Long Beach declares a state of emergency on homelessness
After seeing a 62-percent increase in the homeless population between 2020 and 2022, the city of Long Beach joins Los Angeles in its state of emergency declaration on homelessness.
Newly elected LBC Mayor Rex Richardson said he's moving Long Beach in a new direction.
"Let's start with our pressing priority – homelessness," he said.
Long Beach voters said homelessness was their top issue heading into the 2022 elections, with public safety a top concern.
The council voted Tuesday, Jan.10 for the state of emergency in order to cut some of the red tape involved in approving contracts and projects to address the homeless crisis.
The mayor's plan is one of unification, bringing together the county, local agencies and state and federal support.
"The city now has the ability to mobilize local resources to (put) up emergency shelters and safe parking sites and coordinate a more streamlined interagency response between the county and other agencies to secure financial and logistical support from our state and federal governments," said Richardson.
Under the state of emergency, the city manager will be able to execute contracts of $1 million or less prior to the council approving them, with other city departments able to negotiate contracts of $500,000 or less. Typically, the city manager has the ability to spend $100,000 to $200,000.
"We will centralize our resources in the downtown area," Richardson said. "This includes street-level outreach and the deployment of new Mobile Access Centers."
Funded by the American Rescue Plan, the Mobile Access Centers are staffed by members of homeless outreach teams and a public health nurse, who will do routine checkups. While the city already has an outreach team, they say this will take the work a step further. Instead of referring people to the multi-service center across the 710 Freeway, staff immediately begins the case management process.
"Unlike, other forms of street outreach, it allows us to start the intake process right there — right when we can connect with them," said Kelly Colopy, director of the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services.
The city says the same protocols were adopted during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the same all-in approach, Long Beach hopes to bring compassion into city services.
"Everyone deserves dignity and a second chance," said Richardson. "Everyone deserves the tools and resources to not only survive but thrive. We can't do it alone and we need support from the entire community."
