More families with children across the United States are experiencing homelessness, a grim reality brought on by socioeconomic disruptions and countless untold stories of trauma.
But there’s a small bit of good news locally: Here in the Coachella Valley, there’s been an uptick in the number of shelter spaces available, with entities like the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission (CVRM) increasing services for this vulnerable, fast-growing population.
Founded in 1971 as a soup kitchen for those in need, CVRM in Indio has spent more than a half-century providing a safe place for people experiencing homelessness. It provides emergency shelters, and helps those who become residents via long-term programs that help them get back on their feet.
The shelter is opening a $2.5 million expansion to provide an additional 60 long-term beds for women and children. The expansion also includes a new kitchen, laundry facilities and common areas, plus a playground. The privately funded expansion at the shelter more than doubles its capacity for women and children, and brings the total number of beds to 319.
Scott Wolf, the development director at CVRM, said the most common denominator among people who are unhoused is some sort of trauma.
“The day-to-day immediate causes of homelessness tend to be things like domestic violence, human trafficking, abuse, neglect or abandonment,” Wolf said. “Two-income households suddenly overnight become one-income households; then all of a sudden, you’ve got mom and the kids left with no visible means of support, and the next thing you know, they get evicted, and then they wind up on our doorstep.”
Growing Need, and Growing Response
The increased need at CVRM is part of a larger problem playing out across the country. In 2024, the annual point-in-time count of the country’s unhoused populations tallied 259,473 people in families with children. That was the largest number ever since the count began—a 39 percent increase from 2023, and up 51 percent since its low in 2020, prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Around 90% were sheltered—meaning they were in a temporary shelter or safe haven—but the rest were observed on the streets. The statewide and national numbers for 2025 are still being tallied.
Wolf, who experienced homelessness himself and received services from CVRM before working for the organization, said many people don’t realize how quickly families can fall behind on housing payments, causing them to lose their home. Circumstances around mental health, drug addiction or family trauma can exacerbate affordability issues and push families onto the street.
In California, around 187,000 people are experiencing homelessness, and 25,639 of them are families with their children, according to HUD data from the 2024 point-in-time-count.
“(Most people) are amazed at how quickly somebody can become homeless,” Wolf said.
While the number of families going without housing may be increasing, the latest figures show that here in Riverside County, the number of “sheltered homeless” is rising. The 2025 point-in-time count in the county tallied about 3,990 unhoused people, per a news release in May. While this was 7% up from 2024, there was a 19% reduction in the number of unsheltered individuals. This means more people are in emergency shelters, transitional housing or safe havens, as opposed to living on the streets.
In particular, there was a 124% increase in the number of families with children who were receiving shelter—in large part due to more capacity. Overall, the county’s shelter bed capacity has gone up 11% since 2024, and 57% since 2023.
Riverside County Board of Supervisors Chair V. Manuel Perez, who represents the Coachella Valley in District 4, credited the increase to public and private collaborations. “By targeting the root causes of homelessness and expanding access to housing and care, we are helping more residents find stability and hope,” he said in the release.
In District 4, which includes the Coachella Valley eastward to the Arizona border, there were 1,062 people in the 2025 count, around 57% of whom were sheltered.
Inside the Shelter
These days at CVRM, Wolf said the shelter is almost always at capacity. Once someone leaves one of the facility’s 90 emergency shelter beds, the mission’s community-outreach teams typically have someone ready to come in.
“A lot of people out on the streets, they’re very wary of strangers. They don’t trust very well,” he said. “Our ultimate goal is to get them to the point where we can ask them, ‘Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired yet?’ and then offer them a ride back to the rescue mission, where we can give them further services.”
The gymnasium-sized facility has separate rooms for men and women with beds lined up in rows, where residents watch movies, read or rest. People can stay up to 90 days, and begin receiving case-management services from day one. That includes help securing things like identification, documents or health care from the clinic right next door
“If somebody comes in, and they’re in an addiction crisis, or they’re in a mental-health crisis, that falls outside of our scope,” Wolf said. “So what we do is we get them a rehab or a detox bed, or we get them into a mental-health facility, and get them stabilized, and then they can come back here, and we can start working on other things.”
One big misconception, Wolf said, is that about 40% of the residents in the emergency shelter have jobs. Rather than income, affordable housing is the bigger challenge.
For those who need longer-term assistance, CVRM runs two long-term program—one which is secular, and one which is faith-based. These provide shelter, meals and a structured routine that includes jobs, training and activities for those who are ready to leave the emergency shelter, but don’t have anywhere else to go yet.
One big misconception is that about 40% of the residents in the emergency shelter have jobs. Rather than income, affordable housing is the bigger challenge.
Residents are required to spend 25 to 30 hours a week working to help the center’s operations, including jobs at CVRM’s Mission Catering operation or its New Life resale thrift stores. There’s also general care and maintenance to pay attention to, like sorting through the food donations that are picked up from local supermarkets and restaurants. Beyond that, Wolf said, residents work on “life skills”—things like resume building, interview preparation and financial responsibility.
“They’re always busy, and nothing slows down until 4 p.m.,” he said.
In the areas for women and children, one sees the same chatter and crosstalk you’d find at a playground. Moms and their kids share hotel-sized rooms and bathrooms, and older kids can be enrolled in school. One day this spring, a trio of children engaged in the time-honored activity of turning furniture into a jungle gym, giggling and climbing the couch cushions in one of the common rooms, while their moms watched from the kitchen table.
Stability, Wolf said, is a key part to getting families back on their feet. The shelter counts an 80% success rate one year out from its residential programs—meaning eight out of 10 people who go through the program find a job and keep their homes for at least a year.
But the need still outpaces the resources available. Wolf said the biggest challenge is a dearth of affordable housing stock. While the Coachella Valley has about 9,300 affordable housing units in the works, according to housing nonprofit Lift to Rise, building takes time.
In the meantime, families are still falling through the cracks.
“You could build a thousand affordable housing units in this valley right now, and it wouldn’t be enough,” Wolf said.
How You Can Help
The Coachella Valley Rescue Mission accepts donations to help its residents get back on their feet. While financial donations are always welcome, Wolf also encourages people to donate in-kind items that are unused.
“Everything that you use in your house, we use times 320,” he said.
The donation dock at 47470 Van Buren St., in Indio, is open daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For after-hours donations, visit the security desk. For large donations, call 760-347-3512, ext. 300, to arrange pickup.
Items needed include toiletries and personal care items like:
- Shampoo and conditioner
- Body wash and bar soap
- Face wash
- Deodorant
- Toothpaste and toothbrushes
- Razors and shaving cream (for men and women)
- Body lotion and cream
- Sunscreen
- Feminine hygiene products
- Toilet paper
- Tissues (e.g., Kleenex)
- Cotton swabs (e.g., Q-Tips)
Baby and child essentials, including:
- Diapers
- Baby wipes
- Formula
- Unused car seats
- Strollers
Learn more at CVRM.org.
