Long Beach to open second winter shelter inside Silverado Park’s gym this month

An aerial view of Downtown Long Beach with the LONG BEACH sign near Shoreline Drive during a misty morning on Nov. 18, 2021. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)

Long Beach announced it will open a second temporary winter shelter this month at the gym inside of Silverado Park. The West Long Beach site will house 84 beds and operate 24 hours a day through the end of March, the City announced in a press release. 

This marks the first time Long Beach has created two winter shelters in the same year, and the action comes nearly a month after the City Council declared a state of local emergency in response to the rising number of individuals suffering from homelessness. 

Long Beach previously opened an 84-bed winter shelter in late December of 2022 at the former Community Hospital Site. 

“By opening an additional Winter Shelter in Long Beach, we are increasing our reach and providing more people with critical access to shelter, food and resources during these cold and rainy months,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “We are working to combine our response efforts by increasing points of entry, making it easier for people to access the shelter.”

The Silverado Park site will be operated by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority and First to Serve Outreach Ministries, the same organizations that operate the winter shelter at the former Community Hospital location. 

In 2020, Silverado Park’s gym was used as a temporary shelter for those experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic and served 50 people a day. 

The shelter will provide housing-focused case management, screening for housing programs, referrals to year-round shelters, three meals per day, on-site showers and restrooms. People will not be able to receive walk-up services, but will have to receive a referral through the Multi-Service Center (MSC) at 1301 W. 12th St. or the Mobile Access Center (MAC). 

People will be transported to the shelter either through the winter shelter bus or by the MAC in the early evening. They will be able to ride back to the MSC in the morning. There will be onsite security 24 hours a day through the site’s operation. 

“I am pleased to host an additional emergency shelter here in the Seventh District to support our unhoused residents,” said Seventh District Councilman Roberto Uranga. “Silverado was a safe and successful site during the peak of the pandemic that offered shelter to many people experiencing homelessness and I know it will contribute greatly once again as part of our critical emergency response efforts.”

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