This taco truck gives daily meals to homeless residents in partnership with Care Closet LBC
Savage Tacos is teaming up with a Long Beach nonprofit that helps homeless folks work together to improve their lives, little by little.
Savage Tacos is teaming up with a Long Beach nonprofit that helps homeless folks work together to improve their lives, little by little.
Opening a second winter shelter site in Long Beach is something “that has never happened before,” Public Works Director Eric Lopez said.
More than 300 city staff and volunteers visited “hot spots” to collect information from unhoused people that will help guide decisions on spending and programs.
A mobile van with social services, more shelter beds and new partnerships to create housing and mental health care facilities are all part of Rex Richardson’s initiative.
The declaration by the Long Beach City Council will cut some of the red tape associated with approving contracts and projects, which will allow the city to move more quickly to help address the issue.
After clogged pipes, flooding and a disagreement over what to do, the in-room restrooms at the winter homeless shelter had been shut down for weeks.
On most days, the winter homeless shelter in Long Beach hasn’t had enough space for everyone seeking a respite from the rain, wind and low temperatures.
“It’s really rough up here,” said one shelter resident, who described having to take a shuttle to a completely different facility if she wants a shower.
The declaration could give the city manager more power to enter into contracts and seek outside funding to help Long Beach get more people off the streets and into housing faster.
With soaring mental illness among unhoused people, Long Beach is scrambling to bolster a mental health system falling far short of the moment.