{"id":89408,"date":"2025-12-10T18:31:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T18:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/89408\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T18:31:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T18:31:06","slug":"crews-clear-long-beach-encampment-all-but-1-person-move-into-temporary-housing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/89408\/","title":{"rendered":"Crews Clear Long Beach Encampment, All But 1 Person Move Into Temporary Housing"},"content":{"rendered":"

LONG BEACH, CA \u2014 A state program helped 25 people in Long Beach find interim housing as part of an initiative to address homelessness, the governor’s office announced Monday.<\/p>\n

Gov. Gavin Newsom partnered with Long Beach<\/a> officials to address an encampment near the Los Angeles riverbed as part of his State Action for Facilitation on Encampments task force, state officials said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing humane about letting people languish outdoors without shelter or support,\u201d Newsom said in a written statement. \u201cWe\u2019ve been leaning in with unprecedented state help \u2014 real resources for our cities and counties \u2014 to turn this national homelessness crisis around and to get people the care they need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Find out what’s happening in Long Beachfor free with the latest updates from Patch.<\/p>\n

Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson praised the governor\u2019s initiative, calling it \u201ca coordinated, compassionate approach that connects people with housing, services, and long-term support.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery person in Long Beach deserves safety, stability, and a real path forward,\u201d Richardson said in a written statement. \u201cFor too long, our neighbors living along the riverbed have faced dangerous conditions that have been difficult to address because they span multiple jurisdictions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Find out what’s happening in Long Beachfor free with the latest updates from Patch.<\/p>\n

The task force assisted people living at an encampment on state property alongside freeways at the State Route 91 and I-710 Interchange, officials said.<\/p>\n

In the weeks leading up to the cleanup, officials said they spoke with the people at the encampment, offering shelter and supportive services, such as healthcare.<\/p>\n

Paul Duncan, the city’s homeless services bureau manager, told Patch that efforts to speak with the community started in November.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur team has been going out<\/a> and engaging with people along the LA Riverbed \u2026, asking about their interest in going inside,\u201d Duncan said in a video shared by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services on X. \u201c(We) found that almost everybody was interested and wanted to find their way inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Twenty-five people from the encampment were moved to interim housing at a nearby Homekey site starting last week, Duncan told Patch.<\/p>\n

“Outreach teams continue to engage the one person who declined shelter, offering services and placement opportunities as part of the City\u2019s ongoing person-centered approach,” Duncan said.<\/p>\n

The Homekey, located at 5950 Long Beach Blvd., is the city’s newest interim housing site, according to Duncan.<\/p>\n

“It was formerly the Luxury Inn and has been converted into a 78-unit supportive housing facility,” Duncan said.<\/p>\n

Steve, who has been homeless for four and a half years, was among those helped, he said in the governor\u2019s video.<\/p>\n

While Steve was hesitant to leave his home by the riverbed, he said this was his \u201cstart over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my starting line to get my family back together. It\u2019s my safe spot,\u201d Steve said. \u201cThis is gonna save me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Launched in 2019, the Homekey program is an effort \u201cto rapidly house individuals experiencing homelessness,\u201d officials said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThrough the program, the state provided local communities with funding to transform existing buildings \u2014 such as commercial spaces, hotels, motels, adult residential facilities, and manufactured housing \u2014 to permanent or interim housing for the target population,\u201d officials said.<\/p>\n

Those who accepted shelter at Long Beach’s newest Homekey site are receiving onsite case management, meals, health services and housing navigation, Duncan said.<\/p>\n

There is no fixed time limit on people’s stays, Duncan said. <\/p>\n

Instead, Duncan said, “stays are based on each person\u2019s needs and housing progress. <\/p>\n

“People will be matched to housing resources and opportunities as they become available,” Duncan said. <\/p>\n

So far, the state has allocated \u201c$3.6 billion to fund 261 projects with 15,962 homes expected to house more than 175,000 Californians over the projects\u2019 lifetimes,\u201d according to state officials.<\/p>\n

After those living in the Long Beach encampment were moved into shelter, Caltrans workers \u201cpicked up debris and hazardous materials, clearing approximately 150 tons of debris over three days,\u201d officials said.<\/p>\n

The SAFE Task Force, created in August, works with local agencies \u201cto address encampments on state rights of way in California\u2019s 10 largest cities,\u201d officials said. The task force has also cleared encampments in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Fresno, and San Diego.<\/p>\n

\u201cHousing stability is a critical first step to address and end homelessness,\u201d Business, Consumer Services and Housing Secretary Tomiquia Moss said in a written statement. \u201cIn California, we\u2019re prioritizing meeting people where they are to help provide access to permanent housing and ongoing services.”<\/p>\n

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LONG BEACH, CA \u2014 A state program helped 25 people in Long Beach find interim housing as part…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89409,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":["post-89408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}