The Antelope Valley Times

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Two new winter shelters to open in Antelope Valley

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Homeless encampment behind a shopping center on 20th Street West in Lancaster. [file]
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to fund two new winter homeless shelters in the Antelope Valley.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger recommended opening shelters in the Lancaster National Guard Armory and former High Desert Multiple Ambulatory Care Center, saying the closure of the region’s only drop-in shelter had created a crisis.

“The shelter crisis in the Antelope Valley requires immediate action,” Barger said.

The armory will offer 125 shelter beds. The 100-bed High Desert location will be open 24 hours a day and will also offer services to “bridge” individuals to housing and other support.

Both locations will be open from Nov. 10 to March 10.

The Lancaster Community Shelter closed its doors in August. That loss of 108 shelter beds came as the Antelope Valley is dealing with a 50 percent increase in homelessness. An estimated 4,559 people are homeless in the region, where winter temperatures can fall below freezing overnight.

Barger is also working with cities and service providers to create more permanent housing.

“There is an ongoing collaborative effort to find long-term solutions to regional homelessness beyond winter shelter in our Antelope Valley,” Barger said.

The board’s vote included the formal declaration of a shelter crisis, which means that strict compliance with housing, health and safety regulations will not stand in the way of opening the shelters.

“We appreciate and support Supervisor Barger’s declaration of a shelter crisis to clear the way and secure the necessary funding,” Palmdale Mayor James Ledford said. “Her compassionate efforts will not only be life-saving, but when partnered with other local social services resources, life-changing as well.”

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Filed Under: Lancaster

49 comments for "Two new winter shelters to open in Antelope Valley"

  1. I am a 62 year old woman.
    I am homeless.
    I would love to be in afordable housing but there are no openings.
    And a 2 + year waiting list.
    I know because i have checked them all.
    The problem is there is not enough housing for the population here.

  2. Hate to sound like the a** on the thread, but think everyone blaming Lancaster & Parris! Remember Lancaster is the only shelter btw D.T.L.A. & Bakersfield! How come Santa Clarita & Palmdale didnt open shelters for there citizens? Thats because they were being shipped ro Lancaster! But its not 67 a day stated by the mayor and vice mayor

    • If we are making comparisons there are a few other parameters to consider. For example, Palmdale has a very strong housing assistance program, while Wrecks uses his pet thugs to condemn any low income housing in Lancaster that isn’t owned by one of his closer cronies. There are other aspects to “solving the homeless problem” besides government sponsored shelters.

    • Rex claiming 67 people a day coming to Lancaster is deflection. County gave Rex a million for their shelter. Where did the money go? Rex and his political friends will spend millions to put in infrastructure for Lancaster Baptist, and millions for a culvert for property owned by Visco and Gilley, and $10 Million for LEAPS. Not to mention the millions wasted on Ecolution and lawsuits. Redirect that wasted money to the homeless and problem is nearly solved.

  3. there are a couple of commenters on here that throw out the word racist whenever they don’t like someone’s opinion. It’s easy to call someone a pretend anything, or call someone a racist (overused) when they are using a pretend screen name.

    • Then there’s a bunch of commenters who attack whatever I say on any subject because they never think about anything but me…but I think most of that “bunch” are really just Alexis.

      Isn’t it about time for a new screen name? This one is looking pretty ragged.

  4. I pray that none of you ever have to experience homelessness is not all their fault sometime I am not one to act like I’m better than the next man or look down upon someone who’s having hard times there’s not enough jobs in the Antelope Valley in the comments that I have read people are very inconsiderate

  5. Can anyone help?
    An illegal homeless woman, just out of jail, was hit and left in a “vegetable state” Emergency medical covered her in the ER, plus a ONE month’s stay in a 24-hour care HOME, who is responsible for her after the month is UP?
    Before the awful accident, why was she not deported rather than released from jail?

    ANY comments or ADVICE is appreciated!

    • Can any one help? Was that your mom by chance? You Trump for brains. You’re exactly the reason why we have to put instructions on shampoo bottles. Now, go choke yourself.

  6. Build that dam wall if we didn’t have sanctuary cities we wouldn’t have this problem dam jerry brown and his anti american ways

    • I might be for building the wall if it weren’t for the fact I’d be on the same side of it with you.

    • You Dotard, what does mr. Grab them by the p*^*sy’s wall, have to do with opening up extra shelters? Please do everyone a favor and don’t come out of your prepping hole.

