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The City of Long Beach was awarded $1.3 million in March 2022 by the State's Encampment Resolution Funding (ERF) to focus on comprehensive outreach, supportive services, and shelter services for the encampment site clustered in Cambodia Town around MacArthur Park and the Mark Twain Neighborhood Library.
The Anaheim Corridor was selected due to the well-recorded history of encampments, including demographic makeup and the potential impact the ERF would have on the residents in and around the surrounding community. On average the corridor has 40 individuals experiencing homelessness residing there. These funds are to address specific, persistent encampments by providing meaningful pathways to safe and stable housing for people experiencing homelessness through increased collaboration between the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council, local jurisdictions, and Continuums of Care. The Multi-Service Center is the central base for the ERF Program and currently houses 12 public and private partner organizations working collectively on housing and this and other programs.
This program works a little differently, as eligibility for the program requires documented history of homelessness at this site. Individuals can be referred through other sources but will not be admitted if they do not meet the length of stay criteria, which is six months before the program start date in July.
Once accepted, ERF case managers will provide individuals with non-congregate shelter (NCS) vouchers to stay at local motels for six months. Following the housing first model, there will be no preconditions for a stay at the motels if they meet the program criteria. The ERF case manager will work with all participants on their permanent housing goals, including documents, HOP referrals, EHV applications, and housing location assistance. Health care, job services, and income assistance are available. The REACH team will support the program and a dedicated mental health clinician as funds from the ERF grant will allow the City to increase capacity for its innovative alternative response model to end homelessness. Many encampment residents stated they had not agreed to leave the site because of prior institutional trauma, mental health, and past negative experiences in shelter congregate settings. Only nineteen other communities received this funding and will serve as a research site for future encampment resolution solutions.
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