Palm Springs continues to seek sustainable funding for Navigation Center’s $5 million annual budget

Palm Springs officials are continuing efforts to secure sustainable funding for the city’s homeless services program operated by Martha’s Village, the city’s Human Rights Commission was told last week.

The Navigation Center and attached Early Entry shelter off McCarthy Road operate as part of a three-phase system designed to move individuals from emergency shelter into permanent housing. The program has a roughly $5 million annual budget and serves about 2,000 people each year.

While no specific grant sources, funding commitments or timelines were announced during the commission’s meeting, Councilmember Grace Garner — whose district includes the facility — said city leaders remain committed to identifying long-term funding.

“We want to make sure that we’re engaging with the state, with the county and other cities as we move forward in this,” Garner told commission members.

Speaking on Feb. 10 at the Organized Neighborhoods of Palm Springs (ONE-PS) meeting, Mayor Naomi Soto called the Navigation Center “a huge success” and a critical part of the region’s homelessness response. She said the facility has contributed to a 63% reduction in homelessness in the city, according to the most recent point-in-time count.

Soto credited “years and years and years of work of previous city councils [and] our public safety teams” for building the program and said the community “should be really, really proud of it.”

But she cautioned that long-term funding remains uncertain and the city needs Riverside County to continue to be a partner in this work. She encouraged residents to weigh in through the county’s online budget survey, saying direct community advocacy goes a long way in securing sustainable support.

The program operates through three interconnected facilities that serve different stages of need. The Access Center, located on El Cielo Road, functions as a daytime drop-in site providing basic services and case management.

The center served nearly 1,000 unduplicated participants last year and requires no appointments, operating as a low-barrier walk-in facility where staff build trust and assess individual needs.

“It’s where we build trust with our participants,” said Espy Ortiz, the facility’s chief programs coordinator.

Individuals seeking overnight shelter must check in at the Access Center by 3 p.m. for roll call before being transported to the Early Entry shelter off McCarthy Road. The facility includes 50 beds, plus five designated for police referrals, and provides dinner and breakfast before participants return to the Access Center the next morning.

Program leaders said they frequently see the same individuals returning for services, often Palm Springs residents seeking immediate needs.

“Some individuals are not ready for the housing bed. All they want is a shower, right?” said Rosa Verduzco, chief operating officer. “And that’s how it starts. That’s how we start building these connections with these individuals. They’re based on touches.”

The Navigation Center, located alongside the Access Center, represents the program’s final phase. It includes 80 transitional housing units for individuals enrolled in Riverside County’s Coordinated Entry System who earn at or below 15% of the area median income. Since opening in November 2024, the facility has placed between 20 and 22 individuals into permanent housing.

To qualify for a unit, Martha’s first selects from Early Entry participants, then unhoused individuals from Palm Springs, followed by those from the broader Coachella Valley and, if needed, Riverside County.

Commissioner Don Soja asked whether that could mean participants might come from anywhere in the country.

Verduzco said that is possible in theory, but demand in Palm Springs has been so high that the program has not expanded beyond local participants.

Commissioners also asked about potential future plans to consolidate services by moving the Access Center to the Navigation Center site, eliminating the need to shuttle participants.

“Is it better? Yes, it is better,” Verduzco said. “It has the capacity, it has the space, it has the services.”

However, she said concerns from nearby residents about daytime traffic and activity led to the current separation of facilities. Any future change would require City Council approval.

Verduzco also addressed misconceptions about local homelessness figures.

“The Point-in-Time Count … it will tell you that you have 300 homeless individuals out there. That is not the real number,” she said, noting Palm Springs police records show about 800 individuals on their unduplicated contact list.

The count is designed to track year-over-year trends using consistent methodology rather than produce an exact population figure, she said.

Soja, who lives in District 1 near the Navigation Center, said he initially opposed the location.

“All the neighborhoods all around there were frightened,” he said. “But now, it’s like we forget you’re there.”

“Now that it’s established and it’s working, I’m not personally aware of problems in our community from the center, and if it continues that way, I can see that neighborhood giving more support to you. I think you’re proving yourselves.”

---