LOCKED OUT
Homelessness in Long Beach
There has never been a time when more public money is being invested in trying to get people off the streets. Yet the number of unhoused individuals in Long Beach rose by a startling 62% in the last two years. Why has it been so hard to get people into permanent housing?
Aging and unhoused: Long Beach sees spike in older adults without stable housing
“This is supposed to be the golden years, you know, retirement,” one 70-year-old woman said. “They weren’t very golden.”
‘The system is designed for people to give up’
With mental illness rising on the streets, is it time to loosen rules for involuntary conservatorships?
Homeless deaths have soared in Long Beach. Meth and fentanyl are largely to blame
The number of unhoused people dying in Long Beach has nearly doubled in just three years.
They cared for a disabled homeless woman for a year. Then someone took her.
When a homeless woman they knew suddenly disappeared, a group of volunteers set out to find her and learn her story.
As money flowed in, numbers rose over the last two years
There are 3,296 homeless individuals in the city, an increase of 62%.
The number of people living in encampments or on the street rose 22%.
The number of people living in a vehicle rose by 380%.
The number of Homeless Services Bureau staff increased from 25 to 80.
The city’s budget for homeless services went from $10 million to nearly $80 million.
Long Beach has received $81 million in recovery act funds to prevent homelessness.
About this project
“Locked Out: Homelessness in Long Beach” is an ongoing project by the Long Beach Post. The series will explore this critical issue through in-depth reporting, interactive graphics, videos, photos—and most importantly through the experiences of people in our city.
If you have a news tip, or would like to see a particular issue explored, please email Executive Editor Melissa Evans at [email protected].
PODCAST
Jeff Levine of the LB Rescue Mission: Addressing homelessness means handling childhood trauma
NOVEMBER 15, 2022. | 26:29 | S3:E3