Making Encampment Resolution Work: A Systems Approach from Palm Springs

Homeless encampments have grown across the U.S., driven by a shortage of affordable housing, limited resources, and fragmented systems that make coordinated responses difficult. In response, the State of California launched the Encampment Resolution Funding (ERF) program in 2021 to help communities move beyond encampment cleanups and connect people to housing. Since then, the state has invested more than $900 million across dozens of jurisdictions, supporting approaches that combine outreach, case management, interim housing, and permanent housing placements. These investments are beginning to show results, contributing to recent declines in statewide unsheltered homelessness.

The City of Palm Springs is a strong example of this approach in practice. By combining ERF with other critical funds from State Homekey (which funds the rapid acquisition and conversion of properties into interim or permanent housing) and Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (which provides flexible funding to local jurisdictions to support outreach, services, and housing solutions for people experiencing homelessness) together with local and federal resources, the City has shifted to a more coordinated, outcomes-driven system focused on lasting exits from homelessness. With support from LeSar Development Consultants (LDC), Palm Springs implemented a by-name approach to priority encampments, multidisciplinary team coordination, and clear pathways from outreach to interim and permanent housing. A by-name approach ensures that each unhoused individual is supported with a tailor-made service and housing plan that is tracked and revisited weekly through case conferencing and adjusted as needed in close collaboration with each participant.

Local partnerships are central to this effort. Jewish Family Service of the Desert leads outreach, housing navigation, motel-based interim shelter, and retention – helping individuals move into and remain in stable housing. Martha’s Village & Kitchen, through its Navigation Center, provides a hub for stabilization, case management, and transitions to housing. The County of Riverside further supports coordination through alignment with the Coordinated Entry System (CES) and other county resources, connecting individuals to appropriate housing resources across the region. These efforts are further strengthened by the City’s broader investments in housing and shelter infrastructure, including Aloe Palm Canyon, which includes 25 Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) units for seniors, and the Palm Springs Navigation Center, which includes 80 transitional housing units and a 50-bed early entry facility. Together, these investments help create a stronger local pathway from outreach and interim interventions to permanent housing.

Together, these partners, supported by LDC’s coordinated model and ongoing technical assistance, are building a more unified, data-driven system that reduces fragmentation and improves housing outcomes. The result is a coordinated, data-driven encampment resolution system that not only meets the intent of ERF funding but sets a foundation for sustained system performance beyond the life of the grant.

In its first year, Palm Springs has brought all ERF participants indoors with strong interim housing retention rates and surpassed 50% of its permanent housing goal. These milestones reflect meaningful progress, but the true impact is measured in the lives changed. This article highlights one of many individuals whose path to stability was made possible through this work.

Palm Springs is demonstrating how communities can turn one-time funding into lasting system change, creating a more coordinated, humane, and effective pathway from encampments to housing. If you’re interested in how LDC can help your community support lasting solutions to encampments, including assistance with applying to the recent ERF Round 5 NOFA, please contact Colleen Murphy at [email protected].