County Shelter Plan Fails Temecula

A plan to open a cold-weather shelter in Riverside fails Temecula's homeless, a homeless advocate said.

A shelter aiming to serve the county is scheduled to open on Thursday at Life Ministries at 2840 Hulen Place. It will offer 72 additional beds and operate until April 15, according to the county.

Currently, the shelter offers 64 beds, but it will increase that number to 136 during the cold season.

This plan fails the homeless living in Temecula, said Anne Unmacht, the head of Project TOUCH, a charity dedicated to helping the homeless.

"It doesn't help tremendously," she said today, because many local homeless people lack transportation, and many have jobs or children who go to school in Temecula.

If someone's desperate, we'll help them got to the beds, but it doesn't address the tremendous need in Southwest Riverside County," she said. To see a video about plight of Temecula's homeless residents, .

The county emergency shelter is part of the Emergency Cold Weather Shelter Program, jointly funded by the county and the City of Riverside. 

The emergency beds will be available at 4:30 p.m., seven days a week, regardless of the weather. Beds are given on a first-come, first-served basis.  

Shelter guests will also be offered hot dinner, breakfast and shower facilities. Additional referrals to and assistance from community resources will also be available.

Path of Life Ministries operates a 50-bed family shelter and offers case management services to assist with basic needs.   

Project TOUCH in past years opened cold weather shelters in Temecula at Fusion Church on Rancho California and Ynez roads. This year, the organization will be unable to open the shelter there because the building is in escrow, Unmacht said.

The group's organizers are talking to several other Temecula churches to find a new location, she said.

Project TOUCH opened an emergency shelter last year and was closed down by city officials after it stayed open past its shut-down deadline. To read about it, .

The organizers initially refused to close the shelter, because it would turn dozens of people out into the streets. To read about what advocates said about the shut-down order,

This created a standoff with city officials which climaxed at a meeting when advocates gathered at the to urge them to let the shelter stay open. To read about what happened, .

A census taken in January counted 162 homeless people living in Temecula, which was more than twice the 69 people counted the previous year. To read about the census, click here.

The accuracy of the count was questioned by homeless residents because the city's public works department destroyed the biggest homeless camp in Temecula, causing its inhabitants to scatter through the city. To read about what happened, .

For more information about the Emergency Cold Weather Shelter Program, call Path of Life Ministries at 951-683-4101. Also, several local students created a website in an effort to list resources for the county's needy. To learn more,

Toni McAllister contributed to this report.