City’s new homeless facility already making impact, council told, even before being fully operational

The Palm Springs Navigation Center is already making a significant impact on the city’s homeless population, despite being only partially open, according to a report presented to the City Council on Thursday.

Rosa Verduzco, chief operating officer at Martha’s Village and Kitchen, which provides services for the navigation center, told council members that hundreds of homeless residents have already benefited from the facility’s services.

The navigation center, located in the north end of town off McCarthy Road, includes an early entry facility that has been open since March. In that time, it has served 244 unduplicated clients, Verduzco reported. Additionally, an access center near Palm Springs International Airport, which has been operational since last summer, has served 1,081 unduplicated clients.

“Those are big numbers,” Verduzco said. “The numbers for the overnight shelter are exceptional considering the short period of time we’ve been operational.”

A Palm Springs Police Department spokesperson, contacted earlier this month, said that 47 of the 50 beds at the early entry facility have been filled each night since March. The department also has access to five emergency beds at the shelter.

“We see about two to three people taking advantage of the five emergency beds the police department has available to them at the shelter,” the spokesperson said.

Verduzco emphasized that these numbers represent hundreds of people from the streets of Palm Springs who are now accessing essential services such as showers, meals, transportation, and case management.

“[These facilities] are not just homeless services, but also homeless prevention,” she said.

To illustrate the center’s impact, Verduzco introduced David, a formerly homeless individual who has successfully transitioned to housing and employment. David, who left his job in plumbing due to a leg amputation, first came into contact with city services at the warm weather shelter at United Methodist Church in 2021.

“He left for a year, then came back and continued using services,” Verduzco explained. David is now housed and employed at the airport.

Verduzco praised the City Council’s approach to addressing homelessness, saying, “[The City Council] did a great job starting with warm weather and cold weather shelters all the way up to this amazing facility.”

While the navigation center is already operational, construction is still ongoing. Workers are finishing the 85 modular units and completing landscaping. The facility is expected to be fully open sometime in August or September.

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