter months. Officials hope to meet the Dec. 15 date and are doing so with the assistance of various cities throughout the county. Most recently, San Mateo City Council approved a grant of $29,300 from the city housing funds to the Samaritan House.
The money from the city will go towards assisting with operational costs, said Jerry Hill, county board supervisor.
Operational costs include outreach patrol in the North Central neighborhood -- where the shelter was previously located. "Since the armory won't be at the normal location, we need to do outreach to patrol the area and let people know they won't be opening the armory [in North Central] but in South San Francisco," said Denis Lewis, director of operations for the Samaritan House.
The money will also go towards buying motel vouchers for the homeless until the shelter actually opens, Lewis added. "Having money available for hotel vouchers will save lives," he said. As the weather gets colder, Lewis said the older and weaker homeless people in the county are at a significant risk of death if they are forced to sleep outside. "We are seeking various means of putting people in hotels," he said.
The difficulty in San Mateo County is finding low-income motels, Lewis said. "We are pursuing multiple ways of securing rooms." He said it was to premature to tell of the funding they have is enough.
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The price tag on building the shelter increased about $800,000, when the county was forced to change the structure of the building from wood to steal because of a jet fuel tank located in the area. With the added expenses, the operation of the shelter will rely on funds from all the cities. "We sent letters out about a week ago asking for a one-time capital amount," Hill said. "We asked for capital construction costs, 100 council members got letters. We haven't heard yet but we're hoping to get a favorable response."
All contributions help, said Shelter Director Steve Hargis. "The city and the county have been very helpful," he said. "We always have room for more money to run these kinds of projects."
According to Hill, the project is actually slightly ahead of schedule and as long as the weather permits, this will continue. "I'm pleased the county is finally stepping up to the plate to resolve the problem of providing permanent winter shelter," Hill said. "In the future, hopefully we can use the shelter for more than just the winter. We can provide help during the day, and classes. There are great opportunities with this shelter."
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