Winter Shelter Program Offers Meals And Beds For Homeless

As the cold weather settles in for the season, warm beds for the homeless are opening up in Sacramento County.

The program, called Winter Sanctuary, can accommodate a hundred people with dinner, a place to sleep, and security during the overnight hours.

Janna Haynes is with Sacramento County. She says on Monday night, the first night for the program, 95 people were given shelter. She expects that number to hit capacity quickly.

"As we get into the swing of things and the word gets out as people are going out into the neighborhoods and doing outreach, I think we'll see a hundred every single night," Haynes says.

The county spends $435,000 dollars on the seasonal program, but it doesn't run it.

Instead, a non-profit organization called First Step Communities is responsible for organizing the faith-based facilities used to shelter the homeless.

The organization checks that participants are alcohol and drug-free adults who don't have any weapons or pets.

Winter Sanctuary runs through April 2.