PRESS RELEASE

Long Beach, CA – The City of Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services (Health Department) is seeking 250 community volunteers to help conduct the 2023 Point in Time (PIT) Count, its street count of people experiencing homelessness in Long Beach, taking place on Jan. 26, 2023.

“I encourage everyone to volunteer for the Homeless Point in Time Count and be part of the solution to ending homelessness in Long Beach,” said Mayor Robert Garcia. “The Count is an important tool in allowing the City to better serve people experiencing homelessness.” 

The PIT Count is a communitywide effort that provides an opportunity for residents and local businesses to actively contribute and learn about people who are experiencing homelessness and gain an understanding of the resources available to address homelessness in Long Beach. The count is vital in determining the scope of homelessness, defining existing resources available and identifying gaps to better serve these individuals.

To volunteer for the PIT Count, people must:

• Be 18 years or older.
• Attend a two-hour orientation and training prior to the day of the Count. Orientations will be held both virtually and in person and will occur in early January.
• Commit to a four-hour canvassing shift on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. Volunteers will be expected to report at 4:30 a.m. and dispatched to the field by 5 a.m.

Volunteers can register online at tinyurl.com/2023lbhc or learn more by emailing HomelessCount@longbeach.gov or calling the Multi-Service Center at 562.570.4499. If more than 250 people register to volunteer for the count, a waitlist will be created. To learn more about the Long Beach Homeless Count, visit the longbeach.gov/HomelessCount.

On the morning of the PIT Count, volunteers will arrive at the Grand Long Beach (4101 E. Willow St.) at 4:30 a.m. Groups of three to five volunteers will be assigned a segment of the city for the street-based count and will administer a voluntary survey to any individuals experiencing homelessness they count. Volunteer teams will be provided with gift cards, hygiene kits and water to distribute to people experiencing homelessness who participate in the Count. Teams will be dispatched to the field by 5 a.m. and volunteers should expect to spend about four hours in the field.

The required two-hour orientation provided prior to participating in the Jan. 26 Count will provide training on best practices to engage people experiencing homelessness, how to use a mobile application to administer the Count, and the logistics of the Count itself.

Volunteer orientations are mandatory, regardless of prior participation in the Count, and will be hosted on the following days and times:

• Tuesday, Jan. 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. via Zoom
• Thursday, Jan. 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Long Beach Multi-Service Center (1301 W. 12th St.)
• Wednesday, Jan. 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Long Beach Multi-Service Center
• Thursday, Jan. 19 from 6 to 8 p.m. via Zoom

To protect the health and wellness of everyone involved, all volunteers are highly encouraged to ensure their COVID-19 vaccinations are up to date prior to participation. Volunteers will also be asked to wear masks while engaging people in the field.

In addition to canvassing a map segment, community members are also encouraged to help raise awareness and recruit other volunteers to participate in the PIT Count by sharing on social media or by providing physical and/or monetary donations.

To financially contribute towards Count incentives, people can donate online at Mayor’s Fund to End Homelessness  and type “Homeless Count - Mayor's Fund” in the Additional Comments box. Donations can also be made by check. Check donations may be mailed to Long Beach Community Foundation, 400 Oceangate, Suite 800, Long Beach, CA 90802. Please make check payable to “Long Beach Community Foundation” and write “Homeless Count - Mayor's Fund” in the memo section of the check. These tax-deductible donations will be used towards gift cards and other incentives for individuals being surveyed on the day of the Count.

Community members can also donate socks, travel-sized hygiene products, bottled water and small gift cards of $5 to $10, which will also be distributed during the Count. Physical donation items can be dropped off at the Long Beach Multi-Service Center, located at 1301 W 12th St., between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. To learn more about ways to donate, people may email HomelessCount@longbeach.gov. 

The 2022 Point in Time Count located 3,296 who were experiencing homelessness in Long Beach. The full report about the City’s 2022 Count is available online.

The City continues to work diligently to tackle the issue of homelessness. To continue expanding capacity and enhancing service delivery to those most in need, the Health Department leads a multi-pronged approach across all City departments.

Since the 2022 PIT Count, the Homeless Services Bureau has continued to increase staffing, resources and programs for people experiencing homelessness. In 2022, the City was awarded $1.3 million by the State’s Encampment Resolution Funding to support comprehensive outreach, supportive services and shelter services for the encampment site around MacArthur Park and Mark Twain Neighborhood Library. The City was also awarded $24.9 million for the acquisition and conversion of a motel into interim housing and $5.6 million for the creation of modular non-congregate shelters at the MSC through the State’s Homekey Program Round 2.

Homeless Services has also expanded outreach services including dedicated outreach workers in libraries, expanded outreach 7 days a week, live answering of the outreach request line, and the diversion of non-criminal, non-violent, non-emergency 911 calls related to homelessness to REACH and outreach workers. The Homeless Services Bureau has also expanded partnerships at the Multi-Service Center, including with providers supporting issues such mental health, substance use and dental services.

Additionally, Long Beach is one of only three cities in Los Angeles County to operate its own Continuum of Care, a local planning body funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that coordinates housing and services for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. The Homeless Services Bureau, part of the City’s Health Department, organizes the PIT Count effort and provides leadership to the Long Beach Continuum of Care.