Bits 'n' Pieces

Online Portal to Support Migrant Children

The City of Long Beach launched an online portal with detailed information on how community members, local organizations and businesses can help support the migrant children who will be temporarily sheltered at the Long Beach Convention Center as part of the federal government’s national humanitarian effort to support unaccompanied migrant children arriving at the southern borders. Children are expected to begin arriving at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shelter this week.

While the reunification effort and shelter is led and funded by the HHS, the city will focus on assisting HHS and the federal government in welcoming the children and supporting them during the reunification process.

There has been significant interest from the Long Beach community to support these children, and now community members, local organizations and businesses can do so by donating funds or submitting an interest form to support this effort.

Monetary Donations

The Long Beach Community Foundation has launched the Migrant Children Support Fund to accept monetary donations. All donations are designated specifically to provide assistance and supportive resources related to the migrant children humanitarian effort in Long Beach. Resources provided through these donations are intended to make the children more comfortable during their stay in Long Beach and during the reunification process. All monetary donations to this fund are tax-deductible.

This is the easiest and quickest way the community and local organizations and businesses can support this effort. Donations can be made online, or by mailing a check to the Long Beach Community Foundation at 400 Oceangate, Suite 800, Long Beach, CA 90802. Check donations should include “Migrant Children Support Fund” on the check designation.

Business and Vendor Services and Organization Donations

Businesses and organizations interested in providing complimentary services at the HHS shelter should complete an interest form, which will be submitted to HHS for review and consideration. Examples of services include:

  • Food/meal services
  • Education
  • Recreation
  • Mental health
  • Entertainment
  • Family reunification
  • Child supervision
  • Legal services
  • Religious services
  • Language translation
  • Case management
  • Facility set-up assistance
  • Health care

Volunteer Opportunities

The city is actively working with HHS to identify additional ways the community can get involved, including through volunteer opportunities and possibly physical donations. People interested in volunteering should submit a volunteer interest form with their name and contact information and HHS will be in contact as opportunities are identified.

Volunteers may be utilized for a number of activities and services, which will be headed by HHS. Additional information on these opportunities will be provided at a later date.

Information on how to become a HHS sponsor is available on the HHS Sponsors and Placement webpage.

On April 6, the Long Beach City Council unanimously approved to allow the city manager to negotiate a partnership agreement with HHS to support their efforts to temporarily house and quickly reconnect unaccompanied minors who have been arriving at the southern border.

Long Beach has a long history of welcoming and helping immigrants and refugees. While at the Convention Center, the children will remain under the care of HHS until they can be reunited with their family or a U.S. sponsor. The Convention Center has ample space for the children to recreate, learn and receive medical attention if needed, and has the capacity to accommodate up to 1,000 children.

The HHS shelter will not impact COVID-19 vaccination clinic operations currently underway at the Convention Center. Costs for the operation and use of the facility are being provided by the federal government.

SB 9 Advances

Last year’s Sacramento bill requiring City Hall to allow 4 residential units (opponents say 6 units) on a single-family home lot has returned as SB 9. On April 15, SE LB State Senator Tom Umberg (D, SE LB-West OC) voted in a state Senate committee to advance SB 9 to its next step in another committee. SB 9 is strongly opposed by The Eastside Voice led by Corliss Lee. City Hall hasn’t taken a position on SB 9, co-authored by state Senator Lena Gonzalez (D, LB-SE LA County).
– by Bill Pearl

Distemper Outbreak

Long Beach Animal Care Services (ACS) is notifying the public of a critical animal health situation. A distemper outbreak has been reported, affecting more than 38 raccoons and at least one skunk, primarily in the East Long Beach area.

Distemper is a viral infection that can infect dogs, raccoons, skunks, foxes and large cats such as lions and tigers. The virus does not cause disease in cats or humans. In Los Angeles County, raccoons are the local reservoir species for distemper. Dogs can become infected with the distemper virus from direct contact with a sick animal or from being near an infected animal when it is coughing or sneezing.

The virus can also be transmitted through shared food and water bowls, or other objects that were contaminated by an infected animal. Puppies and unvaccinated dogs are at highest risk for infection with distemper.

Common clinical signs of distemper in dogs include: discharge from the eyes and/or nose, fever, coughing, lethargy, disorientation, tremors and seizures. The clinical signs are similar in raccoons and other wildlife. Currently there is no treatment for distemper, so preventing the disease in dogs is crucial.

ACS shares the following advice for pet owners from the Los Angeles County Public Health Department:

Vaccinate dogs for distemper: Puppies should receive a series of 3 or more distemper vaccines between the ages of 2 and 4 months. The vaccine should be boostered a year later, then every three years for life.

Protect puppies: Keep puppies at home and away from unfamiliar dogs until they have completed the vaccination series. Use caution when socializing dogs or in areas where dogs congregate, such as dog parks, doggy day care and boarding facilities.

Keep dogs away from wildlife: Never allow dogs to have contact with wildlife.

Keep pet food and water indoors, away from wildlife: Pet food and water left outdoors attracts wildlife, which can spread distemper to dogs.

