By Harry Saltzgaver

For the second year in a row, the winter homeless shelter serving Long Beach and the surrounding area did not open on the scheduled Dec. 1 date set by Los Angeles County.

But it will likely open this week — after expected approval at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. And it will be at a new location, taking over the vacant North Long Beach Library at 5571 Orange Ave.

Teresa Chandler, manager of the Human Services Bureau in the Health and Human Services Department, said a new building had to be found because the site used for the last several years — a former agricultural facility at 6825 Atlantic Ave. — had been sold.

Eighth District Councilman Al Austin said the decision to put the shelter in the library was a matter of doing the right thing.

“We have a homeless crisis in our city,” Austin said. “The weather is getting inclement — it’s getting cold out there. We have an opportunity to provide shelter, and we should do it.”

Last year, the shelter didn’t open until the end of December because of a change in operators. There will be a new operator again this year, U.S. Vets, and that agency is both local and experienced, Chandler said.

Long Beach’s winter shelter is paid for and regulated by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) using contracted providers to oversee the shelter’s operations. LAHSA typically opens sites throughout Los Angeles County around the first of December that remain open through March.

While the county provides funding and conducts oversight, the city’s continuum of care handles the shelter operation and services for the homeless. People who use the winter shelter are referred to help at the Multi-Service Center.

“We think the library will hold 100 to 140 people,” Chandler said. “And there are a number of smaller spaces we can use. It also has a courtyard, which is great. At the former shelter, they’d stand around in front of the building to smoke and whatever.”

The previous shelter in the Ninth District was fairly isolated, with no homes nearby. The library, while on a traffic corridor, is near residences. Chandler said Austin was consulted before the decision to use the library became final.

“This is a one-time use,” Chandler said, adding that the city expects to solicit bids from developers for the building soon.

As has been the case in previous years, the only people allowed to use the shelter are those bused in from other parts of the area. There likely will be bus stops in San Pedro and at the Multi-Service Center, with others added based on need.

“It will open at 6 p.m. and close at 7:30 a.m.,” Chandler said. “They’ll get a hot meal at night, a sort of Continental breakfast and they’ll be sent out with a sack lunch. There aren’t showers, so they’ll have to come to the Multi-Service Center for that.”

There also will be security for the shelter, and motel vouchers for families seeking shelter.

Operating the shelter will be a stretch for U.S. Vets, but not something new. The nonprofit has a large operation serving and housing homeless veterans at the Villages of Cabrillo.

“It helps us,” U.S. Vets executive director Brenda Threatt said. “It expands our horizons… It’s a wash in terms of money, but it gives us a broader mission.”

The Long Beach Rescue Mission, which operated the winter shelter for a number of years, has agreed to partner with U.S. Vets and provide the meals there.

Chandler acknowledged that getting the winter shelter going has been problematic in recent years, but she said there is a brighter future ahead. Los Angeles County passed a sales tax increase to help pay for more services to the homeless, and Long Beach is sharing in that money.

It could spur development of a year-round shelter, Chandler said. That was one of Mayor Robert Garcia’s goals in his State of the City address last January.

Harry Saltzgaver is executive editor of Gazette Newspapers. He can be reached at hsalt@gazettes.com.