Long Beach’s first-ever Black Community Health Strengths and Needs Assessment was presented to the city council on Dec. 2, providing a much needed pathway to improve the social, mental and economic health disparities facing Long Beach’s Black community.
Only highlights were presented to City officials at last week’s meeting, as the full report is being finalized by the community workgroup and will be released to the public in early January. Also in the next year, Director of Health Alison King said the workgroup will form a committee to carry out the group’s recommended actions, present the report to the public to raise awareness and create a three-year strategic plan.
“The real work is using that information to change how we fund, design and deliver programs,” Black Health Equity Coordinator Kevin Hatcher said. “This assessment is just the beginning. The goal is to impact lasting and measurable change in Black health and well-being across Long Beach.”
The report is a result of months of listening sessions, community discussions, surveys and engagement at cultural events to hear from over 600 Black Long Beach residents. With the help of Black Health Equity Collaborative, they also reviewed 60 local health service providers, graded them for quality, accessibility, capacity and cultural relevance then created an online mapping tool for residents, which will be continually updated.
Health Needs in the Black Community
Three health domains quickly became recurring top priorities through surveys and listening sessions:
- Economic well-being – Many Black residents who are employed, sometimes working two jobs, are still struggling to make ends meet. Over half of the respondents were employed and 35% said they work multiple jobs.
- Housing and Homelessness – Individuals and families face high costs and hurdles to safe and affordable housing. A quarter of participants said they wouldn’t be able to afford their rent this month, and 32% said they’ve struggled to secure housing in the last six months.
- Mental health and exposure to violence – Stress, trauma and the lasting impact of incarcerated family members were reported in high levels. Sixty-one percent of respondents reported emotional distress, and a quarter of respondents said they’ve been impacted by incarceration.
Councilmember Tunua Thrash-Ntuk said she was struck by the “paradox of economic opportunity,” of Black residents having employment, sometimes multiple jobs, but still struggling to pay for basic needs.
“This suggests that employment alone is not a sufficient cure for poverty and health disparities in our city,” she said. “It’s clear that health equity is also tied to economic equity and the quality of the job matters.”
Additional community priorities include:
- Life expectancy gap – Black males in Long Beach live 10 years less than white males, which will require long-term commitment to address.
- Anti-Black racism is widespread – Residents report frequent discrimination which affects their daily health and opportunities, underscoring the need for structural anti-racism policies and equity oversight.
“This report is sobering but absolutely necessary,” Thrash-Ntuk said, specifically about the 10-year life expectancy difference. “This is not just a statistic for too many families, this is a life stolen by systematic inequities.”
Hatcher said the health trends in Long Beach’s Black community mirror national trends, underlining the need for systemic change.
Recommendations from the committee to address these needs include equity audits and racial equity impact assessments across City programs to recognize and combat racism, investment in targeted workforce development with wraparound supports, strengthened partnerships with Black organizations that can improve the quality of Housing First models, and more culturally affirming, trauma-informed care citywide.
Resources the community said they need are housing navigators to address housing displacement and digital inclusion, especially for seniors.
Strengths Identified Within Long Beach’s Black Community
“With regards to community strengths, despite historical barriers, the Black Community Health Strengths and Needs Assessment tells a story of remarkable resilience,” said workgroup member Byron Johns.
The strengths identified through the assessment include:
- Social cohesion and connectedness – Nearly half of the respondents said they have volunteered within their community in the past 12 months.
- Civic power – Most respondents said they believe they can contact an elected official. Among these respondents, confidence was highest among older adults.
- Resource infrastructure – The work group identified culturally affirming health resources, and providers were evaluated and received the Black Health Equity Collaborative designation.
Black Community Resource Map
With the help of the Black Health Equity Collaborative, part of the work in this report includes a soon-to-be-launched online Black Community Resource Map.
The map will feature 60 culturally-affirming local service providers addressing health and wellness, food and nutrition, house and homelessness, maternal health, social support, educational support, childcare, employment and job training, legal advocacy services, and youth development.
The collaborative graded each resource according to quality, accessibility, capacity and cultural relevancy. Of the 60 providers, 31 achieved the highest score possible and have a Black Health Equity Collaborative designation. The map will be continually updated as a living document for the Black community to use.
Next Steps
In January, the workgroup will return to the city council and present their full report, as well as members of the steering committee. That committee will create a three-year strategic plan to address the needs identified in the report, and will host public meetings to present their findings to the public.
