During an upcoming winter supply drive to collect necessities for Long Beach’s unhoused residents on Sunday, Nov. 21, a new short documentary will be shown that shares their perspectives.
“I wanted to create a documentary because I wanted the people of Long Beach—but not just really Long Beach, pretty much everywhere—to see the struggles of the unhoused community,” creator Marcella Liggins said. “And I really wanted to give them a platform to speak about how they became unhoused and what we as a community can do to help them get back into society and back on their feet.”
The premiere of the 15-minute documentary, “Lost Voices of Long Beach,” will be held at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 21 at a local yoga studio, Yogalution Movement, located at 244 Redondo Ave.
COVID-19 and civil unrest inspire Liggins to assist unhoused neighbors
Liggins regularly holds supply drives and distributions to help people who are experiencing homelessness.
She first started assisting the unhoused community last year during the civil unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd by a police officer.
“I would bring food and water and snacks for the protesters and I would also bring extra food, water and supplies for the unhoused community,” Liggins said.
Over the summer of 2020, public water fountains were shut off to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“It was so hot in Long Beach and a lot of the water stations were turned off because of COVID and I just felt really bad because they didn’t have access to cold water,” Liggins said.
She then began to go out twice a week to distribute water to those in need.
From there, she began to also incorporate sack lunches and sanitary products into her distributions.
In the winter of 2020, Liggins got the idea to create a documentary about the experiences of unhoused people and began filming in May 2021.
“Living on the streets is so hard, especially with all the sweeps that are going on,” Liggins said. “It’s really hard for people to, you know, stay warm, stay cool during the summer and it’s a lot of struggles that they have to deal with every single day, and I really just wanted to highlight that.”
Through her documentary, Liggins hopes to combat the negative stereotypes associated with homelessness.
“Everyone thinks that everyone that’s unhoused is a drug addict or they want to be unhoused or they’re a criminal,” Liggins said. “And that’s really not the case.”
According to Liggins, she interviewed around five subjects for her documentary, two of whom she met by the LA River.
In a short clip from the documentary that Liggins posted on Instagram, two unhoused people explain how they ended up living on the streets.
A woman identified as Erika recalls her harrowing escape from domestic violence after the man she was living with nearly shot her. She grabbed only her purse and dog before fleeing from the home, and has been unhoused since then.
A man named Chris tells the camera a Compton Sheriff’s Deputy snuck up behind him with his gun drawn. Chris says he didn’t realize it was an officer, panicked and struck the officer when approached from behind. This resulted in a felony charge which barred Chris from living with his brother, who receives Section 8 housing.
Struggles of living on the street
Police sometimes conduct sweeps on encampments made by unhoused people, which includes those Liggins meets along the LA River as she hands out supplies.
“You’re sweeping them, you’re moving them from one area to another area but you’re not really giving them any help or advice on where to go,” Liggins said.
During sweeps of homeless encampments by authorities, unhoused people can lose the few possessions they have.
“It’s a really big issue because a lot of people down the LA River are elderly, they’re disabled,” Liggins said. “A lot of these people are older and it’s hard for them during the sweeps because they have their whole life in, you know, in a tent, in a bag, in a backpack, in a sleeping bag. And then they’ll get like X amount of time to have to move this stuff to another area. And if you’re disabled and if you can barely walk or if you’re in a wheelchair that’s hard to do.”
Liggins also explained that many of the unhoused people she meets feel ostracized from society, and asked other members of the community to at least acknowledge them.
“A lot of them state that they feel not a part of society or looked down upon […] And if they do say ‘Hey do you have change?’ you can look at them and be like ‘No I don’t.’ That’s all you have to do. You don’t have to ignore them. No one wants to feel ignored,” Liggins said.
As winter approaches, supplies are needed to help unhoused people get through the cold weather.
“A lot of them get really cold, they get sick because they have no way of staying warm in their tents,” Liggins said. “A lot of them, you know, barely have the clothes on their back and maybe a blanket, if that.”
According to Liggins, emergency blankets are especially valuable because they are waterproof and help keep people dry and warm when it rains, whereas a regular blanket will just get soaked.
“I just want the public to know to be kind and compassionate and show empathy to our unhoused neighbors,” Liggins said.
Liggins will be collecting items such as jackets, socks, beanies, emergency blankets, tents and more on Nov. 21 from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Yogalution Movement to distribute to unhoused people.
While winter shelters are set up throughout LA County from Nov. 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022, they have a limited number of beds and people who wish to stay in them must call first. If space is available, Long Beach’s Multi-Service Center offers transportation to shelters from the center. The Multi-Service Center is located at 1301 W 12th St. and is closed on the weekend. The winter shelter hotline is 1-800-548-6047.
