Coachella Valley Rescue Mission opens new women and children's shelter with 60 additional beds

*Coachella Valley Rescue Mission opened a new spacious shelter specialized for women with children.*

The Coachella Valley Rescue Mission (CVRM) celebrated the grand opening of a new women and children’s shelter Wednesday, adding 60 beds to address the growing need for housing among the valley’s most vulnerable populations.

Community leaders, elected officials and CVRM board members gathered at the Indio facility for a ribbon-cutting ceremony that marked a significant expansion of services for homeless women with children in the Coachella Valley.

“In 1986 CVRM started with 12 beds for women and their children, by 2011 they expanded to 48 beds, which included cribs and toddler beds. And now look at us in 2025 excited to announce an additional 60 beds for our mothers with their children,” said Davina Garcia, women’s program manager at CVRM.

The expansion comes at a critical time, the waitlist for existing spaces was full, and there are already 25 mothers with children on the waitlist for the new facility.

“Women with children are one of the fastest growing homeless demographic, and we can’t turn our backs on them,” tribal chairperson Amanda Augustine with the Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians said during the ceremony.

CVRM officials said that the shelter is designed to provide more than just a place to sleep. Women can stay at the shelter for up to a year, depending on their individual circumstances and needs.

“Our dedicated team provides intense case management to ensure that they receive the medical and the behavioral support that they need, along with other wraparound services,” Garcia said. “We help mothers prepare for the workforce, secure long-term employment, which will lead to stability for their families when they transition after our program into independent living.”

Augustine said the CVRM program boasts an 82% success rate for graduates achieving long-term stability.

*Families can spread out in their own private room complete with private bathrooms, beds, and a closet.*

Unlike traditional shelter settings, the new facility offers private accommodations designed to restore dignity and promote healing for families who have experienced trauma.

“Every room has their own shower, their own restroom, and so each family gets to have their own privacy with their kids,” CVRM Executive Director Amanda Galindo explained. “There’s two bunk beds with full size on the bottom and twins on the top. Then there’s a play pen and space for a crib, and there’s closet space.”

Riverside County Supervisor Manuel Perez highlighted the critical importance of such facilities for survivors of domestic violence.

“According to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, housing becomes an immediate need after a victim leaves the abuser,” Perez said. “First short term, then long term, and solutions must be arranged and they must be planned.”

The threat of homelessness and financial insecurity is one of the biggest reasons survivors stay in abusive relationships.

“For many, CVRM represents the very first safe and stable environment that these families will ever experience,” Garcia said. “We are committed to investing into the future of our children. One of the greatest joys is to witness families come together and build happy memories that are going to last a lifetime.”