Citing an increase in those experiencing homelessness in the City of Long Beach, the Emergency Housing Incentive Program is looking to incentivize motels that are willing to participate to stand in as non-congregate shelters for the unhoused population.
The Emergency Housing Incentive Program would compensate motels with extra rooms for non-congregate shelter. The program has a goal of creating 500 units of emergency housing.
According to the City’s 2020 Point-in-Time-Homeless Count, 2,034 people were identified experiencing homelessness at the beginning of the year before the pandemic, a seven percent increase from the year before. In 2019, the City identified 1,894 people experiencing homelessness.
At the Tuesday, July 7 City Council meeting, councilmembers unanimously voted to have the City Manager work with various departments to develop the Emergency Housing Incentive Program and utilize upcoming, available funds to create permanent non-congregate bridge housing for those experiencing homelessness. A report is expected within 30 days detailing how the City can “leverage external funding opportunities.” The item was introduced by first district Councilmember Mary Zendejas.
“This item is important because it addresses several issues that are at the top of my priority list,” Zendejas said in a statement to the Signal Tribune. “First and foremost, we have to continue to keep our most vulnerable residents safe from the continued spread of COVID-19.”
She continued, “The other priority is to find creative ways to address the growing problem of people experiencing homelessness. The long-term goal is to use COVID-19 funds to help with the immediate need of providing non-congregate housing for our most vulnerable residents, and by doing so, set up and test a program that will lead to bridge housing with wrap-around services utilizing existing motels.”
According to the 2020 Homeless Count, only 452 people out of the 2,034 counted earlier this year experiencing homelessness are sheltered in emergency or temporary transitional housing.
In the document attached to the housing item on the City Council’s agenda, it was stated that a lack of more beds is not the reason for the low number.
It listed the Orange Avenue Winter Shelter as 71% occupied, the temporary shelter at Silverado Park at 57% occupancy, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Park shelter closed due to low occupancy. Its average occupancy rate was 30%.
“There is fear amongst our unhoused that congregate housing will lead to COVID-19 infection,” the agenda item attachment stated on some people’s preference for non-congregate housing. “But that is not the only reason people refuse to use this type of service. “Violence, sexual assault, theft, inability to stay with a partner or animal companion are all reasons many of our unhoused population prefer to live in their vehicles or on the streets.”
The document stated this was one of the reasons why Project RoomKey is valuable.The collaborative program by the state, county and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, procures hotels and motels for folks 65 or older or those who have a chronic health condition experiencing homelessness and was started to shelter the most vulnerable during the COVID-19 crisis.
Project RoomKey currently has 97% occupancy according to the agenda item attachment.
Related Story: LB City Council: $20K reward on information regarding arson, eviction moratorium extension still on hold
According to the agenda item attachment, Long Beach has approximately 5,000 hotel and motel units that are vacant due to a drop in tourism since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Homeless Services has maintained a list of motels that are willing to be converted into bridge, transitional, or supportive housing,” the attachment said. “The properties on that list that are currently vacant should be shortlisted to operate as non-congregate shelters and set up to be converted into fully functional bridge housing facilities.”
The program’s goal is to be the first step in locating long term solutions for supportive housing. “It primes the City of Long Beach to achieve goals set out in the December 2018 Everyone Home Task Force Report by making more cutting edge bridge housing facilities available to help people recover from homelessness for good,” the item attachment said.
Everyone Home is an initiative launched by Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia in May 2018 to address homelessness and housing in the city.
Councilmember Zendejas worked with different homelessness advocacy groups and City staff to create the emergency housing agenda item.
One of the groups that worked with Zendejas’ office on the initiative is Everyone In Long Beach.
“We [had] been working for a while before the City Council [meeting] last Tuesday with Councilmember Zendejas’ office,” Jordan Wynne, field director for Everyone in Long Beach said in a statement to the Signal Tribune.
They connected after Wynne and other members of the Everyone in Long Beach coalition sent out a recommendation they believed the City should take to support those experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 crisis.
“We worked basically through the 4th of June to develop a proposal for this initiative, the Emergency Housing Incentive Program, identifying funding pools, trying to figure out some of the incentives we might be able to use to get some of the motels that we want that are empty right now filled and operating as proper transitional housing facilities,” Wynne said.
“We really think it’s important to assist those experiencing homelessness right now,” Wynne said of the time-sensitivity in aiding the unhoused population. “They need urgent assistance. Literally, what’s happening right now […] Gov. Newsom is announcing closures once again for many public facilities and telling people to stay home. People experiencing homelessness don’t really have a home to stay in and there are a lot fewer opportunities to find shelter than before with congregate shelters having to substantially reduce their capacity given social distancing guidelines, and some of those closing down […].”
Wynne continued, “We really think it’s critical to be setting up an infrastructure as quickly as we can to help aid those experiencing homelessness and also help protect them from the coronavirus. It’s more critical than ever before for the City to act on homelessness.”
The online application for $550 million in grant funding, allocated for hotel and motel acquisition and conversion, from the state through the Homekey program will open in the coming days. There is an additional $300 million available “in general local homelessness support which can be used for Homekey, among other priorities,” an article from the office of Gov. Newsom stated.
Councilmember Zendejas also acknowledged the time-sensitivity of the matter.
“My colleagues and I made it clear to City Staff that some actions will have to be taken to take advantage of the funds available very soon while they build a report on the larger project,” Zendejas said. “We also made it clear that the current residents using Project Room Key should remain in place during the emergency.”
According to the councilmember, a plan of action on the larger project will be decided once the report comes back to Council.
