The largest emergency overnight shelter for the homeless in Los Angeles, housing up to 600 people per night, is struggling to survive because of cuts in federal funding and an increased number of poor in a downturned economy, said the shelter's president.
"We need to come up with payroll for this week. Without the payroll I don't know if we'll be able to go forward," said Brenda Wilson, who along with her twin sister, Lynda Moran, operates New Image Shelter for the Homeless."This year the need for services all across the board – in the shelter, in our programs that serve homeless families with children – there's an increase," Wilson told The Christian Post Friday. "We are seeing an increase with women, homeless runaway youth, families, and an increase in Asians."
In order to continue providing the existing services, Wilson has begun an online fundraising campaign (www.SavetheShelter.org) in hopes of raising enough money to accommodate the overflow of homeless people coming every night seeking a place to sleep.
Wilson said the shelter turns away up to 100 women and 40 men each night because of lack of funds. While a Los Angeles city and county program once paid for 600 beds (overnight accommodations), it now pays to shelter 436 (300 men and 136 women) people nightly. That doesn't stop Wilson from taking up to 600 people overnight.
"Because so many of them come in beat up and raped we just try to make room for them and we've always made room for them because at least they're safe," Wilson explains. "At least they are not on the street being sexually and physically abused."
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