Long Beach Rethinks Homelessness After Ruling

By Jose Cervantes

The City of Long Beach is adjusting its approach to addressing homeless encampments after a landmark Supreme Court decision, aiming to balance enforcement with a continued focus on services and housing. The shift comes as California grapples with a persistent homelessness crisis, navigating a complex legal and political landscape surrounding the issue.

A memo dated Aug. 12, 2024, outlines the city’s response to the Supreme Court ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson. This ruling overturns the precedent set by Martin v. Boise, which had prohibited cities from enforcing anti-camping ordinances without first offering sufficient shelter options. The Supreme Court determined that such enforcement does not constitute “cruel and unusual punishment” under the Eighth Amendment.

The memo emphasizes that while the ruling gives cities more leeway in enforcing anti-camping laws, Long Beach should not resort to widespread citations or arrests solely for camping violations. Instead, the city will incorporate this enforcement mechanism strategically, prioritizing a “human-centered approach” that prioritizes outreach, services, and housing solutions.

Mass citations or arrests remain an option “to address locations where there is a threat to public health or safety and when other solutions are not working.”

The memo outlines a framework for addressing “Priority Focus Areas” encampments. These areas will be identified by the city’s Interdepartmental Homelessness Team and Public Spaces Workgroup based on criteria such as:

• Repeated unsuccessful outreach attempts.
• Significant obstruction of crucial public resources like parks, libraries, and beaches.
• Public health or safety concerns.
• Data from outreach and service providers.

“If every location is a priority, no area is a priority, and the team will be ineffectual in its response.”

Once a Priority Focus Area is identified, the city will implement a multi-step resolution strategy:

• Intensive Outreach: Homeless Services and relevant city staff will engage with individuals, building trust, assessing needs, offering emergency shelter, connecting them to case management, and providing information about available resources.
• Notification and Cleanup: If needed, the area will be posted with a notice for cleanup, potentially a 48-72 hour notice.
• Enforcement: As a last resort and after multiple attempts to connect individuals with services and shelter, citations for violating the city’s anti-camping ordinance may be issued.
• The memo acknowledges the potential drawbacks of over-reliance on enforcement, including:
• Failing to address the root causes of homelessness, such as lack of affordable housing.
• Criminalization creates additional barriers to accessing services and housing.
• Fines exacerbate the financial and administrative burdens on individuals experiencing homelessness.
• Straining police and city resources.
• Potentially displacing individuals to other areas without addressing their needs.

To mitigate these potential negative impacts, the city outlines several measures:

• Identifying additional resources for motel vouchers, shelter capacity, and permanent housing.
• Expanding partnerships with community and faith-based organizations.
• Advocating for regional cooperation with state and federal funders.
• Working with surrounding cities to adopt a “Good Neighbor Pledge” prioritizing services and housing over criminalization.
• Reinstating the Clinician-in-Jail program will provide referrals for services and housing to individuals departing the Long Beach jail.
• Expanding diversion programs to connect individuals with services.

The memo also highlights the city’s significant investments in addressing homelessness in recent years, including:

• Opening the city’s first year-round shelter.
• Converting a former hotel into interim housing.
• Acquiring and opening a second year-round shelter.
• Master leasing motels for interim housing.
• Partnering with LA County to convert motels into permanent supportive housing.
• Constructing the Youth Navigation Center and the Luxury Inn for additional housing.
• Employing outreach workers, case managers, nurses, mental health clinicians, and specially trained police officers.
• Addressing over 3,200 encampments last year.
• Launching Mobile Access Center teams and an unarmed Community Crisis Response Team.

The memo underlines that this new approach does not depart from the city’s commitment to compassionate and practical solutions to homelessness.

Moving forward, the city will continue to monitor the situation, evaluate the effectiveness of its approach, and make adjustments as needed. This includes collaborating with community partners, advocating for additional resources, and collaboratively engaging in regional efforts to address homelessness.

According to the County of Orange 2024 Point In Time Count, there was a 7% rise in homelessness throughout the county compared to the homeless population of 2019.