Over 20 cooling centers to open in Riverside County starting June 1

Daytime and overnight cooling centers will soon be open in areas including Idyllwild, the Coachella Valley, Desert Center and Blythe, officials announced Wednesday.

The Community Action Partnership of Riverside County will coordinate with community organizations to provide 20 daytime cooling centers that will open starting June 1, according to Supervisor V. Manuel Perez. The centers will be a place for residents to cool off, be safe and to reduce their home utility costs while conserving energy.

“Our vulnerable low-income residents, such as the elderly, disabled and families with infants and young children living in disadvantaged communities, and people experiencing homelessness should not have to suffer and risk the dangers of extreme heat,” Perez said in a statement.

The daytime centers are set to open in Idyllwild, Coachella Valley cities, the Blythe community and Desert Center, according to Perez. A directory of cooling centers will be available later this week at capriverside.org.

Additionally, Martha’s Village and Kitchen will begin to operate an overnight cooling center with capacity for 25 beds that will run until Sept. 30 at the Palm Springs Access Center, 225 E. Cielo Road, Perez said.

This will be the fifth straight summer that county funding has been secured to provide the center for homeless residents to sleep out of the heat, Perez said. The Riverside County Housing and Workforce Solutions Department worked with the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission to fund 15 additional beds.

“We appreciate the partnership with the city of Palm Springs and Martha’s Village & Kitchen to operate the overnight shelter in Palm Springs, and also grateful to CVRM for stepping up to support more residents this summer,” Perez said.

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