The city is now asking for anyone wanting to write words of encouragement to the children living in the Convention Center over the next few months to drop them off at participating locations so they can be displayed at the Convention Center and given directly to the children living there.
In preparation of their arrival, the city launched an online portal detailing how community members, businesses and organizations can support migrant children who are to be temporarily housed at the Long Beach Convention Center.
The city will begin negotiating a contract with Federal Emergency Management Agency and Health and Human Services, which will operate the facility.
Up to 1,000 migrant children are expected to arrive in Long Beach over coming weeks and months, a small percentage of the tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors who have come across the U.S.-Mexico border since last summer.
