24-hour cooling shelter to open for homeless in Palm Springs; another center in the works
Another 24 #Another24
Two cooling centers, including one that will be open 24 hours a day, are planned in Palm Springs to provide services for individuals experiencing homelessness as temperatures continue to soar in the Coachella Valley.
The move comes a week after the Palm Springs City Council decided to cut ties with Well in the Desert, a daytime nonprofit that provides meals, transportation, showers and a cooling center to homeless individuals in the city. The organization will operate at its Calle Encilia location until the end of the month.
Riverside County will open a 24-hour cooling shelter in partnership with Martha’s Village and Kitchen, a homeless service provider located in Indio. It is anticipated to open Tuesday at the United Methodist Church of Palm Springs, which is located at 1555 E. Alejo Rd., according to Greg Rodriguez, a policy advisor for county Supervisor V. Manuel Perez who also leads collaborative homeless efforts in the Coachella Valley.
The county allocated $277,000 for the 24-hour cooling center, and an additional $20,000 came from the Desert Healthcare District. It will run through Sept. 30.
The county previously operated an overnight cooling center at the church last summer. Rodriguez said it was a challenge to operate at night because none of the county agencies and service providers were open, hindering the number of support services available to homeless individuals at that time.
The 24-hour operation is an attempt to “get away from enabling environments,” he said, and try “to address the critical needs … not only getting them out of the heat, but finding housing and connecting them to services.”
Rodriguez said the center will not be a drop-in location like the Well in the Desert. Clients will sign up for services provided by Martha’s Village, which will include help with obtaining IDs, signing up for Medi-Cal or CalFresh — a program that provides monthly food benefits — and housing assistance. The center will also provide meals, access to showers, clothing if needed, and a bed to sleep in.
The Coachella Valley Rescue Mission, which provided services last year, was not utilized this year due to “contracting issues” with the county, according to Rodriguez.
Martha’s Village President and CEO Linda Barrack said in a meeting this week she will be talking with other agencies to collaborate and “take it a step further” with services.
“We’re very encouraged that we’re going to be a product to the homeless individuals who need it so desperately with intense case management and wrap-around services as well,” Barrack said at a Palm Springs Affordable Housing and Homelessness Standing Committee meeting on Wednesday.
The Desert Sun was unable to reach Barrack prior to the meeting.
Capacity at the center is around 40 individuals due to the size of the space and to allow for some social distancing to be practiced, according to Rodriguez. Last year, around 30 to 35 people sought shelter each night.
The 2020 Riverside County Point-In-Time count suggests there were close to 200 unsheltered individuals in Palm Springs, but Mayor Christy Holstege has previously said the true numbers may be double or triple that.
County-operated cooling centers were located in Palm Springs, Cathedral City and Desert Hot Springs the last two summers. Only the Palm Springs location will operate this year due to “staffing capacity and financial needs,” Rodriguez said.
Plans for the Boxing Club
Martha’s Village is also in talks with the city of Palm Springs to operate a daytime cooling and service center at the former Palm Springs Boxing Club.
The latest date that some level of operation would begin is Aug. 1, but Palm Springs City Manager Justin Clifton is hopeful for a mid-July start.
Discussions continue over whether the space will be available to Martha’s Village for free, or if costs will be covered by the organization, according to Clifton, who noted that Martha’s Village has successfully leveraged grants in the past and has helpful donors. But if the nonprofit needs help from the city, “we will certainly have those discussions and see what we can do to participate,” Clifton added.
The city has used the Boxing Club location as a cooling center during previous summers when a county-run center was not available, Holstege said. The cost was $30,000 per month.
Initially, both Martha’s Village and Well in the Desert were set to operate out of the Boxing Club. However, the city council’s unanimous vote to revoke the Well’s conditional-use permit for its Calle Encilia location ended its relocation plans. Councilmembers raised concerns about allegations of financial mismanagement and operational issues.
The city council ultimately voted to authorize the city manager to enter into a contract with Martha’s Village — which previously provided wrap-around services in conjunction with the Well. Clifton said Martha’s Village “is a larger, more well-established operation that has a track record of improving outcomes (for homeless individuals) and minimizing negative secondary impacts” to communities.
The council’s vote also allowed Clifton to extend the Well’s current conditional-use permit for no more than 30 days in order to provide continuous homeless services until the Boxing Club facility gets set up.
More: Palm Springs cuts ties with Well in the Desert, nonprofit leader responds
As soon as the county-run cooling center is up and running at the United Methodist Church, Clifton said the city will have a conversation with Martha’s Village on how to roll out services at the Boxing Club, which could come in phases.
“Once we get the critical services running, which would be a place to come and cool down, to get a snack, get some water so we make sure people are safe and healthy … we will likely pull the trigger at that point to fully revoke the (Well’s) conditional-use permit,” Clifton said.
The Well could still be a sub-provider of services at the Boxing Club if Martha’s Village chooses to seek its help, according to Clifton.
Other services that Martha’s Village will likely provide at the Boxing Club are case management, which includes mental and physical health services, addiction or other counseling services, job placement and access to showers.
The center would ideally be “well-coordinated with other providers” in the area to provide as many services as possible, Clifton added.
“That doesn’t suggest every one of (the services) will be located right there,” Clifton said. “But the cooling center is a great touchpoint where people come in and we have an opportunity to confer with that individual or family, see what they need and get them plugged into services.”
Clifton sees this as a “temporary” center that could be in operation for a few years.
The county is currently having preliminary discussions on building a navigation center in the western Coachella Valley. If that is constructed, the Boxing Club facility may not be needed, but “that’s most likely a couple of years away, if not three or four,” Clifton said.
The Coachella Valley Association of Governments currently operates its CV200 program at the Boxing Club, which focuses on assisting chronically homeless individuals in the Coachella Valley. The location has primarily been used for office space, while the program itself is field-driven.
Clifton said the city is working with CVAG on relocating its administrative space to another location, but plans have not been finalized.
Barrack, tasked with getting the two centers up and running, said at Wednesday’s homeless committee meeting, “what a 10 days this has been.”
Barrack said she hopes to meet with city officials next week to discuss next steps.
“We tend to work at warp speed. Historically, we’re planners because we want to bring forward a product that people can be proud of and that’s effective for those that we serve,” Barrack said at Wednesday’s meeting. “A lot is going on, a lot of backbreaking work, a lot of planning, but we’re going to make it happen.”
In addition to the cooling centers, finding permanent housing solutions continues to be the city’s main priority. The city received a one-time $10 million allocation in June 2020 from California’s Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program for homeless services. The city earmarked $4 million for two affordable housing projects that have yet to begin construction. Another affordable housing project, as well as the county navigation center, could also receive some of those funds.
“I think that’s what’s important for the community to understand is that we’re really looking at best practices and what gets people out of homelessness, and that’s what we want to focus on,” Holstege said.
Previous reporting from Erin Rode contributed to this report.
Ema Sasic covers health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at ema.sasic@desertsun.com or on Twitter @ema_sasic.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: 24-hour cooling shelter to open for homeless in Palm Springs; another center in the works