Downtown Long Beach businesses are opening their storefronts to collect hygiene items for people experiencing homelessness in the area.
The effort is part of the Downtown Long Beach Alliance’s annual Fresh Start Hygiene Drive, a seasonal donation drive running through July 17, aimed at supporting downtown’s homeless population with essential supplies and access to long-term services.
Fresh Start is part of the organization’s broader commitment to public safety, community care and partnership-driven outreach. By engaging local businesses as donation hubs, the program brings visibility to ongoing needs while empowering the community to contribute in a direct and meaningful way, according to a DTLB Alliance press release.
Downtown Long Beach Alliance Operations Manager Juan Torres (right) drops off Fresh Start donations to Long Beach Rescue Mission to LBRM President & CEO Jeff Levine. (Photo courtesy of the Downtown Long Beach Alliance)
Downtown Long Beach Alliance Operations Manager Juan Torres (right) and volunteer Robb Smith of Alley Cat Deliveries (center) drop off a Fresh Start donation box to Anna’s Joint in Downtown Long Beach. (Photo courtesy of the Downtown Long Beach Alliance)
Downtown Long Beach Alliance staff organizing Fresh Start donations. (Photo courtesy of the Downtown Long Beach Alliance)
Downtown Long Beach Alliance Operations Manager Juan Torres (right) and volunteer Robb Smith of Alley Cat Deliveries drop off Fresh Start donation boxes to Downtown businesses. (Photo courtesy of the Downtown Long Beach Alliance)
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Downtown Long Beach Alliance Operations Manager Juan Torres (right) drops off Fresh Start donations to Long Beach Rescue Mission to LBRM President & CEO Jeff Levine. (Photo courtesy of the Downtown Long Beach Alliance)
“As housing affordability and economic challenges continue to impact communities across Southern California, Fresh Start gives our Downtown community a simple but meaningful way to support neighbors in need,” Austin Metoyer, president and CEO of the DTLB Alliance, said in a statement. “Every donation helps provide essential items while connecting individuals with organizations that offer critical services, resources, and pathways toward greater stability.”
Every donation, organizers said, contributes to a person regaining a piece of everyday life with dignity and helps to dissolve the separateness between a person experiencing homelessness and the rest of society. Fresh Start also enables nonprofit service providers to continue offering their essential services to those in need.
Throughout downtown, several businesses and residential towers are hosting a donation box where Long Beach community members can drop off personal hygiene products.
Current donation drop-off locations include:
Rise Juice & Coffee, 246 E. Third St.;
Pedal Movement, 223 E. First St.;
Touch’d Hair Studio, 137 W. Fifth St.;
Soul Feed, 248 E. Seventh St.;
Karing Pediatrics, 936 Pine Ave.;
Courtyard By Marriott, 500 E. First St.;
Billie Jean King Main Library, 200 W. Broadway; and
Green Wisdom, 702 Cedar Ave.
More locations will be added throughout the campaign, according to the press release.
Requested items include new, unopened hygiene products such as shampoo, hair brushes, deodorant, soap, toothbrushes, menstrual products, socks, bath towels and more. Donations are collected regularly and distributed in partnership with frontline service organizations to ensure timely delivery and impact.
Those organizations include Long Beach Rescue Mission, Mental Health America of Los Angeles (MHALA), Cal State Long Beach’s Beach Pantry, and Long Beach City College’s Viking Vault, according to the press release. These groups offer everything from showers and meals to job training and transitional housing support, while providing pathways toward dignity and long-term stability.
Long Beach Rescue Mission offers food, rest, clothing and hygiene for many homeless men, women and children throughout the city. MHALA helps individuals with mental health needs, including transition-age youth, veterans and their families, and those who may be struggling with homelessness.
The Beach Pantry operates as the official food pantry for CSULB students; meanwhile, the Viking Vault is the food pantry for LBCC students. Both provide groceries and school supplies for students in need.
Donations will also help support the Downtown Long Beach Alliance’s Homeless Outreach Coordinator, which strives to meet people where they are and works to build relationships to assist individuals and families in accessing local resources and social services agencies, according to the Alliance’s website.
“Our Clean and Safe team works every day to help make Downtown welcoming and accessible for everyone,” Juan Torres, operations manager at the DTLB Alliance, said in a statement. “Fresh Start is more than a donation drive. It’s a community effort that helps us connect people with essential resources, meet immediate needs, and support organizations that are creating pathways toward long-term stability.”
Local downtown businesses still have an opportunity to participate in Fresh Start. Those interested in offering their space as a collection point are encouraged to reach out to DTLB Alliance Operations Manager Juan Torres at juant@dtlb.org.
To learn more about how to support Fresh Start, including a full list of items and drop-off locations, visit downtownlongbeach.org/freshstart.