Palm Springs council hears progress report on navigation center, staff urged to expand follow-up and reporting

The Palm Springs City Council received a progress update March 27 on the city’s navigation center, early entry shelter and associated services, hearing that the facilities are nearly at capacity and that multiple partnerships and grant programs are helping move people into housing.

Jay Verrata, the city’s director of housing and community development, told the council the navigation center’s 80 modular units and the 50-bed early entry facility are in heavy use: family units are fully occupied, single units are about 89% occupied (just under a 90% occupancy requirement in the state contract), and transitional-age-youth units are about 20% occupied. Verrata and Martha’s Village & Kitchen staff described the pathway from outreach and the day-access center to overnight shelter, to the navigation center, and on to permanent or permanent-supportive housing.

The report said federal, state and local funds have underpinned the effort: the city and partners secured HomeKey funding for the navigation center and a separate encampment-resolution grant that provides housing navigators, rental assistance and case management for up to three years. Verrata told council the state contract limits residents in the modular units to 15% of area median income (AMI), far below typical affordable housing thresholds, and that the encampment-resolution program’s eligibility rules — which in practice require an individual to move directly from street encampment into a modular unit to use some funds — have created operational hurdles.

Martha’s Village & Kitchen staff gave utilization and service figures. Anne Eyring, interim director of…