Welcome to the next edition of the Homeless Services Newsletter! This is a monthly publication for the Homeless Services Bureau of the Long Beach Health Department to share information, resources, highlights, and news related to our community-wide efforts in addressing homelessness in Long Beach! | | |
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Study Session on City's Efforts to Address Homelessness
The Homeless Services Bureau presented updates on the citywide strategies to reduce and end homelessness during a special study session for the City Council. The presentation provided an overview of funding, data, staffing, communications, and innovative projects currently underway.
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City of Long Beach seeks an operator for a 47-unit property for interim housing
The City has released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to select an operator for a 47-unit hotel property located at 1500 East Pacific Coast Highway currently used as interim housing for people experiencing homelessness and in a COVID-19 high-risk category. Submissions must be received by February 28th at 11 AM PST
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113 people entered into an emergency shelter
189 people were contacted by Street Outreach
89 locations throughout the City visited by Street Outreach
35 people on the street were contacted through the Tidelands and Weekend Outreach
2,741 total visits to the Multi-Service Center
168 people accessed the Multi-Service Center for the first time
819 showers provided at the Multi-Service Center
509 people engaged in active case management
51 veterans were engaged at the Multi-Service Center
30 people enrolled in Goodwill's job readiness program
6 people placed in employment through Goodwill's program
47 people stayed in Project Roomkey (on average)
107 people stayed in Project Homekey (on average)
44 people stayed at the Winter/Cold Weather Shelter (on average)
91 households stabilized in a motel
*Data reported in the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) for the month of January 2022
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Stephanie Sosa
Contracts & Grants Associate
Stephanie Sosa will be the new Contracts and Grants Associate (Community Program Technician II), assisting the team with the processing and payment of the Long Beach CoC funds to our sub-agencies.
She is a Gateway Cities Native, having lived and worked throughout Los Angeles County. She received her BA from Cal Poly Pomona in Political Science and her MA from Cal State Long Beach in Public Administration, furthering her love of public service. She enjoys listening to podcasts, iced coffee, and walks throughout her community in her free time.
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Stephanie Monne
Community Program Specialist III
Stephanie Monne will oversee funding from the state including the HHAP funding that the City was recently allocated.
Stephanie comes to us from Cal State Dominguez Hills where she managed the Computer Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institutions (CAHSI) and Computer Science Supplementary Authorization (CSSA) grant programs. Some fun facts about her: she loves to travel and two of her favorite places are Costa Rica and Japan, and she loves to play with her cats.
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Ashley Wiegelman
Administrative Analyst
Ashley will assist in coordinating, developing, inputting, and monitoring annual operating budgets, contracts and other key administrative functions for all of the grants in our bureau.
Ashley comes to us with 10+ years of City experience, most recently in the Planning Division in the Development Service Department. Some fun facts about her: She is a HUGE Dallas Cowboys fan and she loves to go to the river and do outdoorsy activities with her son!
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Leonardo Zuccarini
Case Manager
Leonardo Zuccarini joined the Homeless Services Bureau as a new Case Manager. After earning his Bachelors in Sociology at Cal State University of Long Beach, he entered the passionate field of human services and began serving the vulnerable population in his community.
He's excited to be onboard with the Pandemic Response Team in the city and utilize recent COVID-19 Contact Tracing experience and background in Case Management.
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Hannah Whitfield
Public Health Associate
Hannah Whitfield has been working in private healthcare for the last 8 years, with a focus in the mental health field. This is her first time working in government and shifting focus from individual health services to population based health services.
She graduated from California State University, Los Angeles in 2020 with a Bachelor's of Science in Public Health, with a special interest in vulnerable populations and health equity. She moved to Long Beach with her sister and friend in August of 2021 and enjoys board games, theatre, gardening, and crocheting.
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Vonny Phorn
Outreach Worker
Vonny Phorn joined the Homeless Services Bureau as an Outreach Worker in January. Her role is to provide street outreach and field-based support services to those experiencing homelessness in the community. Prior to joining the Outreach team, she worked as an Intensive Case Manager at Mental Health America of Los Angeles.
Vonny has a B.A. in Communication Studies from CSULB and participated in MHALA’s Jump Start Fellowship Program. She enjoys cross-stitching, trying new foods, going to Disneyland, and spending time at home.
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Nancy Toun
Outreach Worker
Nancy Toun is a Long Beach native, born and raised. She is starting her journey with the Homeless Services Bureau as an Outreach Worker working out of the Multi-Service Center. Her role as a team member of street outreach is to engage in community outreach strategies to connect people experiencing homelessness to varying resources and services.
