'It's a blessing': Cathedral Palms housing complex provides needed home for seniors, formerly homeless

Just a little over a month ago, Susan Terry was couch surfing in La Quinta and Indio.

The 55-year-old was on a Section 8 list for about six years, waiting for the day she would learn a spot was available for her at an affordable housing complex. That day came a few weeks ago with Cathedral Palms in Cathedral City.

"One day (the property manager) gave me a call and she said, 'You think you can move into our apartments tomorrow?' And I said 'Yeah!'" Terry said.

It's been four weeks since she and her chihuahua made a home at Cathedral Palms, a low-income senior housing complex that also has units dedicated to formerly homeless people. Terry said she "loves" her new community, even though it's been a bit of an adjustment to get used to the fact that she has a home she can go to each day.

She's started to utilize the pool and laundry facilities on the grounds, and she was planning on making a Passover dinner Wednesday with brisket, matzah ball soup and a chocolate fudge cake for herself and her neighbors to celebrate the start of the holiday.

"It's a blessing. I'm home and I can do laundry at home, wow," Terry said. "I have somewhere to go and I have a key to it and it's mine."

Terry wasn't the only one who was elated to call the senior housing complex their home. On Wednesday, local officials, affordable housing advocates and residents gathered to celebrate the grand "reopening" of Cathedral Palms.

In 1996, affordable housing company National CORE acquired the apartment complex in Cathedral City. At the time, there were plans to renovate and revitalize the 1950s-era property.

But an issue the company ran into was there "wasn't a lot of funding at the time," said Robert Diaz, chief administrative officer and general counsel of National CORE. As a result, some easy fixes could be made, but the search for funding continued to afford significant changes on the property.

It became possible when Riverside County was awarded $7.7 million from the state of California's No Place Like Home program in 2019, and the county, in coordination with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, allocated 94 Section 8 project-based vouchers and $2 million in HOME American Rescue Plan funding. The vision the company had nearly three decades ago could finally be celebrated on Wednesday.

Hard construction costs amounted to roughly $88,000 per unit, according to Diaz. CVS Health also invested $4.4 million to the project.

The newly renovated Cathedral Palms now offers 224 affordable apartment units (184 studios and 40 two-bedroom homes) for seniors ages 55 and older earning less than 60% of the area median income. Additionally, 68 of these homes are set aside for unhoused seniors (No Place Like Home funding went toward these units).

"The need for affordable housing is significant in the state of California in general. The need for affordable and stable housing for our seniors is maybe even more acute," Diaz said. "Homelessness has been on the rise in the state of California and senior homelessness even more so, and it's projected to potentially triple by 2030."

According to 2022 Riverside County Point-in-Time count results, there were 61 unsheltered people in the city, up 39% from 2020. In this group, there were 48 adults ages 25-59 and six seniors ages 60 and older. There were 150 unsheltered seniors counted in Riverside County in 2022 as a whole.

Cathedral City Mayor Rita Lamb said at the press conference Wednesday the affordable housing complex will be a "key asset as we combat homelessness."

Individual units had major rehab done on them, including structural repairs, getting new electrical systems installed, plumbing work and more. While construction was taking place in the apartment homes during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, residents were temporarily housed elsewhere.

The complex also now has a 3,600-square-foot community center to serve as a hub for resident activities, programs and services. The space features leasing and supportive services office space, resident meeting and recreational rooms and a demonstration kitchen.

For formerly homeless residents, Diaz said the center will provide onsite clinical care related to behavioral health, substance abuse and other supportive services via Riverside University Health System. For other seniors and non-formerly homeless residents, the community will focus on health and wellness and social engagement programs.

Additional onsite amenities include two swimming pools and laundry facilities.

Rent is calculated based off of one's income, ranging for those who earn 50%, 40% and 30% or below of the area median income. Monthly rent does not cost more than 30% of someone's income, Diaz said. Rents on the studios range from $500 to $750, while rents on two-bedrooms range between $700 to $920, said National CORE Vice President of acquisitions Tony Mize. The 68 units for formerly homeless residents cost less than $500 each month.

Speaking at the Wednesday press conference, Riverside County Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez said he was "very proud" that county-allocated funds were able to go toward the project.

"That ensured that, ultimately, we are able to provide housing and behavioral health services alongside ensuring that our senior citizens have somewhere to stay, to rest their heads at night," Perez said. "Quite frankly, not too many entities, cities, are willing to do that anymore. It's tough, NIMBYism exists."

Being able to provide an affordable place to stay for low-income seniors, in turn, will result in several benefits in their life, said Keli Savage, head of impact investment strategy at Aetna, a CVS Health company.

"We really do know that housing is health care and that you can't do anything in life about your health or any other thing unless you have a stable, safe, affordable roof over your head, and that means people on a fixed income," Savage said. "If they can go from spending 50 to 70% of income they happen to have on just rent and utilities to spending 30%, now you have a totally different outlook on what you're able to do in terms of battling chronic disease, being able to participate in certain social things, having a lot less stress and anxiety because of bettering your situation."

Terry knows her current situation is not always available, or attractive, to everyone. Her daughter is currently homeless, and despite many attempts to help her, she refuses. For now, Terry is continuing to move forward in her journey of bettering her life. She graduated from College of the Desert in December, and her commencement ceremony is next month. She also does outreach for Chabad centers in the Coachella Valley and collects clothes and other items to donate to homeless people.

"I just hope that other homeless people have hope because things are changing," Terry said. "You just have to want to have a better life."

Ema Sasic covers entertainment and health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at ema.sasic@desertsun.com or on Twitter @ema_sasic.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Cathedral Palms housing complex 'reopens' for seniors, formerly homeless