PRESS RELEASE

  
Photos courtesy of Alex Matthews for Housing California.

Long Beach, CA – Mayor Rex Richardson and the Long Beach Community Development Department helped welcome housing leaders and more than 2,100 attendees from across the state to Housing California’s 2024 conference on housing and homelessness, taking place this week at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center.

“Long Beach is proud to be the host city for this important convening with statewide leaders who are committed to addressing the issues of affordable housing and homelessness,” said Mayor Richardson. “This conference is valuable in so many ways, and together, we’ll build stronger communities, one step at a time.”

The three-day event presented by the Sacramento-based nonprofit organization, Housing California, is the largest homelessness and affordable housing conference in the country. The conference, which features plenary sessions and workshops, in-depth learning labs, and several networking events, brings together housing, homelessness and affordable housing and cross-sector thought leaders, practitioners and advocates.

Conference activities are designed to facilitate networking and alliance building, strengthen leadership capacity and infrastructure, and share bold strategies to collectively address the statewide housing and homelessness crises. The conference also features tours of several affordable housing developments across the city.

“Our state is at a crossroads where many are wondering what it would take to end the housing and homelessness crisis and create a California with homes, health and prosperity for all,” said Chione Flegal, Housing California Executive Director. “This conference is the best opportunity for those who care about housing justice across California to celebrate the hard-fought wins, rediscover what really is possible and craft innovative strategies to get more families into safe, stable and affordable homes.”

“It is appropriate that this gathering of leaders and visionaries is held in Long Beach as we have led the way on affordable housing and embraced beneficial housing development. Addressing the housing challenges we face in California requires collaborations across cities and participants in the development process. We are happy to help host this important event and welcome everyone to Long Beach,” said Christopher Koontz, Community Development Department Director. “This work is a labor of love for us because we know the local and statewide need is so great.”

For more information on the City’s affordable housing and assistance programs and the work of the Community Development Department, the community can visit longbeach.gov/lbcd.

About the City of Long Beach
Long Beach is nestled along the Southern California coast and home to approximately 466,000 people. As an award-winning full-service charter city, Long Beach offers the amenities of a metropolitan city while maintaining a strong sense of individual and diverse neighborhoods, culture and community. With a bustling downtown and over six miles of scenic beaches, Long Beach is a renowned tourist and business destination and home to the iconic Queen Mary, nationally recognized Aquarium of the Pacific and Long Beach Airport, award-winning Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center and world-class Port of Long Beach.

For more information about the City of Long Beach, visit longbeach.gov/. Follow us on social to keep up with the latest news: Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube. For more information about Community Development, visit longbeach.gov/lbcd and like Facebook and follow on X and Instagram.   

About Housing California
Housing California brings together a diverse, cross-sector network to prevent and end homelessness, increase the supply of safe, stable, affordable housing options, and reverse the legacy of racial and economic injustice by building power among the people most impacted by housing injustice, shaping the narrative, and advocating for statewide policy solutions.