Described as the "crisis of the day," a growing number of homeless people throughout Coachella Valley has been revealed by the 2023 Riverside County Point-in-Time Count.
Recently released to the public, the results of this survey show the region now has 982 homeless individuals, marking a 3% increase from last year's 949, according to an article published on Yahoo.
This problem, according to Yahoo's story, is most prominent in Palm Springs where 239 people are homeless, reflecting a 8% climb from 2022. Also significant, the article said that the number of unsheltered people in Desert Hot Springs has more than doubled, jumping from 48 to 107.
Riverside County itself saw a 12% spike in its total homeless population, with 23% more people lacking shelter compared to last year, Yahoo reported.
"If Palm Springs is like most of the rest of California, there will have been growth. What we have seen across California is homelessness is the crisis of the day," Palm Springs Councilwoman Lisa Middleton said in an NBC Palm Springs article.
Volunteers identified a total of 3,725 homeless individuals across Riverside County and broke that total down to reveal 2,441 unsheltered individuals and 1,284 sheltered, according to Yahoo. Those lacking shelter climbed from 1,980 in 2022, while the sheltered count dropped 4% from last year's 1,336, the article said.
A breakdown for Coachella Valley cities, as reported by Yahoo, is as follows: Palm Springs—239 unsheltered (222 in 2022) and 29 sheltered (54 in 2022). Indio—108 unsheltered (105 in 2022) and 319 sheltered (322 in 2022). Desert Hot Springs—107 unsheltered (48 in 2022) and 15 sheltered (15 in 2022). Coachella—67 unsheltered (74 in 2022) and 7 sheltered (0 in 2022). Cathedral City— 40 unsheltered (61 in 2022) and 5 unsheltered (12 in 2022). Palm Desert—39 unsheltered (26 in 2022) and 0 sheltered (0 in 2022). Rancho Mirage—3 unsheltered (3 in 2022) and 0 sheltered (0 in 2022). Indian Wells—0 unsheltered (0 in 2022) and 0 sheltered (0 in 2022).
Coachella Valley Times previously reported that this year's Riverside County annual Point in Time Count drew a record number of volunteers. More than 1,000 volunteers joined in the PIT on Wednesday, Jan. 25, and approximately 300 volunteers assisted with the youth PIT count, which continued until Friday, Jan. 27.