Youth warming shelter now open in downtown Monterey.

After less than two weeks of planning, Community Human Services (CHS) will now open a temporary warming shelter for homeless youth and runaways. While CHS is scrambling to find operating funds they opened the shelter Last night in downtown Monterey after receiving a 90-day use permit from the city.

“We knew it was going to be a rough winter,” says Rob Rapp, development director at CHS, “but after the two homeless gentlemen died of exposure we really had to get kids off the street.”

The shelter, located at 590 Pearl St., will accommodate six to 12 homeless youth aged 18 to 24 each night. The shelter is expected to be at capacity every night, but the number of beds available will be dependent on hiring staff members to oversee the shelter, says Rapp. With one staff member only six can be sheltered, with two staff members then 12 can be accommodated.

The shelter is located in CHS’ Safe Place center that has worked with youth for more than 20 years and reaches more than 350 people a year. The center will open its doors from 6-7pm on rainy nights and ones where the temperature is expected to drop below 45 degrees. Homeless youth will be checked in on a first come first serve basis.

In the coming months, CHS would like to keep Safe Place doors open permanently for a shelter, but permitting and fundraising will be difficult.

“Rick Marvin [city housing and property manager] and other city officials have been really helpful in getting 90-day permit turned over quickly,” Rapp says. “But there will likely be a lot more hoops to jump through to keep it open on a permanent basis.