Residents should report suspected distemper cases to the Long Beach Veterinary Disease Reporting System at longbeach.gov/vdrs to allow for local data collection and sharing with Los Angeles County.

Program to Reduce the Burden of Water Debt

Long Beach Community Action Partnership and the Long Beach Water Department are partnering to provide direct relief on some residential water bills during the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting May 5, qualified customers who have been impacted by the pandemic can apply for a credit to their water bill.

Relief is offered to those households who qualify as low-income under the Federal Poverty Guidelines. The relief, funded by the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) CARES Act, is provided on a first-come, first-served basis, and applications will be made available on May 5.

If qualified, 500 households could receive a flat benefit amount of $200 on their current or past due water bill charges. To learn more about the program visit lbwater.org/waterbillprogram.

Khmer Searching Online

The Long Beach Public Library (LBPL) has added Khmer searching capability to its online catalog. With this new functionality, available through the online catalog at longbeach.gov/library, readers can search for authors, titles, or subjects in Khmer to find Khmer titles located in the Library.

The Khmer search capability was funded by a Library Services and Technology Act grant administered by the California State Library in 2018 and tested by United Cambodian Community. LBPL has approximately 5,000 adult and children’s books combined. Previously, to find library books that are cataloged in another language (except Spanish), patrons had to search library catalogs in English first. With the new functionality, now readers can search Khmer literature directly.

Khmer is the official language of Cambodia and is the most commonly spoken language by people of Cambodian descent. Long Beach has one of the largest populations of Cambodians and Cambodian Americans in the United States. Many survivors of the Khmer Rouge fled Cambodia to the United States in the early 1980s, with a significant number of refugees settling here.

Priority Access Diversion

The Long Beach City Prosecutor’s Office is expanding its Priority Access Diversion (PAD) program to include a review of all misdemeanor cases filed in Long Beach.

What this means is any case reviewed by the city prosecutor’s office where there is evidence the person suffers from a mental health condition or substance abuse disorder, the case will be referred to the city prosecutor’s PAD unit for diversion consideration. For persons who are homeless, treatment offered may include residential (live-in) treatment, or in some cases temporary or shelter housing along with outpatient services.

Prior to this time, cases were only considered for the PAD program if the person was presently in custody and was facing a minimum of one year in County Jail. After PAD was started, the City of Long Beach hired a mental health clinician in the city jail to assist with assessments in order to identify potential PAD cases before they were filed in court.

PAD is 100% voluntary. A defendant must agree to accept services in every case. Assessments are completed by qualified social workers who also make recommendations to meet the unique needs of the person.

The expansion of the PAD program is now possible for several reasons, including:

  • The city now has year-round bridge housing (Atlantic Farms Bridge Housing, in North Long Beach).
  • The city is expanding interim housing for homeless persons as a result of Project Homekey.
  • The prosecutor’s office is participating in the Rapid Diversion project through the LA County/Public Defender’s Mental Health Diversion project, funded by the MacArthur Foundation.
  • The prosecutor’s office has an in-house social worker with a background in homeless services.

Now that restrictions due to COVID-19 are lifting and more programs are opening up, they believe the time is right to expand the PAD program and other efforts focused on homeless persons who are arrested or cited for minor offenses. The expansion of PAD is one of several new developments in this area. For example, Long Beach is also in the initial stages of developing a Homeless Court program, which by summer is expected to connect homeless persons with critically needed social services.

Cases found to be appropriate for PAD may be diverted pre-filing (before the case is filed in court), pre-plea, or as alternative sentencing, depending on the nature of the case and the defendant’s prior criminal history, if any. In any case that has already been filed with court, approval must be granted by the judge assigned the case.

Haubert Seeks Added Term

Doug Haubert will be seeking another four-year term as Long Beach City Prosecutor with support from an impressive array of local leaders. As the city’s top prosecutor, Haubert has received local and national recognition for his office’s innovative approach to crime, including efforts to reduce domestic violence and create award-winning court diversion programs.

City Prosecutor Haubert has been recognized as a national leader in alternative sentencing and court diversion programs. He started the PATH program, an employment-based court diversion program that assists youth offenders get jobs. He also expanded the City Prosecutor’s Community Service Worker (CSW) diversion program, which directs nonviolent, first-time offenders into community service as an alternative to incarceration or large fines. This program was recognized in 2016 by Neighborhood’s USA as “America’s Best Neighborhood Program.”

Haubert has also been praised for his Priority Access Diversion (PAD) program, which assists people experiencing homelessness by offering live-in substance abuse and mental health services. Recently, Haubert secured a Department of Justice Innovative Prosecution Solutions grant, the largest grant in his office’s history, to help connect homeless people with services.

Since his first election, Haubert has received recognition for his comprehensive Gang Prevention Strategy, a community-based approach helps at-risk youth stay out of gangs and assists former gang members with free tattoo removal and job services. His program was awarded a $203,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice under President Barack Obama to fund gang intervention work. At the time, it was the largest grant ever received by the city prosecutor’s office.

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