VAN NUYS : Armory Opens to Shelter Homeless

The National Guard Armory in Van Nuys was opened Monday night as a cold weather refuge for the homeless from throughout the San Fernando Valley.

Officials of the city’s cold-weather shelter program said the facility’s 150 beds will be offered to the homeless as long as forecasts call for temperatures of 40 degrees or below--or 50 degrees if there also is a 50% chance of rain.

Under a longstanding program, the armory, located at 17330 Victory Blvd., remains open from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. during such cold weather periods. Between 5 and 5:50 p.m., city-sponsored vans pick up those needing shelter at three locations: Van Nuys City Hall at 14410 Sylvan St.; Valley Community Clinic at 5648 Vineland Ave. in North Hollywood, and El Central de Amistad social service agency at 7024 Deering Ave., Canoga Park.

In addition to the Valley area, there are cold weather shelters in the coastal and basin regions of Los Angeles. But the programs in those areas were not activated Monday because forecasts called for temperatures above 50 degrees, city officials said.