The City of Long Beach announced on March 23 that it received $1.3 million from the State’s Encampment Resolution Funding (ERF) to assist people living in homeless encampments in Cambodia Town.
“All people deserve shelter and housing,” Mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement. “These funds will assist our efforts to get more folks off the streets and get them the care and dignity they deserve.”
The ERF grant was established to help people transition out of living in encampments while simultaneously freeing public space for its intended uses.
According to the City, the funds will be used to provide outreach, supportive services and shelter services to individuals living in encampments around MacArthur Park and the Mark Twain Neighborhood Library.
According to the City, the funding will also allow the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services to expand its Restorative Engagement to Achieve Collective Health (REACH) team which assists people experiencing homelessness who are living in encampments.
The REACH team will be assisted by the Long Beach Interdepartmental Team, comprised of City departments including the health department, public works, police, fire and more, according to the City.
Under the direction of the REACH team, public health nurses, mental health clinicians and outreach team members will work together to “conduct outreach at this encampment site and offer temporary stays via the City’s Non-Congregate Shelter Program.”
The grant will allow 40 unhoused people to stay at the Non-Congregate Shelter Program for up to six months, according to the City. In the shelter they will receive physical and mental health services and their own individual rooms, according to the City.
The funding will also be used to clean encampment sites and restore the park and library area.
“I am thrilled to have this funding that will allow us to further support unhoused members of our community by providing them with critical services and resources,” Sixth District Councilwoman Suely Saro said in a statement. “It also allows various City departments to work collaboratively and implement methods to combat homelessness long term.”
The City said in a statement that, from Jan. 1 to March 23 of this year, the Health Department has made 184 outreach visits, responded to 143 community calls and housed 109 people.
“The Health Department is committed to the holistic housing and health needs of our unhoused neighbors,” Health Department Director Kelly Colopy said in a statement. “This grant will help us scale our comprehensive response and allow the City to provide critical services and find long-term solutions to address homelessness in Long Beach.”