Palm Springs Homeless Village Campers Seek Shelter

A homeless village in the Whitewater Wash was torn down by Palm Springs maintenance crews Tuesday because authorities say the area was unsafe.

The camp was discovered at around 7 a.m. after someone reported smoke coming from the area.

The homeless are now searching for another place to go.

Luis Gutierrez, 52, is a handyman without of a job.

He’s been in the desert for more than 30 years and for the last two he’s been homeless and living in the Whitewater Wash.

He says his home wasn’t much but he built it.

Gutierrez was suprised when he walked up to it during the day to see it torn down, and the shock had not worn off at night.

“Right here is the door,” he said pointing at his home. “That was my living room.”

Maintenance workers started tearing Guitierrez’ home down in the morning.

He says it’s the only thing he had.

“We don’t have a house. We don’t have money,’ he said. “We don’t have a job.”

Friend’s called his home “the mansion,” but now it’s just a pile of wood.

About a half dozen people lived in this village.

All of them are friends left scratching their heads as to what is next.

“I’ve been working on my house for like a year and a half to build my house,” he said. “They came just in seconds and it was gone like that.”

News Channel 3 asked Gutierrez if he and his friends were willing to stay at a homeless shelter. But he’s hesitant to go because he doesn’t want to be a burden on anyone else.

“We like to be honest with people,” he said. “We (don’t) go to the streets (and) bother people. We want to stay out of trouble.”

“It’s cold out there and people will need a place to stay,” said Aurora Wilson, with Roy’s Desert Resource Center in Palm Springs.

The center opened it’s doors in January.

600 people have stayed there since opening and 80-percent of those people found housing after they left.

It’s the largest homeless shelter in the west end of the Coachella Valley.

It was named after Aurora Wilson’s late husband and former county supervisor Roy Wilson.

“They have to be able to provide us with their name and their date of birth,” she said.

The staff would then run a background check making sure the person looking for shelter doesn’t pose a threat to anyone else.

They can stay at the center for as long as 90 days.

There are 90 beds, and as of Tuesday night, there are five available.

“We can work it out,” said Wilson. “We want to be able to accommodate the homeless if we can.”

Gutierrez says he will give the center a call, while in the meantime, he picks up the remaining pieces of his life.

“I don’t know if we’re going to stay here or not,” he said. “We don’t have a place to go.”

City maintenance says it will take a week to tear the entire village down. But according to the fire department, it’s possible the guys won’t have to leave.

Lighting a fire in the desert violated a city ordinance, but the camp itself was not illegal.

If you would like to get in touch with Luis Gutierrez, give hin a call at (760) 219-9457.