Nancy has a B.A. in Human Development from CSULB. She can speak Khmer and Spanish so if you see her, feel free to stop and converse to keep her in practice!
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Michelle Lim
Contracts & Grants Specialist
Michelle Lim will be the new Contracts and Grants Specialist. She will provide administrative support in the programmatic and financial oversight of grant-funded activities for the CoC Program. Michelle has worked in the Homeless Services Bureau for the last 6 years as a Community Program Technician. She assisted with grant administration, governance, and other projects.
She received her B.A. in Human Services from CSU Dominguez Hills. She enjoys spending time outdoors, trying different foods, and traveling to new places.
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Multi-Service Center
The Multi-Service Center (MSC) provides the following services to people and families experiencing homelessness:
- Outreach Services
- Intake and assessment services
- Case Management
- Referrals to shelters and other social service programs
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Learning Community Series on Supportive Housing Models That Work
Hosted by SAMSHA's Homeless and Housing Resources Center, this three-part series will provide attendees an opportunity to learn innovative ways to center equity and the perspective of those with lived experience to support individuals experiencing homelessness with behavioral health needs in securing and sustaining affordable housing paired with supportive services that meet their needs and preferences.
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Housing California 2022 Annual Conference
Early bird registration has opened for the upcoming Housing California 2022 Annual Conference in Sacramento. This event will focus on creating systems changes and structural reforms to realize the California Dream with homes, health, and wealth for all in thriving, sustainable communities.
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Webinar: Common Practices for Connecting to and Using Housing as a Strategy for Diversion & Reentry
This webinar will introduce participants to best practices for connecting people with behavioral health needs who are leaving prisons and jails to housing as a strategy to reduce homelessness and facilitate reentry. Participants will learn about the process of connecting to housing providers and think about how to leverage resources to support these connections.
- Date: February 24, 2022
- Time: 12:00 PM PST
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CSH Supportive Housing Training Center
Through the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH), the Supportive Housing Training Center offers practical, interactive training solutions that empower people to learn about, build, & provide high-quality supportive housing in their community. There are several free, on-demand courses that focus on a variety of supportive-housing-related topics.
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Rapid Rehousing Roundtable Discussion Series
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is hosting a series of roundtable discussions on best practices in Rapid Re-Housing. These facilitated dialogues will allow providers to learn from experts and peers and submit questions on each discussion topic.
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New Tool to Find Federal Non-Emergency Health and Social Service Programs
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness launched a new tool to help state and local leaders identify and access federal non-emergency health and social programs so they can use multiple streams of funding for holistic supportive services that meet the short- and long-term needs of people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
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New Voting Guides for People Experiencing Homelessness
To help more Americans exercise their right to vote, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) created step-by-step voting guides for homeless providers and for people experiencing homelessness.
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CoC and ESG Financial Management Virtual Binder
The new Continuum of Care (CoC) and Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) Financial Management Virtual Binder is now available on the HUD Exchange. This binder provides a comprehensive overview of HUD's financial management guidance for the CoC and ESG program. Recipient and subrecipient staff are encouraged to review this binder to ensure that appropriate internal structures and policies are in place to manage federal funds.
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Current Job Opportunities
The City of Long Beach has several employment opportunities to be part of the Homeless Services Bureau. Check out the job postings below:
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Volunteer and Donation Opportunities
Community members play an important role in the solution to ending homelessness in Long Beach. Volunteers help others while learning more about what is being done to address homelessness in Long Beach. Learn how you can contribute your talents, energy and expertise to support local efforts in ending homelessness.
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Long Beach CoC Board Meeting
The Long Beach CoC Board is comprised of elected members with the oversight to steward local planning, coordination, and implementation activities related to ending and preventing homelessness in the region. The CoC Board meets twice quarterly on the second Tuesday in January, March, April, June, July, September, October and December. All meetings are open to the public.
Long Beach CoC General Membership Meeting
The Long Beach CoC General Membership is a broad-based group of local stakeholders who share a common interest in ending and preventing homelessness in the City. The CoC General Membership meets quarterly on the second Tuesday in March, June, September, and December. Meetings are open to the public.
Long Beach CoC Standing Subcommittees
In addition to the meetings above, the Long Beach CoC has three standing subcommittees:
- Policies and Standards
- Coordinated Entry System
- Quality, Data, and Performance.
Subcommittee membership is open to all general members of the CoC. Members are defined as anyone who has attended at least one CoC General Meeting.
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Homeless Services Advisory Committee
The Homeless Services Advisory Committee serves at the discretion of the City Council and the Mayor to make recommendations on policies, programs, and activities related to homeless assistance resources. The HSAC meets on the first Wednesday of each month unless otherwise noted. All meetings are open to the public.
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