Winter Shelter Opening In Venice At Oakwood Recreation Center

VENICE, CA — A new homeless shelter will open Tuesday with 30 beds at the Oakwood Recreation Center in Venice.

The co-ed shelter at 767 California Ave. will open for winter and operates through March 31, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. The agency opens additional shelters during winter to protect unhoused Angelenos from the cold and wet season.

The shelter's hotline can be reached at 323-909-5778, and the general Winter Shelter Hotline can be reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1- 800-548-6047.

Winter shelters are available to anyone experiencing homelessness who is 18 years old or older, according to LAHSA's website. They follow "Safer at Home" guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic, serve three meals a day, and welcome pets and emotional support animals. People can also bring up to two bags.

The winter shelters are coordinated between LAHSA and the California National Guard, Los Angeles county and city.

A list of LAHSA's winter shelters can be found in English at https://bit.ly/3bXwLe1 and in Spanish at https://bit.ly/3bS6ePe.

Patch reached out to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to find out how many homeless people are currently living in Venice amid the pandemic.

The announcement follows a fire on the nearby boardwalk that spread from a homeless encampment and damaged a building. Another fire was set near the boardwalk, in an alley behind Rose Avenue and a second RV fire near Penmar Golf Course, this week.

- City News Service and Patch Editor Nicole Charky contributed to this report.