Ventura prepares for first year-round homeless shelter

The City of Ventura along with Ventura County is preparing for its first year-round homeless shelter.

The facility is located at 2323 Knoll Drive in Ventura and is expected to open mid-January.

“This is the first kind of wrap around navigation center,” said Meredith Hart, Safe and Clean program manager for the City of Ventura. “City and County together united to make this happen for the city of Ventura.”

Hart says the facility will be a low-barrier shelter run by Mercy House, which means people don’t need to pass a drug test to get in. It will house 55 people, 38 men and 17 women.

“Over here are two private rooms,” said Hart while giving a tour of the new facility. “We have a room that, if an individual is sick, like the flu, they can have their own private room, so they do not make the rest of the population sick.”

According to Hart, there are about 550 homeless people in the city of Ventura, and almost 400 of those are unsheltered.

“So this is really going to be a big step in trying to get some of those regulated and ready to take that next step of life and get into housing,” said Hart. “As anyone is working on their housing plan, then they are allowed to stay in the shelters.”

The shelter will allow animals to stay with their owners as well.

“That has been a huge barrier to get people willing to enter into shelters because they have their companion,” said Hart. “Actually, right behind me, kennels are being built and we are going to have outdoor kennels and inside areas for the animals to sleep next to their owners.”