Well in the Desert may find a cool Palm Springs summer home for the homeless
Palm Springs City Council members are looking for solutions when it comes to the city’s homelessness problem.
At the City Council meeting, many wore yellow to show their support for a new cooling center specialized for the homeless.
“We need a place where it’s just a harm-reduction model and that we don’t have any specific behaviors that are required,” Terrie Andrade of Shelter and Dignity Palm Springs said.
Recently, Well in the Desert, a non-profit lost its building to operate because of zoning issues. The organization is currently without a home and Roy’s Desert Resource Center is about to face the same fate as it closes its doors to the homeless this June. City leaders have been seeking to bring back these services and possibly create a cool way to provide resources.
Read: Zoning issue causes Palm Springs homeless resource center to close doors
“I’ve been working with Well in the Desert to find a location that’s appropriate for social services, that’s zoned appropriately they have a few in mind,” Palm Springs City Council Member Geoff Kors said.
Homelessness Taskforce officials said services at Roy’s helped more than 7,000 people. Officials said two programs they developed last year proved to benefit the needy.
“Well over 100 received benefits, 75 received health insurance, over 50 received jobs and what it shows is that there are a lot of people who want help if it’s available for them,” Kors said.
The idea of combining Well in the Desert with a cooling center is a happy medium that staff are hoping the city will approve.
“It would be a win-win and we could use it. But, we’ll still keep our services mobile. We’ll still be out there finding the people that can’t find us or don’t always find us,” Arlene Rosenthal of Well in the Desert said.
City Council requested that city staff work with the organization to file a conditional use permit to offer their services to the homeless when a location has been decided.
