Mercy House homeless shelter is set to opened Monday, Dec. 7, after Huntington Beach City Council voted 6-0 to expand the shelter to facilitate 174 homeless people.

The shelter is larger than the 75-bed proposal. The council approved the larger facility to meet the U.S. District Court’s order.

Judge David O. Carter ordered, “60% of the homeless population have shelter beds before the city can enforce anti-camping or anti-loitering ordinances.”

“We are thankful to the city of Huntington Beach for the additional funding,” said Chief Program Officer Timothy Huynh. “I know there is always a lot of pushback, but we believe this will better help the community.”

A major concern with the project is how COVID-19 safety measures are going to be met.

“This facility was designed with COVID-19 in mind,” Huynh continued as he walked into the 174 bedroom facility. “Each person will be sleeping facing away from each other to meet socially distancing guidelines.”

Interim program manager Miguel Alatorre Munoz stated that homeless people will receive a face mask and be given orders to follow social distancing guidelines upon entering.

“We will also do a screening of each person and ask them a series of questions. Such as their name, how long have they been homeless, where have they slept, and evaluate their mental health,” said Munoz. “It’s a rather long process, so we can only take about six people a day.”

Each person will also receive clean clothes. Their belongings and clothes will be sanitized to ensure no pathogens are spread in the facility. The facility has bathrooms and showers.

Mercy House also provides three meals a day to the people who stay in the facility.

“We will also help them overcome addictions, should they have any,” Munoz said. “Our coordinators will help them find support groups and AA meetings. The goal is to get them back on their feet.”

Some skeptical members of the public fear that the homeless will take advantage of such a great project. However, Mercy House has provided a safeguard to ensure the temporary living facility is just that.

“Like our other facilities, the people who stay here will have 180 days to find a job or a place to live,” Munoz said reassuringly. “Our coordinators and staff will work with them to find employment and housing.”

“We always appreciate volunteers and donations, so we encourage the public to donate or sign up at the Mercy House website,” added Huynh.

While the site is still under construction, the facility was ready to open and accept people on Monday, Dec. 7.