Long Beach homeless count: 62% increase since 2020

Homelessness in Long Beach has increased by 62% since 2020, according to results of the city-run homeless count released Friday.

The 2022 Homeless Point-in-Time Count determined there were 3,296 people experiencing homelessness on Feb. 24, when the survey was conducted by the city’s Health and Human Services Department. The 2020 count found there were 2,034 people experiencing homelessness.

A survey was not conducted in 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

City officials cited the pandemic as one key element of the large increase, though the survey noted an array of other contributing factors, including mental illness to substance use to relationship issues to domestic abuse.

“The pandemic has made our local and statewide homelessness crisis even more challenging,” Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement. “There’s no bigger issue and we must continue helping as many people as possible and getting them into shelter and housing.”

The city’s count was conducted in the early hours of Feb. 24 with the help of 250 volunteers. It is separate from the countywide Greater Los Angeles Point-in-Time Homeless Count — which was conducted over a three-day span in February, and the results of which are expected to be made public this summer by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

Long Beach’s 2022 count also found a 22% increase in people living in encampments or on the street, and a 380% increase in people living in a vehicle compared to January 2020.

At the same time, according to the city, “while many remain unsheltered, more people than ever before are living in emergency shelters or interim housing in Long Beach.”

Specifically, according to city data, the number of people experiencing homelessness living in interim housing increased by 123% — though those living in interim housing are still classified as homeless.

In addition, according to the city, 78% of the city’s homeless were living in Long Beach and Los Angeles County before becoming homeless, while more than 90% became homeless in California.

In a statement, the city cited all manner of homeless-related data from the survey, including:

— more than 1,200 (40%) people experiencing homelessness report serious mental illness, while 951 (34%) report substance-use issues;

— 43.7% of people surveyed reported unemployment or financial issues as the main contributor to their homelessness — with the city’s unemployment rate rising from 4.5% in 2019 to 13% in 2020 and rents across the city increasing between 32% and 40%, depending on the ZIP code; and

— more than 27% reported family or relationship problems as the reason they are now experiencing homelessness — with the number of people experiencing homelessness in Long Beach who report being victims of domestic violence rising from 217 to 678 since 2020.

— an increase in the number of interim beds since 2020 — from 60 to about 530;

— 344 more non-congregate interim housing beds since 2020 via Project Roomkey and Project Homekey, plus 125 new congregate interim housing beds via the Atlantic Bridge Community;

City Manager Tom Modica also stressed the city’s commitment to addressing the homelessness issue and to providing services.

“Despite the unprecedented hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic that have exacerbated the unhoused community, the city has continued to make sheltering, housing and offering resources to people experiencing homelessness a top priority,” Modica said.

“I’m moved by the continued efforts of our Homeless Services team, but we know more must be done, both locally and at the state and national levels, to address this crisis.”

According to the city, it shelters 40 to 60 people per night in motels, and plans to build tiny homes in the coming months for people experiencing homelessness. It’s also in the process of purchasing a new Project Homekey site.

In addition, while more than 130 people have been housed through the 582 Emergency Housing Vouchers the Long Beach Housing Authority has been allocated, many more people are holding those vouchers but are unable to get landlords to take them in, according to Jennifer Rice Epstein, public affairs officer of the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services.

“We would love to find some property owners who would take this guaranteed rent and help be part of the solution,” Rice Epstein told City News Service.

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