Riverside County, Martha’s Village & Kitchen Open 24/7 Cooling Shelter for People Experiencing Homelessness

PALM SPRINGS – Riverside County, in partnership with nonprofit organization Martha’s Village & Kitchen, opened a 24/7 cooling shelter in Palm Springs to help people experiencing homelessness have relief from the Coachella Valley’s extreme summer temperatures. The shelter will also connect residents in need to services.

The shelter is at United Methodist Church of Palm Springs, 1555 E. Alejo Road.

This is the third consecutive summer that Riverside County has offered overnight cooling centers for homeless residents in need of a place to sleep out of the heat. Supervisor V. Manuel Perez each year has been able to find one-time county funding sources to open these centers as an emergency safety measure in the hot summer months.

“The summer overnight cooling shelters have been a worthy effort to help those who are not fortunate to have stable housing to escape the Coachella Valley’s dangerous heat conditions,” said Supervisor Perez. “I appreciate Martha’s Village & Kitchen for partnering to operate this center, and providing an access point to link people experiencing homelessness with social services and resources they need. This is life-saving assistance that will help our vulnerable residents survive and have supportive services.”

The United Methodist Church of Palm Springs shelter will be funded utilizing $277,000 from the federal Emergency Solutions Grant received by the county. The Desert Healthcare District is contributing an additional $20,000. Martha’s Village & Kitchen, a nonprofit homelessness provider in Indio, will manage the site, which will run 24‑hours instead of only overnight.

The center will run through September 30. The center has a capacity of 40.

For questions about the cooling shelter, contact Martha’s Village & Kitchen at 760-347-4741. A direct shelter contact phone number will be operational Thursday, and that phone number will be 760-424-8241.

 

Image Sources

  • United Methodist Church of Palm Springs: Facebook