Palm Springs' approach to homelessness: where are people supposed to go?

On Thursday, the Palm Springs City Council voted to allocate another $3 million to a planned “navigation center” in north Palm Springs that would provide temporary housing and other services to homeless residents.

Though $28.7 million has been secured for the project from a combination of city, county, state and federal funding, the cost of building the project is now an estimated $31.2 million.

According to a city staff report, “the revised project budget revealed a $2,505,961 gap between project resources and project costs…A significant portion of these increases can be attributed to increased construction costs.”

This alarming increase adds impetus to the urgency to open the center as soon as possible.

We have doubts about the timeline. The city says it’s expected to be completed and installed by September – a deadline glimmering more and more like a mirage on the horizon.

It’s just seven months until the proposed navigation center is meant to open. Sandwiched within those seven months is another sweltering desert summer.

In January, Palm Springs partnered with Martha’s Village and Kitchen to operate an overnight shelter at the Boxing Club (across the street from the airport) for unhoused individuals through February.

Though the city confirmed that the temporary overnight shelter is closing at the end of February, it may want to consider extending this partnership, particularly as other potential shelter locations are not geographically as central as the Boxing Club.

Even if the city did keep the shelter open, though, this facility has only 15 beds.

The latest “Point in Time” homeless count has not released its new numbers but last year, there were 222 unsheltered in Palm Springs and this number has likely increased.

This leaves over 200 people, and counting, who are trying to survive on the street – in a Coachella Valley summer, nonetheless.

As the Supreme Court let a 9th Circuit decision stand in 2019, concluding that people experiencing homelessness cannot be criminally punished for sleeping outside on public property if there are no available alternatives, sleep outside they will — or inside, at places like the airport, as has been a problem recently.

And what happens if the navigation center project is delayed?

The city might want to consider hiring the Acrisure Arena construction crew to hurry the project along, particularly as it looks like construction has hardly begun.

According to Llubi Rios, executive services administrator in the office of the city manager, various access points, such as Coachella Valley Rescue Mission or Martha’s Village, will still be available if the navigation center is delayed. Those access points, though, are 22 miles away in Indio.

The city is clearly trying to fix at least some parts of the problem.

Palm Springs recently announced two initiatives: The city council passed an ordinance to ensure airport property is used for airport purposes and not as a shelter. Police Chief Andrew Mills unveiled “Operation Relentless Sun,” which seeks to address recalcitrant criminals with a focused deterrence strategy.

We applaud Mills for the boldness of “Operation Relentless Sun.” We applaud the city council for the proactive step in enacting the city ordinance.

While both are important in addressing people sleeping at the airport and people committing crimes among the homeless population, the problem remains:

Where are people expected to go?

Perhaps the number of beds at the Boxing Club should be expanded until the navigation center opens.

Hopefully, new City Manager Scott Stiles – whom Palm Springs Councilmember Lisa Middleton said stood out for his prior experience in dealing with homelessness – will provide some clarity and cohesiveness to the city’s long-term plan.

He can start by providing weekly or even more frequent updates on the navigation center in a very public fashion and ensuring the facility comes in on time and on budget. That would be a win-win for city residents, housed and unhoused alike.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs' approach to homelessness: People need a place to go