South Bay Leader

Long Beach, CA – The City of Long Beach will continue to deploy its Mobile Access Center (MAC) in select areas weekdays throughout July. The MAC significantly lowers barriers to providing case management services and other resources for people experiencing homelessness, as it allows the City’s Homeless Services Bureau outreach staff to conduct meaningful engagement and relationship building and start the intake process right on the street.

Beginning Monday, July 3, the MAC will be stationed at the following locations from 9 a.m. to noon:

• Mondays – 2nd Street and Bay Shore Avenue near Bay Shore Neighborhood Library (195 Bay Shore Ave.) in Belmont Shore.
• Tuesdays –Christian Outreach in Action (515 E. 3rd St.), parked on Linden Avenue.
  • Note: The MAC will not operate on Tuesday, July 4, in observance of Independence Day.
• Wednesdays – Billie Jean King Main Library (200 W. Broadway), Pacific Avenue side of Library.
• Thursdays – Drake/Chavez Soccer Fields (903-999 Fairbanks Ave.). Van will be parked facing Los Angeles River near the parking lot located on De Forest Avenue just south of the soccer fields.
• Fridays – Alamitos Beach Parking Lot near the south end of the parking lot, at Shoreline Drive and Beach Access Road.

Also beginning July 3, the MAC will be stationed from 1:30 to 4 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the locations below:

• Mondays – Traffic Circle, in the area of Ximeno Avenue and East Atherton Street.
• Tuesdays– Houghton Park (6301 Myrtle Ave.), Atlantic Avenue side of the park.
  • Note: The MAC will not operate on Tuesday, July 4, in observance of Independence Day.
• Wednesdays – 6th Street and Long Beach Boulevard, on 6th Street between Long Beach Boulevard and Elm Avenue.

In June, the MAC encountered and offered services to 288 people who are experiencing homelessness. To date, the MAC has 1,566 recorded engagements with people experiencing homelessness, and of those engagements, services have been provided to 880 people, including referral and transport to shelter, enrollment into the homeless services system, connections to community resources and basic services.

The City continues to finalize plans for the mobilization of a second MAC vehicle, expected to begin operations in July.

For more information on the City’s efforts to reduce homelessness in Long Beach, people may visit longbeach.gov/homelessness and follow @lbhealthdept and @longbeachcity on social media and follow the hashtag #EveryoneHomeLB.

Media inquiries may be directed to City of Long Beach Joint Information Center at 562.570.NEWS or JIC@longbeach.gov

Original source can be found here.