Long Beach’s Homeless Count to take place in January
Long Beach Connections and the Long Beach Multi-Service Center will be working together to do a new homeless count to determine how to help the city’s most vulnerable citizens.
The count will take place on Thursday, January 24 from 5 am to 12 pm. As a part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Long Beach Multi-Service Center is required to do a homeless count every two years. The last count that took place in 2011 had over 350 volunteers who participated.
“We’re hoping to have at least 300 volunteers for this event”, said Long Beach Multi-Services Center Coordinator Elsa Ramos.
During the count people seen living on the streets are interviewed and have their picture taken with their permission. This is done in order to help track them so that they can get the services they desperately need such as supportive housing, permanent housing, and medical care.
“At this point we can track a lot of different people”, said Martha Long, Head of the Long Beach Homeless Connections Initiative. “We’ve been able to offer immediate supportive housing to people and we can assess their vulnerability to death”.
According to Long Beach Connections, the homeless count within the city has dropped 12% since 2009. Yet due to city wide budget cuts, the homeless in Long Beach are falling on much harder times.
“The winter shelter has in the past had over 200 beds, but now the maximum will only now be 140 beds”, said Long. “That’s a big, big cut. It’s going to mean that more people will be on the streets and not getting the services that they need”.
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