West LA Armory closest shelter to Santa Monica
By Sam Catanzaro
As a winter storm and overall colder temperatures hit Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) has opened winter homeless shelters.
In Santa Monica, the closest winter shelter is at the West Los Angeles Armory (1300 Federal Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90025) and is open from December 1, 2019 until March 31, 2020.
Free transportation to the West Los Angeles Armory is available from the Venice Skate Park (1800 Ocean Front Walk, Venice, CA 90291) at 5 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (times may vary depending on traffic)
Winter shelters, which provide overnight shelter, meals, showers and case management services, are available on a first-come, first-served basis to single adults. Families with minor children in need of shelter should call 211.
Just last week as another storm hit LA County, officials opened a few winter shelters early while the City of Los Angeles utilized city-owned buildings to house homeless people. With county winter shelters fully operational now, however, the LA city-shelters are no longer in use.
According to the city’s 2019 homeless count, there are 957 people experiencing homelessness in Santa Monica.