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On January 10, 2023, homelessness was proclaimed a local emergency in Long Beach. The state of emergency enables the City to move more quickly and efficiently to expand housing and services.
Since the state of emergency went into effect, the City has established an Incident Command Center and nine work groups to take on various aspects of homelessness response, and many new projects to help people experiencing homelessness are already underway. These include Mobile Access Centers (MACs) in high-need areas throughout the City, enhanced engagement with local housing providers to encourage and incentivize them to participate in one of the City’s housing voucher programs, and a new dashboard focused on data surrounding homelessness as well as the emergency response.
You can learn about all of the City’s efforts by visiting the City’s new Homelessness website, which also serves as a resource hub for people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. Updates by Mayor Richardson and City staff are also provided every Tuesday at 11 a.m. Watch them live on Facebook and follow @lbhealthdept and @longbeachcity on social media to get up -to-date information on the City’s efforts.
The 2022 Homeless Count reported 451 veterans experiencing homelessness – a 48% increase since 2019. Figures for this year’s Homeless Count will be released later this spring.
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