TITLE
Recommendation to request City Manager to evaluate the feasibility of working with Get Help, a California Public Benefit Corporation, or a similar service, to develop City of Long Beach specific mobile and web-based applications for City staff and City of Long Beach residents who work with or interact with those experiencing homelessness and/or addiction or other mental health issues and report back within 60 days. The tool would provide updated real-time data on bed availability for shelters, rehab, detox, medical detox, and other types of public, private, and non-profit beds. The mobile and web-based applications would provide additional information to City of Long Beach employees and residents about services such as food pantries, showers, or locations to get ID vouchers.
DISCUSSION
Homelessness continues to be one of the most significant issues facing the City of Long Beach. The City is committed to confronting this problem head on and does this through the hard work of countless City departments ranging from the Health Department, to Police, to Fire, to Public Works, to Parks, Recreation and Marine, to the City Prosecutor, and many others. Long Beach has made major strides to develop creative approaches to address not only issues faced by individual people suffering from homelessness, but also the quality of life impacts our community feels as a result of homelessness. This includes developing a work program for homeless individuals to earn a day's wage, 1 efforts to reduce opioid addiction" and ?overdose developing a comprehensive approach to homelessness," 5 as well as creating a free online bike registration program, new ordinances on bike chop shops, 8 open space safety assessments, 9 funding additional Quality of Life Officers in the Police Department, and more HEART Units in the Fire Department.'? The City has also dedicated staff in the emergency dispatch call center to the issue of homelessness, 11 as well as pursuing a safe parking program,1...
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