TITLE
Recommendation to request City Manager and Department of Health and Human Services to study the feasibility in Long Beach and report back to City Council on a meter donation program to raise awareness about the issues of homelessness, generate new revenues to help address the problem, and potentially reduce the amount of panhandling in our business corridors.
DISCUSSION
Homelessness remains an ongoing issue in Long Beach and throughout the region. Many residents want to help address homelessness, but are not sure of how their monetary donations will best be utilized to help.
Some cities, such as Pasadena and San Diego, have in recent years tried a new approach to addressing issues associated with homelessness.
Pasadena's Real Change Movement and San Diego's Make Change Count program utilize repurposed parking meters to collect donations for homeless services, provide information about homeless programs and resources and to educate the public on how to provide real help to the homeless.
The voluntary donations that are raised from these meters go directly to programs that provide direct services to effectively address and reduce homeless ness. The meters have also helped discourage panhandling.
As part of the City's Continuum of Care to address homeless ness in Long Beach, we request the City Manager and the Department of Health and Human Services to study the meter donation program in other cities and report back to the City Council on the feasibility of implementing such a program in Long Beach.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact with this request.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
AL AUSTIN
COUNCILMAN, EIGHTH DISTRICT
LENA GONZALEZ
COUNCILWOMAN, FIRST DISTRICT
SUJA LOWENTHAL
VICE MAYOR, SECOND DISTRICT