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Resident pleads for housing after eviction from Whispering Waters; council and staff cite court order and social services outreach
Summary
Susan Ragsdale told the Rancho Mirage City Council on March 6 she faces homelessness after an eviction from Whispering Waters in 2022 and asked city officials for housing assistance.
Susan Ragsdale, a Rancho Mirage resident, used the non-agenda public comment period on March 6 to tell the council she faces imminent homelessness and to urge the city to help her secure housing after being evicted from Whispering Waters in 2022.
Ragsdale said she will have to leave temporary accommodations on March 15 and that, unless the council intervenes, her only option will be to live in her car with her rescue dog. “I have nowhere to go apart from my car along with my rescue Bobo,” Ragsdale said. She described months of harassment by neighbors and said she documented the behavior on video; she asked the city to “redress this error” and to have Marcus Aleman, the city housing manager, contact her about housing assistance.
A city staff member told Ragsdale the clerk had provided contact information for Riverside County Adult Protective Services and said the city had reached out to that agency twice; the staff member reported that Adult Protective Services had contacted Ragsdale twice and told the council the agency reported she declined services. The staff member said the county agency could help and encouraged Ragsdale to call them.
Later during council comments, Council Member Downs said staff had pursued a court order to remove Ragsdale from the Whispering Palms community and explained the city sought and obtained that order after what he described as repeated disruptive conduct. “Courts don't issue orders removing someone from a residence lightly,” Downs said, and he expressed sympathy for Ragsdale while also noting the city had to balance the needs of other residents. Downs thanked housing manager Marcus Aleman, Director of Development Services Maya Dukic, and Isaiah Hagerman for handling the matter.
Ragsdale left copies of written materials for council members and asked for direct contact. City staff provided Ragsdale with the county adult protective services contact information during the meeting.
