Aiming to get homeless men, women and children out of the cold and off the streets permanently, Newark officials on Thursday unveiled a wintertime shelter offering housing, employment, health and counseling referrals, as well as dining, shower and laundry facilities.

"I'm sure especially during the holiday season, its a serious blessing to be able to have a warm shower, a warm place to sleep, and a place where they don't have to worry that they're going to throw you out in the daytime," Mayor Ras Baraka said in an interview Thursday, four days before Christmas.

Baraka was among city officials present Thursday morning for a ribbon cutting at the new shelter, which began taking in clients over the weekend and will be open through the end of March.

The building, located on Sussex Avenue in the city's Central Ward, is one of 31 public and privately operated homeless shelters in Newark. But in addition to being the newest, it's distinct in several of ways.

The shelter was created specifically to house adult individuals, including members of the LGBT community, along with families with children, who have literally been spending their days and nights on the streets, out-of-doors. The groups sleep on separate floors of the 4-story building, in rooms with four beds each.

The temporary residents are encouraged to spend daytime hours at school or work, or looking for work or housing. But officials said the policy is flexible depending on weather conditions and individual circumstances, particularly for families.

With a capacity of 480, the shelter has had about 500 admissions in six days, averaging more than 80 people per night, said Dr. Mark J. Wade, a pediatrician who directs the Newark Department of Health and Community Wellness.

Wade said it's the first city-controlled shelter to include on-site services intended to address factors that are often at the root of homelessness, including unemployment, substance and domestic abuse, mental health problems and other issues.

"The goal is to minimize their need to remain in a shelter system," Wade said. "This is a four-month, winter shelter initiative, and it is focused on the unsheltered homeless, those who are on the street that we are trying to get off the street."

The shelter principally targets the homeless population around Newark Penn Station, the Public Library, Military Park and Francisco Park, all in the city's downtown section. Under a temporary agreement, NJ Transit provides a nightly 11 p.m. bus to the shelter from Penn Station, Wade said.

The city has a contract with a local non-profit agency, Emergency Housing Services, Inc, to operate the shelter for $388,000 for the four-month winter season. This winter's funding comes from the city budget and federal grant money. But in future years officials hoping to raise the money from among Newark businesses, who have an interest in reducing the number of people living on city streets.

"Most of the conversations with a lot of the businesses that we have, especially the new ones that come in, are centered around Penn Station and the homeless situation around the station," said Baraka, who is running for re-election in May. "So, it obviously will help the businesses to help us provide shelter for these folks. And we're appealing to them to do that."

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.