What do Long Beach’s leaders think about our city? What’s good? What’s bad? What can we do about it?
An organization called the Long Beach Church Collective decided earlier this year to explore that topic. Before we get into what they discovered, let me provide a little background.
The Long Beach Church Collective formed just before the COVID pandemic hit. The idea was to provide support – both spiritual and material – to the many churches in and around our city. When COVID began its destructive 18-month reign, that material support took on life-and-death importance.
I began writing about the Church Collective back then. One of my good friends, Pastor Tim Culling, joined the staff there, and I got to know more about them. Once we made it past COVID, the group turned back to community building, including a citywide volunteer work day called Love Our City. I played a small role in the inaugural event last year, and will be volunteering again this year.
This is a Christ-based outfit with one goal – to support our community and faith leaders as Jesus Christ would. At least that’s the way I see them.
So back to what Pastor Eric Marsh (the executive director) and his team dubbed the City Leader Listening Tour. They started with an expansive definition of city leader – there were some elected officials, but there were more community leaders from churches, nonprofit organizations and elsewhere.
Fifty-two interviews later, the team decided it was time to see what they learned. Last week, they released their findings at a lunch, and asked attendees what we (yes, I was there) thought we should do about it.
Let’s start with the good. A majority of the interviewees said they love the diversity of Long Beach’s people, and how community-minded they are – for both the city as a whole and their own, smaller communities. It’s hard to beat the weather, and the location between Los Angeles and Orange County is great.
It’s a cliche, I know, but almost everyone mentions the “small town feel” even if we’re a big city (around 450,000 people, the 45th largest in the country). I think that means people talk to each other, and believe they can make a difference, at least in their immediate community.
The next two questions are two sides of the same coin – what are your dreams for Long Beach, and what are the biggest challenges? In most cases, the dreams equate to the challenges being solved.
So what’s broken in Long Beach? There is a list, but for almost all those interviewed, number one is homelessness. People living on the streets, in cars, along the rivers or in shelters who struggle to stay alive, let alone be a part of society.
Several of the other issues on the problem list are or can be related to homelessness. Economic disparity is on top of that list. Homelessness happens when people can’t afford to pay the rent for the most basic of necessities. A woman at my table made the point well. “If it comes down to feeding my kids or paying the rent, I’m going to feed my kids.”
But that means there soon won’t be a roof over their heads.
Define affordable housing for me. I don’t think $2,000 a month for a one-bedroom apartment qualifies, do you?
Mental health issues and addiction to drugs and alcohol made the list for many. It’s tough to be gainfully employed under those circumstances, and the downward spiral is far too common without help.
The reasons for crime – another real problem in Long Beach – are many; almost as many as the reasons for homelessness. Economic disparity is one, but there are other factors, too.
The list goes on. But this isn’t just an exercise to come up with problems. We need to come up with solutions.
There’s no one answer. Short of the Second Coming and Heaven on Earth, I don’t think there is a total solution. But we can make things better.
Suggestions include more collaboration – there is strength in numbers. Better coordination among existing services, a longtime goal of the MultiService Center and other city initiatives, continues to be a need. Early intervention can help, and a focus on helping children learn to succeed may avoid later problems.
The best takeaway I heard was perhaps the hardest. Stay committed to doing something to make things better.
I asked Pastor Marsh why this whole exercise mattered. Here is his answer.
“I hope more people will work together. It’s hard to collaborate with someone you’ve never met.
“I also think that 10 years from now, we may look back and be surprised by a thing or two that began at this lunch.”
Give it some thought. Long Beach is your city. Long Beach is my city. How can we make it better?