Local women’s shelter to temporarily close

More than a dozen people could be back on the street, if a Salinas women’s shelter closes as planned at the end of the month.

Women Alive shelter in Salinas says they’ll have to close for two months because of a lack of funding.

Women Alive shelter is inside Dorothy’s Place, a hospitality center for the homeless. The executive director says funds came up short this quarter but, they’re already at work on plans to reopen.

“Organization-wide, the shortfall is about 300,000 thousand dollars, it’s funding we expected to get in the first quarter of our year when we built our budget” said Jill Allen, Executive Director at Dorothy’s Place.

Money she says is needed to keep the Chinatown shelter “Women Alive” operating in Salinas. She says it serves more than 200 women a year.

“We have the only walk-in shelter here that is normally operating year-round for women that are unaccompanied by children” Allen says.

For two months out of this year though, the shelter will be closed to all the people who rely on its services.

“This was my only hope for anything” said Veronica Montellano who stays at the shelter. “Right when I got here, everything got [taken] away.”

Despite the closure, Allen says she’s already at work to get the money needed to reopen in a couple months.

“I’ve raised half of the hundred thousand dollars that I need for this month” Allen said. “I need to raise another 50,000 dollars.”

Allen she’s looking to the community to help them meet that goal.

“We’re hoping that some people will step up to the plate, ask us a little more about what’s going on here” Allen says. “Allow us to tell them why they should invest in programs for the poor and the homeless.”

If you’d like to help Dorothy’s Place raise money for the Women Alive shelter Allen says you can follow this link, shoot an email to info@dorothysplace.org or you can send a donation to “Women Alive” at PO Box 2027, Salinas, CA 93902.

The shelter gave the women they serve two weeks notice and are helping them find other arrangements before the planned closure at the end of the month.