The Palm Springs City Council approved an agreement with Martha's Village and Kitchen to operate an overnight homeless shelter to provide relief during scorching summer months.
Martha's Village and Kitchen is one of the largest providers of homeless and impoverished services in the Coachella Valley and Riverside County.
Martha's Village and Kitchen CEO Sam Hollenbeck told News Channel 3 that the summer heat can prove fatal for homeless people, as it can be relentless. The shelter is expected to address this by operating from June 1 to Sept. 30 with at least 30 beds the Palm Springs Access Center on El Cielo.
“It'll open up at 4:30 p.m. each day, and they will be exited at 8 a.m. each day," Hollenbeck said, according to News Channle 3.
He described how Martha's Village goes beyond offering a place to sleep and get cool.
“We will provide hygiene kits; we will provide case management services if they so choose to take part in that. And we'll also transport them to lunches each day if they if they want to get a ride to wherever lunch is being served (in the) city," he told News Channel 3.
The amended agreement with Martha's Village and Kitchen that was entered at the council meeting on April 27 includes temporary overnight shelter from June through September, according to a Palm Springs City Council Staff Report. This is a departure from prior agreements that did not allow for overnight shelter but previously provided for a daytime drop-in with wraparound services.
With summer soon to raise the threat of hazardous heat levels, the report mentioned the need to save lives: "Homeless individuals in desert regions such as Coachella Valley face challenging conditions, including extreme weather that may result in a public health crisis for those who are unable to access traditional shelters or require low-barrier overnight relief."
The city also voted to add two years to its partnership with Martha's.
While running a warm-weather shelter the past two summers, Martha's has seen the demand for these services, as approximately every night all of its 30 beds were filled, Hollenbeck told News Channel 3. The demand is especially great since Martha's Village and Kitchen is considered one of the only homeless shelters in a city where Palm Springs Police Department recently identified a total of 418 people without a place to live.