First came Los Angeles. Then Los Angeles County. And now Long Beach has declared a state of emergency on homelessness.
The Long Beach City Council unanimously approved an emergency declaration on homelessness, joining L.A. and the county in their latest attempt to thwart the crisis, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reported.
The declaration will allow Long Beach to request assistance from the county, state and the federal government and authorize the city manager’s office to take measures to get people off the street.
“This declaration of emergency allows us to move faster (and) allows us to establish the priorities,” Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said before the vote. “If everything’s a priority, then nothing is — and this allows us to say very clearly, right at the beginning of this year, that homelessness is our very top priority.”
Newly elected L.A. Mayor Karen Bass declared a homeless emergency last month, calling it a priority after assuming office.
The following week, the county’s Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to join the state of emergency on homelessness declared by Bass.
Now Long Beach – with 3,300 homeless residents, a 77-percent jump since 2017 — has joined the fray.
Its emergency proclamation permits the city manager’s office to reassign city staff to homeless services initiatives, and fasttrack hiring to fill 27 vacant jobs in the city’s Homeless Services Bureau for outreach to residents.
City staff and the city manager’s office will get increased purchasing powers to expedite development contracts for homeless shelters and interim housing units.
The emergency declaration permits Long Beach to ask Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers to declare a statewide emergency to combat homelessness.
Also, Long Beach will implement an Incident Command System under the emergency declaration to allow greater coordination among various city departments.
— Dana Bartholomew
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