Long Beach announced Monday afternoon that it plans to again set up temporary cots at its Multi-Service Center — a situation one top homelessness official admits is less than ideal but one that will at least protect some people from cold, wet weather overnight.
The Multi-Service Center in West Long Beach functions as the city’s clearinghouse for homeless services during the day, and in an announcement Monday, the city said it would start using the building as an overnight shelter during bad weather.
City staff will set up 60 cots at the center any time overnight temperatures are forecast to drop below 45 degrees, a flood warning has been issued by the National Weather Service or rain in the area is expected to exceed “light showers.”
The beds will be available from 5:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. on those nights, according to a news release from the city. People staying at the center will get “a hot dinner and small breakfast,” the city said.
With rain hitting Long Beach over the next few days, Chelsey Magallon, a spokesperson for the city, said that officials expect to set up the cots on Tuesday and will evaluate each day for the rest of the week. Next week’s forecasted temperatures show nighttime lows dipping below 45 degrees.
People will be required to leave before the Multi-Service Center resumes business in the morning, but the city said that outreach staff and other workers in the homeless services bureau will be present at the site.
City officials have been reluctant to use the center as an emergency shelter because of the strain it put on employees who had to set up and tear down the cots each day when the city used the site earlier this year as extremely cold weather hit the region for months.
Paul Duncan, the city’s homeless services bureau manager, said last month that the city was not planning to use the site but didn’t rule it out in the event the city couldn’t find an alternative.
Wet and extreme cold weather for those living on the streets can contribute to a greater risk of hypothermia, frostbite, carbon monoxide, heart attacks and other illnesses. Last year, 99 people died while living on the streets of Long Beach, according to data from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office.
“By activating our Multi-Service Center as an overnight shelter during these cold winter months, we are offering a vital lifeline for individuals who would otherwise be exposed to the harsh elements,” Mayor Rex Richardson said in a statement.
The overnight shelter will be activated daily through March as needed, the city said.
Long Beach’s regular winter shelter is officially open and the city announced in late November that it had added 40 additional beds to the 85 already at the site. That shelter, which used to be a thrift store, was purchased by the city and county earlier this year from the Long Beach Rescue Mission to serve as a year-round facility.