Mayor Robert Garcia on Monday presented on the City of Long Beach’s work to end veteran homelessness, at the White House’s Veterans Homelessness Summit, where the City was recognized for its “outstanding efforts,” according to officials.
Since December 2015, every veteran who has experienced homelessness in Long Beach is offered a path to permanent housing, according to city officials. The capacity to provide housing for all veterans interested in permanent housing is called achieving “functional zero,” a status of awaiting final certification from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“I am proud that Long Beach has been able to provide housing to 657 formerly homeless veterans in the last two years and that First Lady Michelle Obama recognized this achievement at the White House today,” Garcia said. “Veterans have given so much to our country— we must do all we can to ensure that every veteran has a home.”
City Manager Patrick H. West also attended the White House capstone event for community leaders from across the country to celebrate successes and best practices to continue the work of the Mayors Challenge to End Veterans Homelessness, which the City of Long Beach joined in May 2015.
“We are so proud of the efforts of the Homeless Services Division, Housing Authority and all our employees who helped make this happen, and the city council for their tremendous support for ending veterans’ homelessness,” West said.
The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services, in partnership with the Long Beach VA Healthcare System, Century Villages at Cabrillo and several other community partners led the multi-year effort to address homelessness among veterans.
Since 2015, 657 veterans who were homeless in Long Beach received support and services necessary to find permanent homes, according to city officials. They had immediate access to shelter and were quickly screened and offered service-intensive transitional housing if desired before moving swiftly into permanent housing, officials said.
The City of Long Beach and its partners created an integrated system of care that leverages millions of dollars to prioritize, prepare and provide for veterans experiencing or at risk for homelessness, including: a housing model based on the principle that people need quick access to permanent housing with no conditions for compliance regarding physical health, mental health and/or substance addiction treatment; critical time intervention to support and promote a continuity of care during critical times of transition as people move from homelessness to housing; Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing application and utilization processes linked to veteran-specific supportive services and financial assistance programing; enhancement of coordination among all partners; and utilization of The Villages of Cabrillo, a 27-acre campus built to replace naval housing that actively works to break the cycle of veteran homelessness with housing and service engagement, providing 520 veteran-specific permanent housing with an additional 75 set-aside units in its new development, Anchor Place.
Source: City of LB
