A Local Investment in Community Stability

Local investment creates regional momentum.

There are moments when a community says, clearly and confidently, that the people doing the work are not doing it alone.

For Rescue + Residence, this is one of those moments.

We are honored to share that the Town of Yucca Valley has selected Rescue + Residence to receive a $30,000 Measure Y Community Partnership Grant. The two-year award will support our Outreach and HMIS Data Entry work from July 2026 through June 2028.

This is more than funding.

It is local trust.

It is a commitment to stronger systems, faster connections, and better housing outcomes for veterans and other neighbors experiencing homelessness throughout Yucca Valley and the Morongo Basin.

What Measure Y Makes Possible

Measure Y is Yucca Valley’s locally controlled half-cent sales tax. First approved by voters in 2016, it has supported public safety, road and park improvements, community facilities, senior programs, and other quality-of-life priorities. In November 2024, more than 82% of Yucca Valley voters supported reauthorizing Measure Y without increasing the existing tax rate. (Yucca Valley)

The measure represents something important: local resources staying local.

Measure Y includes public accountability provisions such as citizen oversight, independent audits, and public reporting. The Revenue Measure Oversight Commission reviews the use of Measure Y and Measure Z funds and provides recommendations to the Town Council. (Yucca Valley)

The Community Partnership Funding Program is one way Measure Y extends its impact. It provides supplemental funding to nonprofit organizations and public-service groups whose programs improve the quality of life for Yucca Valley residents. Applications are evaluated for their public benefit, community reach, organizational stability, and the difference the requested funding can make. Final awards were approved by the Town Council during a public meeting on 5 May 2026. (Yucca Valley)

We are deeply grateful to be included in that investment.

Measure Y turns local support into services that strengthen the entire Morongo Basin community.

From Streets to Stability

Our Measure Y-funded project is called Veterans From Streets to Stability: Yucca Valley Integrated Case Management.

The project will support the infrastructure surrounding our planned six-bed transitional housing program for veterans experiencing homelessness. Housing provides an immediate place of safety. But moving from crisis to permanent housing also requires careful assessments, accurate information, timely referrals, consistent follow-through, and coordination among multiple service providers.

A bed is an important beginning.

It cannot be the entire plan.

Measure Y funding will help Rescue + Residence establish dedicated Homeless Management Information System and Coordinated Entry System capacity. A part-time HMIS/CES Specialist will help ensure that people seeking assistance are accurately entered into the regional system, assessed, connected to appropriate resources, and actively supported as they move toward housing.

This work often happens quietly.

It happens through phone calls, assessments, data entry, follow-up conversations, document collection, service referrals, and persistent coordination.

But quiet work can change the direction of a life.

A coordinated pathway helps turn an initial request for help into a plan for stability

Building a Better Regional Connection

Individuals experiencing homelessness in the Morongo Basin frequently move between Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, and Twentynine Palms. Transportation barriers, limited rural service capacity, and inconsistent system updates can make an already difficult situation harder to navigate.

When information is delayed or incomplete, people can experience what we describe as “referral fatigue.” They repeat their story. They wait for updates. They move between agencies. Sometimes, they remain unsheltered while the system catches up.

This grant helps us address that bottleneck.

The program is designed to enter people seeking assistance into the regional system within 24 hours, provide immediate referrals, and connect them with appropriate housing and supportive services. Veterans participating in our residential program will remain a priority population, while the strengthened system-navigation capacity will also benefit individuals and families throughout Yucca Valley and the surrounding Morongo Basin.

Housing is local.

Services are regional.

Success requires both to work together.

Good coordination keeps people from being lost between programs

Measuring What Matters

We believe public investment deserves measurable results.

Our goals include training and activating dedicated HMIS/CES staff, reducing the time between intake and referral for Yucca Valley veterans, maintaining at least 98% data accuracy, and ensuring that Yucca Valley residents served through the project receive a completed vulnerability assessment and an active housing match within 14 days of entering the system.

We expect the initial residential program to serve approximately 18 to 24 veterans each year, including an estimated 8 to 12 direct Yucca Valley residents. The system-navigation component will extend the project’s reach beyond those living in our residence by helping other community members access assessments, referrals, and housing matches.

Measure Y funding will support the people and tools required to do that work: case-management and HMIS personnel, technology and field supplies, direct client assistance, training, data quality, and compliance.

These may sound like administrative details.

They are also the details that determine whether someone receives a call back, reaches the right provider, completes an assessment, or moves into permanent housing.

The right tools help our team respond accurately, consistently, and quickly

A Mission for the Morongo Basin

Rescue + Residence has always understood that homelessness does not stop at a city boundary.

The people we serve move throughout the Morongo Basin. The organizations helping them must communicate across those same boundaries.

This project gives us an opportunity to strengthen that communication. We are excited to work alongside the Town of Yucca Valley, regional outreach teams, housing providers, veteran-service organizations, and the San Bernardino County Continuum of Care to improve the journey from initial contact to stable housing.

Not simply counting people.

Actively helping them move forward.

A regional challenge requires a connected regional response

Gratitude—and the Work Ahead

We want to express our sincere appreciation to the residents of Yucca Valley, the Town Council, the Revenue Measure Oversight Commission, Town staff, and everyone involved in reviewing and administering the Measure Y Partnership Funding Program.

Thank you for recognizing the importance of this mission.

Thank you for investing in the systems behind successful housing outcomes.

And thank you for trusting Rescue + Residence to turn this opportunity into measurable progress for Yucca Valley and the wider Morongo Basin.

Being selected is not the finish line.

It is a responsibility to build carefully, report honestly, work collaboratively, and remain focused on the people this program exists to serve.

We are grateful.

We are ready.

And we are excited to begin this next chapter—one assessment, one connection, one veteran, and one path to stability at a time.

This mission moves forward when a community chooses to build together.