  7. How about just let them freeze. Maybe they’ll be smart like the birds who fly south in the winter and theyll flock that way too. Quit coddling and hosting them here. Havent you seen the crime rates recently? No more lower socioeconomic people please!!!

    • White collar crime kills and maims more than crimes of the poor. Your comment sounds like something Rex Parris would say. You can get away with a lot more crime when you are wearing a thousand dollar suit, and in a position of power.

        • I heard he doesn’t even live in Lancaster, just has property here. He lives down below somewhere.

          • Rex owns a $3.5 million dollar house in Laguna with ocean views. He has another million dollar mansion behind the security gates at Westfield Estates.

            Given the choice, where would you live?

            Rex may be corrupt to his core, but he knows that Laguna trumps Lancaster.

            To be mayor, he needs a local address. Plus he rakes in big bucks with his business and takes care of his political pals by being mayor.

            It’s good to be Rex. On this side of the grave, anyway.

          • I don’t know, Vic On the other side of the grave, it will be very, very hot for Rex.

            But, it’s dry heat.

    • Ridiculous says,

      Where you home schooled by Betsy Devos by chance? Are you another hypocrite you is sucking on the government tit but trying to belittle everyone else? If you work for the city, state, or government (or company that depends on government contracts), you’re the least qualified to be talking s*^*t about other people. If we can afford corporate welfare, 2.3 billion fighter jets, and military industrial complex,p…. we can afford extra shelters for the winter.

    • Rex gave $10,000 for bus tickets to ship homeless to Los Angeles. Of course, he and Marv claim that ‘they’ are sending 67 homeless people a day to Lancaster on Metrolink.

      Do the math. 67 people a day times 365 days a year is 24,445 people a year.

      No rational person believes that for a minute.

      After seeing Rex’s homeless tax, which was really a tax to put homeless people in jail fail, maybe voters are beginning to wake up to who we have running the Bad Ship Lollypop on Fern St.

      • Wow, Los Angeles should sue. Lancaster would lose since there is precedent set back in the 1990’s against San Jose for Modesto.

        • Lancaster is the city with the sue happy mayor, not LA. It sucks telling people you’re from Lancaster.

      • Yes we should get rid of him. Find another conservative politician. As long as it’s not democratic Libtard politician.

  9. Several homeless pushing carts east bound on Ave S in Littlerock this morning. No idea where they were going since a mile further is dirt roads.

    • “A mile further is dirt roads,” so about 100th street East? There’s two churches on S between 100th and 110th. Maybe one of them does a food distribution on Thursdays.

      • Oh yeah, I forgot about the churches down the road. Perhaps that is where they were headed. I had never seen that many pushing carts at that time of morning before.

        • There’s also the possibility of homeless encampments out that way. I know there’s a bunch further and further out into East Lancaster

  10. That’s great for winter. But I’m sick and tired of seeing people living in tents within the city. And panhandling at every corner.

    • Lancaster has a sure fire recipe for attracting and retaining panhandlers.

      1. Make sure your political contributors get to rent out their properties to social service agencies for the homeless and others.

      2.Cluster all those properties and services together near your downtown where panhandlers can have access to people.

      3. Use local churches for your political base and have them set up their services near the cluster.

      4. Elect a litigious mayor who sues businesses out of town and neighboring cities and school districts. This will keep other businesses from moving in and creating new jobs and a vibrant downtown.

      5. Waste $10 million dollars of taxpayer money on a failed ‘Eye in the Sky’ which is owned by the mayor’s political contributor and confidant. This money could be used to help reduce homelessness rather than being wasted on a pipe dream offering a false sense of security and no tangible results.

      Voila! Now you have Lancaster!

  11. “The board’s vote included the formal declaration of a shelter crisis, which means that strict compliance with housing, health and safety regulations will not stand in the way of opening the shelters.”
    Just what does that mean,with HepA already an increasing problem in L.A. County.
    Perhaps though ,this will alleviate the situation at the Lancaster Library which is disgusting.

    • Rex’s bird sounds apparently attracted panhandlers instead of lowering crime. The Library, and the rest of us, suffer because of his whacked ideas.

  13. Oh great!!! Send them out by the prison huh?? We don’t want that crap out here!!! How are they going to get around?? Knocking on our doors??? Just great. Another reason to get the hell out of here!! This is an Aerospace hub you nitwits. No one wants to have that in our backyards!!!

    • then kindly gtfo. it’s still an aerospace hub, with or without homeless people. and they’ll be out in your backyard no matter what hellhole you move yourself too. i’d rather try to help the homeless than sit there, staring down my nose at them, and not doing a thing.