“We have a gap of $49,000 for this shelter,” said Carrie Gatlin, vice president of government relations for the rescue mission.
The center needs food, volunteers and supplies to properly provide for the area’s homeless, Gatlin said.
“Our guests don’t get a lot of good, quality socialization,” she said.
“We’d love to have a bingo night or have some other sort of activity. We also need feminine hygiene products, toothbrushes and socks.”
Attendance at the shelter has grown since its opening Wednesday, when fewer than 10 people spent the night and the facility has so far been immune from violence, except for one off-site crime.
Wednesday evening, a rescue mission employee’s car was broken into on Valhalla Drive. Her purse was stolen, but officials were quick to point no homeless individuals staying at the shelter were involved.
“This was separate incident, having nothing at all to do with any of our guests,” Gatlin said.
Monday night, 44 people slept at the shelter, she said.
While the rise in attendance was expected, the psychological makeup and gender breakdown of those using the shelter did surprise Gatlin, whose organization runs four missions around Los Angeles County.
“We usually see more men than women and a lower percentage of guests with mental health disorders,” she said. “But it’s split down the middle — men and women — and we have about 90% with severe mental health disorders.”
Part of the challenge for the rescue mission officials who deal with mentally unstable people at the Burbank shelter is the lack of a qualified case manager, which they have not yet hired because of the rush in opening the center, Gatlin said.
