Well in the Desert landlord dispute could leave it homeless

A nonprofit that helps the Valley’s homeless may soon be homeless as well.

News Channel 3 and CBS Local 3 has learned what’s next for Well in the Desert, whose leaders say they’re being evicted by their landlord. It’s an accusation the landlord is now disputing.

What’s not in dispute is that the Palm Springs organization is in a dispute with its landlord over the lease. If a solution isn’t found, it may force them to move.

“They literally kept me alive,” said Robyn Carr, once a client and now an employee of Well in the Desert.

Carr lived on the street for three years.

“When I found Well in the Desert, the main office, I hadn’t had a shower in three weeks. I was able to take a shower, I was able to get clean clothes, I was able to walk with my head up again outside,” said Carr.

Now she’s paying it forward, working at Well in the Desert.

“To be able to see the look of relief on their face is just amazing on a daily basis, and to know that we might not be able to do that anymore is just, (pauses) sorry,” said Carr.

The nonprofit signed a lease for the property in February and spent three months renovating, adding items like a shower, a fridge and an ice machine.

“This is our sink, which the landlord is also objecting to, washes the pans after the hot meals lunch,” said Well in the Desert President Arlene Rosenthal.

The landlord, John Revell, told us those changes are not allowed in the lease and they have 30 days to correct it.

“He is saying he didn’t know we were going to do showers or have clothing to give people, I mean such a terrible thing, and he wants us out, but he knew what we were doing. It’s his family that decided they don’t want to have ‘those’ people in our building,” said Rosenthal.

Revell told us on the phone, he’s not evicting the group, just holding them to the lease. He also said he was not aware of the changes.

“People need to be more compassionate. This is an unnecessary action on the part of the landlord and his family,” said Rosenthal.

With the holidays approaching, Carr worries about who will be left out in the cold if a solution isn’t found soon.

“I don’t even know what’s going to happen to them, and that scares me,” said Carr.

“I’m going to believe that some beautiful thing is going to happen, because our people deserve it,” said Rosenthal.

Rosenthal said making the changes is out of the question, because they would no longer be able to provide services to their clients.

She is now actively searching for a new building. So far, someone has donated a temporary space for the organization to wrap their Christmas presents.

For more information about Well in the Desert,click here.