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Recommendation to respectfully request City Council to adopt the following three strategies to address homelessness and vehicular occupation in conjunction with the City’s current "Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program" (HPRP):
Prevention: Assist people who are within three months of being evicted, and could be at risk of being homeless. This includes:
· Identify the issuance of utility shut-off notices in order to assess households that may be at risk for losing their housing. (Long Beach City Gas and Oil Department and Water Department)
· Provide rental and utilities assistance for this target population. (The City of Long Beach is currently contracting with Catholic Charities to assess households for eligibility for the Homeless Prevention component.)
· Provide case management and support services to address issues that may link the household as at risk of homelessness. (This is linked to rental and utilities assistance.)
Outreach: Reach out to people who are living in vehicles on the streets of Long Beach in order to identify who they are, what their needs are, and how to connect them to services and housing. This includes:
· Since law enforcement is typically the first responders, provide law enforcement with Pocket Guide Resource Directories that list services at the City's Multi-Service Center; and also provide to neighborhood and business associations.
· Begin to track the incidence of Vehicular Occupancy to learn about who is living in their vehicles and what their needs are.
· Support current City street Outreach teams to regularly canvass neighbors reaching out to people living in vehicles.
· Assign an existing Outreach staff person at the City's Multi-Service Center to assist in coordinating and strategizing outreach to people living in vehicles.
Rapid Re-Housing: Refer people in vehicles to Beyond Shelter located at the Multi-Service Center to access services and housing for people already homeless and living in vehicles....
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