At five minutes to 5 p.m. Friday, it looked like a new homeless shelter at 1601 St. Michael's Drive wasn't going to open.

The Interfaith Community Shelter Group still needed a fire marshal's approval.

When the green light came, volunteers from Santa Fe churches, synagogues, a mosque and nonprofit organizations scrambled to get it ready for clients on Saturday, said Susan Odiseos, one of the organizers. There were desks to move, cots to set up, mattresses to clean.

"We were scurrying around trying to get everything ready," she said. "The homeless people just showed up and asked if they could help."

The opening of the shelter's doors couldn't have come at a better time, as temperatures have plunged to well below freezing in the last week. A bed and breakfast inn had been sheltering homeless women and children, while the Westminster Presbyterian Church took care of homeless men last week until the new shelter could open.

Men, women and children will have warm places to sleep and hot meals in the 5,200-square-foot space, which has 15 rooms. The city of Santa Fe provided $50,000 in public funds to pay the building's rent through April and another $10,000 to help pay some of the overnight staff.

The Food Depot, Trader Joe's and other merchants have donated food and supplies. Vendors at the Santa Fe Farmers Market on Saturday began handing meat and vegetables to one of the group's volunteers when they heard about the new shelter.

"There's something about seeing people come together," Odiseos said. "It was spontaneous. We weren't out asking for it."

The Interfaith group formed last year to help provide shelter and food for the overflow of homeless people that the Salvation Army and St. Elizabeth Shelter couldn't care for. Those clients were a range of ages and from various walks of life, and more than half of them were from Santa Fe, according to the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness.

From August to October of this year, the Santa Fe Public Schools has identified a number of people age 21 and younger as homeless.

"When winter comes, we are filled to overflowing," said Deborah Tang, executive director of St. Elizabeth Shelter, which is acting as the fiscal agent for the Interfaith group. "The Interfaith group has come together to meet this need."

Mayor David Coss formed the Blue Ribbon Task Force to End Homelessness, which has recommended establishing a one-stop center to provide the shelter, food, health, counseling and other services that "people who are down and out really need," Odiseos said. "That's going to take a lot of time and money to make happen."

The shelter on St. Michael's is a temporary solution, providing refuge only at night. It will be staffed by volunteers from 6 to 9 p.m. Paid staff will manage the shelter from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Odiseos said the shelter needs a portable oven and a constant resupply of trash bags, toilet paper, personal care items and food.

And there is always a need for volunteers who can give some time to help out.

For more information about the shelter, call 471-1187.

Contact Staci Matlock at 470-9843 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com.