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 programs and operations at the Palm Springs Navigation Center, and Alejandra Andias, director of programs and operations, reported that the access center has served about 604 unduplicated individuals and provided more than 17,000 total services, including roughly 2,400 case-management interactions and nearly 1,000 housing placements, referrals or placement assists. The early entry facility has averaged roughly 90% monthly bed utilization, reporting 440 intakes and 31 successful exits (including family reunifications and transitions into the navigation center). The navigation center has served roughly 87 unduplicated individuals with several exits to permanent housing in March.

Martha’s staff said operations also provide substantial food and animal supports: more than 34,500 meals have been served across programs to date, and staff reported housing several dozen pets (the report listed 13 dogs and three cats at one point and, separately, 10 dogs and four cats at the navigation center in other counts). Staff described challenges including unanticipated maintenance, limited behavioral-health and substance-use treatment capacity, participant instability tied to mental-health and substance-use issues, and the need to refine intake and recordkeeping across multiple funding sources.

Palm Springs Police Department and fire staff described enforcement and emergency-response impacts. Lieutenant Mike Villegas said officers have contacted more than 600 people experiencing homelessness in the city, identifying about 100 who are chronically unsheltered; he said police have reunited 41 people with family and helped at least a dozen with permanent housing outside the navigation center. Fire Chief Paul Alvarado (represented at the meeting) outlined 2024–2025 response counts showing calls for service at the navigation center and access center and asked staff to pilot on-site health care to reduce low-priority 9-1-1 transports.

A new Community Behavioral Assistance Team (CBAT) that pairs officers with clinicians has logged more than 200 calls in about a month, city staff said; the clinician role is funded by opioid-settlement money, while other CBAT positions are funded through the city budget.

Council members asked about timelines and funding. Verrata said Aloe Palm Canyon, a nearby permanent-supportive-housing project expected to house some navigation-center participants, has a projected opening date of June 26. He also confirmed the city’s current annual contract for the navigation center operations is about $4.9 million and that, depending on grant and partnership continuity, the city expects responsibility for the full contract in roughly 18 months.

Public comments included two current or recent clients of Martha’s who raised operational complaints. John Corless, who identified himself as a client, said he and others have had trouble getting adequate nutrition, reliable bus passes and phone-charging access and said some residents decline to attend the meeting out of fear of losing beds. Dino Negron, also identifying as a client, told the council he felt privacy rights were being violated by staff bathroom checks and expressed frustration about limits on shower assistance and locked portable toilets on the site. Council members and staff responded that they would follow up and investigate the complaints.

Council direction and next steps: the city manager said staff will provide a consolidated quarterly one-sheet of key navigation-center metrics for council and the public, and several council members requested periodic briefings and a smaller-group meeting with Martha’s and city staff to examine specific operational and maintenance issues. Council majority indicated support for pursuing state advocacy to adjust the 15% AMI limit and related encampment-resolution rules that staff said constrain placements.

"We meet twice a week with Martha’s and the team," Verrata said, describing ongoing operational coordination. "There’s a lot of moving pieces. Just that coordination alone — we have to use complex spreadsheets to track which funds are being spent where." Lieutenant Villegas said the CBAT partnership has reduced large encampments and that officers and clinicians are working to improve on-site responses.

Why it matters: the update shows the city’s newest shelter and transitional facilities are operating at high utilization and that multiple funding streams have catalyzed housing placements, but it also highlights shortfalls — primarily state contract requirements, limited behavioral-health capacity, staffing and maintenance needs — that the council asked staff to address in the short term.

Ending note: council members praised the partnerships and asked staff and Martha’s Village & Kitchen to return with more frequent, concise metrics and to set a small working meeting to pursue operational fixes and state-level advocacy on AMI and encampment-resolution rules.