Video by Sebastian Echeverry
As cold winds wrap around Signal Hill and Long Beach this holiday season, a feeling of giving and camaraderie begins to swell up inside.
However, there is a population of individuals that will not be huddling by the fire, instead they will seek shelter in the streets, under overpasses and in local shelters.
[aesop_image imgwidth=”500px” img=”http://www.signaltribunenewspaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Homeless.png” credit=”Sebastian Echeverry/Signal Tribune” align=”right” lightbox=”on” caption=”One way local residents can assist the homeless is to contribute time or money to the Long Beach Rescue Mission. Mario Galeano, development associate for the Mission, says that the organization has a greater need for volunteers after the holiday season.” captionposition=”right”]
Although the Signal Hill Police Department is encouraging local citizens to lend a helping hand to homeless individuals, it is asking that acts of kindness be done in a way that truly helps those in need.
Michael Langston, Signal Hill police chief, said that sometimes heading to the streets and giving donations like money isn’t the best way to help the homeless.
“The reality is that there’s far too many people that have drug and alcohol addiction problems and mental health problems,” he said. “Providing them money that can go to those drug and alcohol addictions is not a benefit for those folks.”
Instead, Langston urges citizens to locate charity-type organizations and donate to those institutions.
The Signal Hill Police Department sent out a message, via Nixle, warning that monetary donations to some homeless individuals slightly increase crime. Langston explained it is because donations are sometimes used for illegal activities.
“We are just encouraging people that are going to do handouts and donations to use the established charitable organizations that are out there,” he said. “There is a better chance the donation is going to get used for its intended purpose and not for some illegal purpose.”
The Long Beach Rescue Mission, located on 1430 Pacific Ave., offers both long-term and short-term aid to the homeless.
Mario Galeano is the development associate for the Mission and is in charge of communications, the volunteer program and website-related issues.
He said that some long-term goals include counseling and the year-long recovery program.
“[The year-long recovery program] is for people who are really serious about changing their lives and really overcoming that cycle of dependance on others,” Galeano said.
Short-term aid quickly addresses the issues some families or individuals may confront on the streets.
For example, a family that is homeless can find a bed, food and clothing at the Mission. According to Galeano, the facility is the only mission in Long Beach that offers emergency housing.
He said ways to help places like the Mission are donating and volunteering time to help around the facilities.
The Mission is a nonprofit organization and receives no money from the government. Donations mostly come from churches, grants, businesses and local residents.
“We are a Christian organization, therefore any government funding would restrict how we run our program and how we operate on a daily basis,” Galeano said.
There are three steps to take to become a volunteer for the Mission: filling out the registration, attending orientation and getting scheduled to work.
The registration to become a volunteer can be found at lbrm.org .
He said that a drop in volunteers is noticeable after the holidays, which is the best time to become a volunteer to see what the Mission offers.
In the grand scale of things, as of 2015, there is an increase in the amount of homeless people in Los Angeles and Long Beach.
According to the Los Angeles Services Authority, there is a total of 44,359 people that are homeless in the Los Angeles County area.
Out of those, there are 31,018 that are unsheltered and 13,341 that call a shelter their home.
“I think if you look at it from a regional perspective, not just in Signal Hill but the greater Long Beach, greater Los Angeles County area,” Langston said, “I believe the numbers have gone up based on the last homeless count that was done.”
