The May 24 Long Beach City Council meeting included three separate agenda items to address the homelessness issue.
1st District Councilmember Lena Gonzalez initiated the request for a homelessness report from the city manager and the Department of Health and Human Services to update the council at a future meeting.
An update on the report will be given in 90 days and then presented in full within six months, per the request of Kelly Colopy, director of Health and Human Services.
Homelessness has been an urgent concern with the council, in particular with Councilmember Gonzalez, who posed the question during the meeting on May 24: “What are we doing in terms of homelessness, children and their families?”
“Many people, especially in downtown, have been inspired and have asked about homelessness,” Gonzalez said in a phone interview. “About 250 individuals on the street are children under the age of 18. So that, for me, as a mom, concerns me… So it’s just an informational report that my constituents, and constituents citywide, were asking about.”
Eighth District Councilmember Al Austin brought up the idea of a parking-meter donation program to the council during the meeting, as well. He requested that the city manager and the Department of Health and Human Services study the feasibility of implementing parking meters to raise awareness about the issue and to discourage panhandling.
He said voluntary donations that would be raised from these meters would go to programs that directly provide services to homeless individuals. Austin used Pasadena’s Real Change Movement and San Diego’s Make Change Count programs as examples of a successful method of utilizing the meters.
“It’s an option for us to look at,” Austin said in a phone interview. “I know there are a few cities who have already implemented this, and I just think it’s a progressive thought. Most of our residents want to do more to help the homeless. I think having the meters in place will afford them an opportunity to think about the issue, but to also act responsibly and give a little change if they have to do so… A lot of our residents have big hearts and want to look at creative ways to be able to help.”
Gonzalez is also familiar with the parking meters. She used to live in Laguna Beach and said meters were visible in the area to encourage residents to donate. The money would go to a specific nonprofit organization to benefit homeless individuals.
The feasibility of bringing the project to Long Beach will be determined at a future city council meeting. There are no current specifics as to which nonprofit groups or organizations the parking meters would be linked.
“Obviously, there’s an issue in our city, and we have to tackle it,” Gonzalez said. “I think tourists would find it a more creative way in giving back. We all know that homelessness exists in some of our major cities… it’s there. But what are we doing about it? I’d rather to go to a city and know that it is taking precautions and measures to combat the issues instead of trying to hide it and pretend there’s no problem.”
The May 24 city council meeting also included discussion on housing. An agenda item during the meeting authorized the submission of a grant application to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for the 2016 Continuum of Care for Homeless Assistance Program.
The grant amount is expected to total between $6.5 million and $8.5 million and would take effect from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018.
Gonzalez said the need for affordable housing is crucial in helping people get off the streets.
She added that individuals who have jobs oftentimes still don’t have the funds for housing, and that making use of affordable shelters would “support families and children and people on the street.”
Leveraging funds is another issue. Gonzalez said Los Angeles County is starting the process for creating a master plan for homelessness countywide, which can include Long Beach. Her concern is that distributing and essentially sharing funds with Los Angeles County becomes a problem in that regard.
She wants a “fair share” of county and federal funds for Long Beach.
“Oftentimes we get lumped into the city of LA,” Gonzalez said, “and I feel a city of our size— with half a million almost— can do more about getting our fair share.”
Third District Councilmember Suzie Price also mentioned that substance abuse is an important issue to address. The Continuum of Care currently offers a $2-million annual contribution, or 28.8 percent, in mental-health services to individuals and families, according to the City.
Gonzalez noted that additional measures for mental health must be taken “because it’s not getting better.” But there are still some numbers missing that need to be addressed, according to the councilmember. The “true” number of homeless individuals is not clear. And she wants more information from the report in order to properly track all people who are homeless.
“There’s a lot of creative ideas out there,” she said. “I just think we sort of have to connect everything. And I hope this report connects all of the pieces together. We’ve improved a great deal over the years, but I just think we need to stay on it.”
Austin said he will convene groups in the district and do work on the homeless issue from now until the data is reported back. He will seek input from residents on the problem, as well.
“The intent was to make sure we put the issue of homelessness front and center before the council and give staff some work to come back with to give us options as a council as far as moving forward,” he said. “I hope they come back with options that we can explore or implement as a city to help our homelessness situation. That’s the only hope I have.”
