This is the shelter's18th season at this site.

The shelter opens daily at 6 p.m. and closes at 6 a.m. Those who use the shelter are given basic sleeping accommodations, dinner and breakfast. EHC also has staff at the shelter offering assistance in outreach programs.

"We have transitional housing and permanent affordable housing programs," said EHC spokeswoman Hilary Barroga.

The shelter has not yet been full, but Barroga says that is typical in the beginning of the season. It takes a while for word to spread that the shelter is open. Some of the homeless people who wanted to use the shelter one evening last week were "a little shy" because of all the media attention the shelter was receiving during the opening week.

"It takes a while for people to feel comfortable to come in. There were people who wouldn't come in because the press was there. They waited until the TV cameras left before they came in," she said.

Barroga said that usually by Christmas the shelter is full every night.

Things may be a little nicer at the shelter this year.

The armory received a facelift from Sunnyvale's Crosswalk Community Church.

"We painted the entire interior including the kitchens and the bathrooms," said Polly Larson of Crosswalk.

The church spent about $10,000 on supplies and materials. Some 125 to 150 church members helped clean and paint the interior and install new landscaping and a new sprinkler system outside, Larson said.

"The youngest [church volunteer] was a 4-year-old girl, and the oldest was a 92-year-old man," she said. Larson said church volunteers will return in the spring to paint the exterior.

EHC LifeBuilders has another shelter in Gilroy that also provides 125 beds.

Between the two shelters, EHC offers some 9,000 "person shelter days" each season, Barroga said.

She said EHC anticipates the numbers to remain flat this year.

In Santa Clara County about 25 percent of homeless people are under the age of 18, according to EHC.

The nonprofit organization began in 1980 as the Emergency Housing Consortium. In 2005 it began doing business as EHC LifeBuilders to better reflect its scope of housing programs and supportive services. EHC also assists in medical care and seeks to help individuals regain housing and independence.

The shelter stays open during the colder months and will close at the end of March.

Barroga said the organization is pleased with support it has received from the Sunnyvale community. Support has ranged from monetary donations to volunteer time to handing out socks.

"There was a volunteer who was handing out new pairs of socks to everyone who was coming in. You should have seen the faces as people were able to change out of wet socks into dry socks," Barroga said.

She said volunteers are always welcome to help serve breakfast or dinner, or to handle intake paperwork. Cash donations are always welcome, as well as sheets, towels, blankets and toiletries. She said new socks and new underwear are especially popular.

The National Guard Armory is located at 620 E. Maude Ave. For more information on how to donate or volunteer, visit www.ehclifebuilders.org or contact 408.539.2100.

Crosswalk Community Church is located at 445 S. Mary Ave. For more information, visit www.crosswalk church.com, or contact 408.736.3120.