A former library building on Gardner Street has been repurposed as housing for women experiencing homelessness. (photo by Edwin Folven)

The city of Los Angeles is giving women experiencing homelessness a new bridge to housing at a facility at 1403 N. Gardner St. that is scheduled to open next week.

The 30-bed facility was created in a 4,000-square-foot building that formerly housed the Will and Ariel Durant Branch Library, which closed two decades ago after the library moved into a new building on Sunset Boulevard. Specifically created for women, the new shelter features spaces for social service providers to provide counseling, job training and other resources aimed at getting them permanently off the streets. The goal is to give women a place to call home and help in turning their lives around, said Los Angeles City Councilman David Ryu, 4th District.

“The Gardner Street Women’s Bridge Housing Center is something special,” Ryu added. “Not just for the countless women it will serve, but for the community who worked hand-in-hand with me and my staff to bring this building back to life and turn it into a vital resource to help end homelessness. I invite everyone to join us for the grand opening and welcome this latest housing resource to Council District 4.”

The opening celebration will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 9 a.m. at the new shelter. The facility will be operated by the Weingart Center, a nonprofit contracting with the city to provide services for homeless individuals. In addition to case management for each person living at the shelter, special programs such as yoga will be held. The Gardner Street Women’s Bridge Housing Center is also unique in that will be run by women for women, Ryu spokesman Mark Pampanin said.

“All of the staff, from the manager to the security guard to the case workers, will be women,” he added. “This is a permanent bridge housing structure. It was a completely Measure HHH-funded project.”

The approximately $1.8 million to create the shelter came from the ballot initiative approved in 2016 for homeless housing projects. Prior to construction, city staff sought input from neighbors. The facility will be staffed full-time with 24-hour security. Many neighbors were supportive, including JoAnn Koplin, a Sierra Bonita Avenue resident who spoke during the groundbreaking for the project last November.

“It’s contingent upon every community to be part of the solution,” Koplin said. “Homelessness is an urban problem that affects every community in our city. I support [the shelter] 100%.”

The women to be served at the center have been selected by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. The idea is for them to stay at the shelter for 90 days to two years while permanent housing is secured. With a rotating pool of clients, the shelter will potentially serve countless women in the future.

“In its lifetime, or for the library, its second lifetime, it will serve a significant number of women,” Pampanin added. “It will help them get their lives on track, and when they move into permanent housing, new women will come in.”

Construction crews were putting the finishing touches on the building on Sept. 4, and preparations are underway for the opening celebration. City officials hope the shelter will make a difference in the lives of homeless women and will be a model for additional shelters.

“It’s small and intimate, yet comfortable,” Pampanin added. “It’s not just housing. Everyone is going to be given wraparound programs and services.”