TITLE
Recommendation to request City Manager to explore the feasibility of realigning the initiatives of the City's Safe Long Beach Violence Prevention Plan as well as the Language Access Program into the Department of Health and Human Services; and
Evaluate the feasibility and benefits of establishing a new "Office of Equity, Access, and Prevention," or similar title, which aligns these critical initiatives with other key city programs and initiatives, and report back to the City Council within 90 days.
DISCUSSION
The term "equity" can be defined as "fairness or justice in the way people are treated." For a community, true equity will be realized when all have access to the opportunities necessary to satisfy their essential needs, advance their well-being and achieve their full potential. Key factors to accessing opportunities in an equitable manner is that disenfranchised communities need to be free of violence, have violence disrupted through intervention and prevention prograrns, that policies and ordinances consider the equity or fairness of their application on these cornmunities, and for non-English speaking communities to be able to access services in their native language.
With recent legislation such as AB 109 and Prop 47 and growing pressures on public safety, now more than ever, we have a tremendous opportunity to "double down" on violence prevention by establishing a dedicated office and realigning the Safe Long Beach Violence Prevention Plan (Safe Long Beach), the Language Access Program, and similar work in the Department of Health and Human Services (Health Department) to support true equity in Long Beach. We will not be able to effectively create systems change and promote equity without taking these steps.
The request for evaluation of the feasibility of realigning services is intended to have staff determine if there may be an opportunity to align these programs in such a way that they can build upon one another and provide services in...
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