The city has opened a fourth temporary homeless shelter at Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Central Long Beach, officials announced today.
The park facility will shelter about 70 people with appropriate social distancing space between each bed.
The facility will also provide showers, meals, snacks, recreation with social distancing and social service resources that support longterm housing, officials noted.
“We are very proud to open this additional shelter to provide a safe place for some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” Mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to open more shelters to help as many as we can.”
Like the Silverado Park shelter that opened last week in the city’s Westside, individuals will be urged to shelter in place.
The city previously opened a temporary homeless shelter at the former North Long Beach library in order to provide adequate spacing for homeless individuals who were sleeping at a warehouse facility in West Long Beach being used as a homeless shelter by the city.
All four facilities will be operated by nonprofit providers, volunteers and city staff until Sept. 30.
Shelter beds will be prioritized for seniors and individuals with underlying health conditions.
In order for individuals to receive these services, they must visit the Multi-Service Center at 1301 W. 12th St. where they will complete a shelter assessment and mandatory health screening before being shuttled to the shelter location.
Funding for the shelters is being provided by the state’s emergency aid to local governments, issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom.