Veteran's Winter Shelter Stays Open

A winter shelter that was scheduled to close Monday morning remained open because of action from San Diego's mayor.

When a local veterans groups recently learned that  the downtown general population homeless shelter would be receiving funds to extend services for three more months, they asked for extended funding as well.

Mayor Bob Filner extended the shelter's operating period over the weekend. The shelter is usually open from December to April 8, but starting Monday it will remain open for an unknown amount of time.

The veterans were initially worried about where they would go after Sunday.

"I'm just 61 years old, I'm not ready to die," said veteran John Pearson, who has level four emphysema.

Pearson and about 90 homeless veterans were running out of hope for the Veteran's Winter Shelter in the Midway District. But local homeless advocates helped secure extra time for the temporary residents.

The shelter has nearly 150 beds, food, medical care, and other services and costs the city about $100,000 a month to operate.

It's unclear how long the veterans winter shelter will stay open or how the city will fund it.

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