In-Depth: Inside the Palm Springs Homeless Navigation Center
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) - The Palm Springs Homeless Navigation Center has now been open for more than a year. So far, hundreds of people have used the new homeless resources. And as News Channel 3's Peter Daut discovered, demand is so high the facilities are operating at full capacity.
Victoria Scuro is the first person to ever live inside one of the modular units at the Navigation Center. It comes with its own bed, bathroom, kitchenette, and enough space for her two cats to live with her. The former County social worker from Bermuda Dunes said she lost nearly everything after covid left her disabled and unable to work. Before arriving at the Navigation Center in December, she had been living in motels and on the streets.
"You're just one step away from becoming me. I had a savings account, I had a car, I had a very nice condo, I had clothes, I had a life. And it went away just like that," Scuro said.
Scuro is one of nearly 90 people now living at the Center, which opened six months ago. The 80 units are meant to house individuals and families on a medium-term basis to help them find permanent housing. There's a playground, dog park, computer room, and cafeteria that serves three meals a day. Scuro said her experience has been good: "There are rules, some I don't necessarily agree with, but I know rules are for a reason. And if they're explained to me, I go 'Ok, I get it. Now I understand it.' But most everyone here is very empathetic and very kind," she said.
Palm Springs native Jeff Fischer said he had been living on the streets for the past five years as he struggled with substance abuse. The Center is now helping him to remain sober, as he searches for a job and permanent housing. "It's like there's a network of people that really want to see me do well. And I'm doing so much better than I've ever done in the last five years. I feel completely safe, and sheltered. And that's what they do," he said.
The campus on McCarthy Road also includes the Early Entry Facility, which opened a year ago. The overnight shelter provides up to 50 beds on a first-come, first-served basis, and it's full nearly every night. Martha's Village and Kitchen operates the Navigation Center, which cost about $40 million to complete.
"Are you pleased with how things are going so far?" Daut asked Chief Operating Officer Rosa Verduzco. "I think overall we're very successful," she said.
Here are the numbers: So far, the Early Entry Facility has served 275 homeless people with 41 successful exits, which means people have been reunited with their families or transitioned to other resources. The Navigation Center has served 86 people, with six successful exits into permanent housing. Nearly everyone was from the Coachella Valley.
"Not only are we transitioning people into permanent housing, but it is a meaningful transition. Meaning they stay in permanent housing and do not go back out in the streets once one type of service ends," Verduzco said.
According to the County's most recent homeless point-in-time count conducted in January, there are at least 982 homeless people in the Valley, up three percent from 2022.
"Is this navigation center really making a difference?" Daut asked Verduzco. She replied: "Yes it is. Based on the capacity of the folks we have in house, there's less homeless individuals out on the streets."
In addition the shelter, the Center provides wraparound services that include mental health support, job training, life-skills education and case management.
Meanwhile, people like Victoria Scuro are working to find a better life. "It does give you hope. It gives you a chance to think yes you have a future. You're not going to be stuck in the streets or in a sleeping bag, or in the hot, hot summer with nowhere to go."
