Due To Poor Economy, Homeless Shelter In Indio Faces Closure
INDIO (CBS) — Tough economic times and weak donations will force the closure of a 100-bed emergency homeless shelter this spring.
Martha's Village & Kitchen in Indio plans to close its 6,300-square-foot facility, said Mark Wasserman, the center's Director of Charitable Giving.
Since February 2007, the emergency shelter has housed more than 3,200 homeless people. A story published in 2005 by The Desert Sun newspaper about homelessness in Coachella Valley inspired donators to fund the emergency shelter.
Martha's Village & Kitchen's parent organization Father Joe's Villages used to receive about $2 million in donations each year, but donations the past two years have dropped considerably. The organization also saw a decline in the government grants it used to receive.
The emergency shelter needed about $500,000 a year to cover its operating expenses, Wasserman said.
As a result, eight to ten employees will be laid off and the remaining staff members will take a pay cut.
"It's a matter of refocusing now from the emergency shelter to the long- term programs we run. Those are the most significant programs," Wasserman said.
The organization runs a transitional housing program and will continue to provide housing for its 120 residents. Residents are allowed up to 60 days to stay in the emergency shelter.
The shelter will permanently close after all of its current residents are gone, either into transitional housing, to their former homes or back to the streets, he said.
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