Sixteen people living unsheltered along the Los Angeles River in Long Beach moved into safe interim housing through Los Angeles County’s latest Pathway Home encampment resolution, where they can receive supportive services and other resources to support their transition out of homelessness and into permanent housing. Most moved on October 15 and 16, and two more people got motel rooms the following week. The move was undertaken by Los Angeles County’s Pathway Home team, the city of Long Beach, LAHSA, the nonprofit service organization, PATH, and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.
“We have been working for months on this,” said Shaonnie Corella, an outreach coordinator with the city of Long Beach. Unhoused individuals had been living near the river, some under the Anaheim Street, Shoemaker, and Ocean Boulevard bridges. Some were living in RVs. “A lot are already downsizing,” said Corella the day before the encampment resolution, noting that people had begun paring down their belongings in anticipation of a move.
Melissa with her two dogs, Hank and Chip
“We’ve been ready to go,” said Melissa, 41, who was moving with her partner, Carlos, 46. They have two dogs, Hank and Chip, but Melissa is still heartbroken over the loss of her dog, Delilah, who disappeared nearly three months ago. They lived under a bridge, sometimes leaving for an errand and coming back to find that their belongings were gone.
As they got ready to leave, she hoped for a bathtub in the motel room and talked about going back to school. “I can’t really decide between cosmetology or auto mechanics. Maybe I should do both. Then I can have a mechanics shop where you can get your hair done while your car’s getting fixed,” she said with a laugh.
Her partner, Carlos, struggled after losing jobs. He has worked in construction, at a hotel front desk, and as a sous chef in recent years, he said. “I lost everything else—housing, car, little by little.”