VISTA -- Toting their belongings in boxes and bags, 10 families moved Saturday from a temporary Oceanside winter shelter that closed Friday to a new transitional housing center at 890 East Vista Way.

It's a roof over their heads and more time to get back on their feet, some of the occupants said candidly when asked about the move.

The transitional housing facility, Solutions Intake and Access Family Center, timed its reopening at the new site on East Vista Way with the seasonal closure of Operation Hope, according to Chris Megison, executive director of North County Solutions for Change, the nonprofit that runs the center.

"It had to be done," Megison said. "In North County, we have a crisis with a lot of boys and girls, and their families, not having a place to lay their heads down at night. The average age of the people were served last year was 8."

Unlike temporary shelters, occupants can stay at the transitional housing center for a maximum of three months, Megison said. The center accepts people who can prove they have been sober for at least 30 days.

At the new site, the center has 40 more beds, bringing the total to 160, Megison said.

Two families making the move Saturday shared their stories.

April and Scott, who asked that their last names not be printed, said they had been homeless for about a week. The engaged couple had their daughter and her two sons with them when they came to Vista from San Bernardino about six weeks ago. The family had arranged for a place to live in Vista, but that fell through, said Scott, 27. The couple expressed gratitude for Operation Hope and North County Solutions for Change.

When they ran out of money and could no longer afford to stay in hotels, the family was homeless for a week, said April, 30.

"That was the longest week of my life," April added, slowly stroking the brown hair of their 2-year-old daughter, Sierra. "We had pretty much hit rock bottom. And then we got into Operation Hope. We were there for about five weeks."

Scott said he has worked in construction and about five years as a prep chef, but it was hard to find another job.

"With no place to shower and wash your clothes, and without a phone and residence, you're going to have a hard time getting a job," Scott said.

Even though the family did not have a permanent home yet, they were happy.

"We'll get a chance to better our lives," April said. "And for right now, we have a roof over our heads. Our kids are safe and dry, and there are smiles on their faces."

Scott said he hopes to someday go to culinary school. But for now, he is willing to take any decent job he can get to support his family, he said.

On the other side of the center Saturday morning, Carrie Callahan, 33, neatly placed lilac-colored sheets on her bunk bed. Her two boys, Gabriel Cardenas, 10, and Geoffrey Cardenas, 7, stood by patiently, ready to help their mother whenever she called for them.

Problems for Callahan started in August when she broke up with her live-in boyfriend of about 11 years, the boys' father. Callahan said she got a roommate to help with the apartment rent, but the situation did not work out, and she had to ask the roommate to leave in December.

Bills started stacking up in November, Callahan added. Major car problems cropped up in January, and she could not keep her customer service job at a resort company. Callahan was evicted April 5. A friend is keeping her car in his garage.

"Homeless. I hate that word. It makes me feel like a failure," Callahan said, straightening a thin plaid blanket she draped neatly over the lilac bed sheet. "But then, I learned that becoming homeless even happens to good, hardworking people sometimes. I just have to deal with it, and get back on my feet so I can take care of me and my boys."

Unable to find friends or relatives who had room for her and her boys for more than a few days, Callahan and her children went to Operation Hope. She expressed gratitude to the staff of Operation Hope and the center.

Callahan said she has a few goals for herself: getting a job and saving enough money to get her car fixed, and start going back to church. At some point, she hopes to go to cosmetology school.

"When my boys ask me about what's going on, I tell them if we work hard and we pray, we'll get to a better place. And things will get better and better," Callahan said.

Contact staff writer Lorell Fleming at (760) 731-5798 or at lfleming@nctimes.com.