Mental Health Village

Just wanted to create a link to Mental Health Village website. This extraordinary group was mentioned in The Soloist, this year's Long Beach Reads One Book selection. Organized for the people who come for help not the convenience of the staff, this organization has brought about innovation in the way the needs of homeless people are addressed.

Shelter from the Storms

Looks like Long Beach will have a Winter Shelter for homeless people this winter after all. Thanks to Councilperson Dee Andrews, a special session of City Council will start the procedure to open a new and somewhat makeshift facility in the 1400 block of Lewis Avenue. No showers and only port-a-potties for toilets, but there will be 200 beds and hot meals. A part of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, the shelter will be administered by Long Beach Rescue Mission.

Food Bank in Los Angeles

I'm still looking for a link for a Long Beach food bank, but in the meantime, I did come across a Los Angeles food bank--the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. They need volunteers as well as donations of food and money. They have something called a virtual food drive where donations are augmented by corporations or other organization so that $1 donated is increased to $5 by the sponsoring group. A group called Feeding America has an easy to use locator database to find food banks throughout the country, but none is listed for Long Beach

Walk Together to End Homelessness

IF I don't make it to AFI, I'm walking for United Way of Greater Los Angeles at HomeWalk 2009 on November 7. At Exposition Park, registration opens and the walk begins at 9. You can walk alone or start a team. Ask people to support you with donations. Last year, over 4,000 people joined the effort and the money they raised helped over 2, 000 homeless people get off the streets.

Forum on Homelessness

On September 17, there's a forum on reducing homelessness in Long Beach from 7 to 8:30 pm at the Aquarium of the Pacific. No information on what person or group is sponsoring it.

Hope for the Homeless

Teves Lee was featured last week in The District. After a period of homelessness, she started a barbershop called AFROS of Hollywood and looked for opportunities to help other people down on their luck. Now she's set up AFROS in Long Beach and is founder and director of Haven of Hope Foundation for the Homeless. Her organization has been up and running since May 2008 providing transition housing in 4 different locations in the city and gathering together a diverse network of people focused on helping people get back on their feet again.

New Homeless study

PATH Partners and more than 20 other organizations conducted a survey of 350 homeless people in the downtown Long Beach area with Long Beach Connection from July 21 to 23. One preliminary finding is that the average homeless person in Long Beach has been living on the streets for almost 5 years.

The group will hold a meeting on Thursday September 17 at 7 pm at the Main Library, 101 Pacific Avenue, to present further results and present a strategy to provide intensive services for homeless people and connect them with permanent housing.

Counting on Everyone Counts

Within a week of hearing on the radio that over 60,000 Americans lost their jobs in one day, I rolled out of bed at 5 in the morning to help with Everyone Counts, an effort organized by the city’s Multi-Service Center that takes place every two years to count the number of homeless people in Long Beach. Being aware of the looming threat of massive unemployment made facing the needs of homeless people seem less like charity and more like necessity to me. I brought my camera with me, but the volunteer coordinator advised me that the people we’d be talking to would probably not want to be photographed. So I’ve included a photo by Marlith available from the Community Commons at Flickr.

I was surprised to be sent back to my own neighborhood, Alamitos Heights, to look for people living on the streets, in alleys, and around parks. I was even more surprised that here among the tidy upper middle class homes, my counting partners (Austin, 25, and Milt, 69) and I met 15 homeless men and women (no children, I’m happy to say). Many found shelter around Recreation Park and behind the shops on Anaheim and Seventh. We only encountered one person near houses.

Many of my assumptions about homelessness were overturned during my three hours of canvassing the neighborhood. First, most of the people we talked to wore clean and fairly new clothes, although they did all have bundles or bags or even carts. Two people had cars packed full of their belongings. Second and maybe most surprisingly, all the people we spoke to were in good health, mentally and physically. Of the 12 men we talked to, 10 were veterans.

With one exception, the homeless people were all happy to talk to us with no sign of resentment or anger. Each person accepted the packaged goods we had to give out politely and gratefully, but none wanted more than a few items. One man said he couldn’t carry very much. Another one said he couldn’t eat chewy food because of his teeth. When we’d offer more, they’d always say, “Save that for someone who needs it more.”

Everywhere, there seemed to be sympathy for others’ misfortunes. People banded together for safety or companionship. One woman, Veronica, had started a blog, Help I’m Homeless, and told us she hoped to expand it to a website providing information about services available to homeless people throughout the country. “I remember when I was first on my own, I didn’t know what to do,” she said. “I just want to do something to help.”

These people were healthy, articulate, and socially aware. Most of them had served their country in the armed forces. Why were they on the streets? One man had lost his job as a certified welder because of an injury. Another man, in his 70s, had moved and could not get his social security checks forwarded to a family member who had taken him in. One woman had her salary cut and couldn’t pay her rent any more. The stark reality is that most of us in America are only a paycheck or two away the lives these people struggle to get back on track.

So, I came away from the experience humbled by these people’s spirit and generosity. I will look for ways to help the homeless as described in C. Jeanne Heida’s thoughtful article. I’ll look for more opportunities to help at VolunteerMatch. And I’ll be there for Everyone Counts in 2011.

The City of Long Beach Wants You

In response to President Obama’s call to action, Organizing for America, here are a few local opportunities. One offers wages, the other doesn’t.

Everyone Counts 2009: In the wee morning hours (5 A.M) volunteers will be assisting the city’s Health and Human Services staff make a count of homeless people throughout the city.

Early Census Count: The Long Beach Census office is now hiring temporary workers to begin surveys and record-keeping for the 2010 Census.

In his inaugural address, Obama advised us to “dust ourselves off” and start in a new direction. What better way to get started than to take a good close look at where we stand?