Beginning in May, disabled residents in North Long Beach will have a more convenient option to help them access essential benefits and services.
The nonprofit Disabled Resource Center is expanding its hours at its satellite location on Atlantic Avenue at Artesia Boulevard.
For 50 years, the organization has served Southern Californians with disabilities by connecting them “to programs and resources that help them live their most independent life,” said Jennifer Kumiyama, executive director of the center.
Those resources include assistance with benefits, employment services, mobility training, housing resources and assistive technology, Kumiyama said — “anything that you can imagine that equates independence.”
In order to access these resources, most people travel to the DRC’s primary location at the intersection of Spring Street and Temple Avenue, just south of the airport. It’s a hard location to reach, with limited connections to bus lines, and it takes some residents an hour to get there, Kumiyama said.
In an effort to reach people in historically underserved neighborhoods, the DRC team is now expanding its services in North Long Beach. Starting May 4, DRC staff will be available from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays at the Molina One Stop Center at 6583 Atlantic Ave. #110.
For Maria Esparza, a North Long Beach resident with a disability, greater access in her neighborhood is a lifeline. She reached out to the DRC when she got a letter from the county telling her she was losing Medicaid coverage and would have to switch to Covered California by the end of the month.
Without health care, she would have lost access to medical appointments, hospitals and necessary support to maintain her health, she said in Spanish. The DRC helped her restore coverage — and now that they’ll have greater offerings near her home, she won’t have to struggle as much with public transportation, she said.
This expansion comes at a critical time for many residents of Long Beach who are facing increased economic hardship, Kumiyama said. Meanwhile, reductions in public funding are straining the resources that already exist. Independent living centers across California are facing funding cuts because of a state budget shortfall and rising program costs. And federal funding slashes have hamstrung the state’s ability to sustain disability services at the community level, she said.
Esparza, the North Long Beach resident, “would not know what to do without this help,” she said through a translator. “I was already in a state of fear about the situation.”
DRC resources are available to community members with disabilities, and those interested can learn more about the organization’s offerings on their website. To access services, Kumiyama suggests residents make appointments ahead of time by calling 562-427-1000. But they can also drop in. “We don’t turn anybody away,” she said.