How Long Beach should deal with homeless people who refuse to go into shelter or temporary housing was the first question we asked mayoral candidates for our 2022 Election Compare Your Candidates tool.
Five of the six candidates emphasized a compassionate approach, but their solutions differed widely.
Four candidates said the city needs to focus on why people are homeless in the first place.
Councilmember Rex Richardson called on the city to do more to “deal with the root causes of homelessness, mental health and substance abuse and poverty” through the use of such recent reforms as Long Beach REACH Teams, which “focus on physical and mental health to address the needs of those experiencing homelessness.”
Raul Cedillo echoed this, saying city officials need to know more about why people are homeless, and provide more “outreach, understanding [of] their concerns, proper access to health care and mental care.”
Deb Mozer said people who wish to live on the streets shouldn’t be criminalized at all, and proposed starting “a street paper” that would provide jobs for unemployed and under-employed people.
Franklin Sims said the city’s Homeless Services office needs to do a better job of building relationships with homeless people, and pledged to audit Homeless Services.
The remaining two candidates said the emphasis should be on enforcing the city’s anti-camping ordinances.
Councilmember Suzie Price called homelessness “the most complex” problem officials face in Long Beach, but advocated a range of enforcement mechanisms, starting with CARE Court, should people refuse shelter because “Residents need to be able to use our parks, beaches and public restrooms.”
Joshua Rodriguez took a similar approach, saying the city needs to enforce its anti-camping ordinance, starting with citation, when people refuse to go into shelter.
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