Union Rescue Mission

CITY HALL — The City Council on Tuesday appeared to embrace the expected return of a homeless winter shelter to downtown Glendale, despite its controversial stay in Burbank last winter. County and local officials expect the shelter to operate out of the National Guard Armory on Colorado Street this winter. It would be a homecoming of sorts, given that the armory had hosted the Los Angeles County-funded program for more than 10 years before it moved to Burbank in 2007 to allow for construction and building upgrades.

GLENDALE — After a two-year absence from Glendale, the Los Angeles County winter homeless shelter is expected to officially return to the National Guard Armory near downtown, officials said. Glendale’s armory on Colorado Street had hosted the program, which is administered and funded by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, for more than 10 years, but in 2007, it was moved to Burbank to allow for construction and building upgrades. The move to Burbank got a relatively warm reception, but last year, residents living near the Burbank armory started to complain, sparking community meetings and discord on the Burbank City Council on what to do with the shelter.

GLENDALE — Homeless outreach advocates and county officials are hurriedly looking for spaces that could house a county-funded winter shelter on a rotational basis before the season begins in three weeks. After no local applicants stepped forward to operate the homeless winter shelter this fall, county officials tapped their own stable of service providers. Los Angeles-based Union Rescue Mission has tentatively agreed to operate the shelter program if officials can broker an agreement with at least three churches to use their space, said David Martel, a contract manager for the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

LA CRESCENTA WOMAN’S CLUB HAS AUTHORS LUNCH The La Crescenta Woman’s Club is having its annual Authors Luncheon beginning at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 13 at the La Cañada Country Club, 5500 Godbey Drive, La Cañada Flintridge. Authors Carolyn See, Lisa See and Naomi Hirahara will be featured. Carolyn See is the author of five novels, including “The Handyman” and “Golden Days.” She is a book reviewer for The Washington Post and is on the board of PEN Center USA West.

The First United Methodist Church of Glendale opened its doors on Christmas morning to provide sustenance instead of a sermon. Through the 13 annual Food for Body and Soul Christmas morning breakfast, more than 60 homeless and less advantaged residents from Glendale, Burbank and nearby cities got a full meal in the church?s cafeteria. Food for Body and Soul is a 13-year-old nonprofit program that provides Sunday lunch and then a sermon to those in need. The church also operates The Lord?

Adam Durigh, a 25-year-old laid-off trucker from Nebraska, had never been in a shelter before going to the Burbank National Guard Armory a week ago. Having made the hard choice to house his 1-year-old son with the father of his ex-wife, Durigh came to the shelter out of desperation and pragmatism. “There just wasn’t enough room at my father-in-law’s,” he said Monday night, as guests at the shelter prepared to eat a steak dinner Union Rescue Mission prepared for the holidays.

Group to raffle off spot on city?s float Glendale Rose Float officials are offering residents the chance to ride on the city?s float entry in 2008. The Glendale Rose Float Assn. will issue 250 raffle tickets for $10 each, with the winning ticket holder securing a spot on the float as it creeps down the annual parade. The winner will be picked in November. Titled ?Bon Voyage,? the float will depict a biplane taking off from Glendale?s historic Grand Central Air Terminal.

Burbank has come through for people in need for the second year in a row and offered to provide a shelter for the area’s homeless population during the winter. The city opened its National Guard Armory last year when construction at Glendale’s armory made it impossible to house tenants. And even with an altered set of circumstances this time, Burbank will again provide a warm place for transients to sleep this winter. The decision last year was a stopgap measure to accommodate more than 8,600 people who needed shelter between December and March.

GLENDALE — A winter shelter for the homeless will open Monday for the second consecutive year at the Burbank National Guard Armory, to provide shelter for up to 150 people during the year’s coldest months. The armory will host the shelter through March 15, said Andy Bales, director of the Los Angeles Union Rescue Mission, which runs the program. “We really think it’s important to get them out of the cold and rain,” he said. The Burbank City Council in October approved hosting the tri-city shelter, which had been the Glendale armory for more than 10 years.