City's Homelessness Field Command Center A 'Tremendous Asset': Mayor

LONG BEACH, CA — As part of the city's homelessness emergency response, Long Beach established a Field Command Center to provide immediate support and resources to unhoused people in the community.

The Field Command Center will give the city's Interdepartmental Team a place to further coordinate planning and services for the downtown area for the next three weeks. The center's purpose is to reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness in Long beach by increasin housing opportunities and enhancing current initiatives, according to city officials.

“The Field Command Center will be a tremendous asset in our City’s emergency response,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “We are working together to make real-time decisions in the field and offer our staff and partners the resources and support they need to address this crisis.”

Long Beach officially declared a State of Emergency on homelessness on Jan. 10 after Richardson announced his decision at his inaguration ceremony.

Following in the footsteps of the city of Los Angeles, Richardson said it was time to take action to prioritize the safety of Long Beach's unhoused population and address concerns from small businesses and neighborhoods. many cities in the county also declared a state of emergency since Long Beach's decision.

"The longer people live on the street, the more trust they lose in us, their city, their institution and society to be able to help them," Richardson said. "Just this year, 99 people died on our streets before we could get them housing. Responding with urgency matters."

Different departments will staff the center including the Health Department, Public Works Department, Police Department and Fire Department. Staff will carry out the city's mission of providing field-based outreach, engagement and supportive services while maintaining the safety and security of people experiencing homelssness.

According to the city the center will play a more supportive role in the response and will not offer direct services to people experiencing homelessnes. Direct services will be provided in the downtown area Homeless Services Bureau Outreach Teams and the Mobile Access Center.