Recommendation to request City Attorney to draft a resolution requesting the Governor and State Legislature to declare a state of emergency to combat homelessness and direct resources to support the efforts of major cities in the state to address the problem.
Thank you. An item will leave an hour on item 14. Is that right? 13. Communication from Councilman Austin. Councilwoman Gonzalez, Councilmember Wodonga and Council Member Richardson. Recommendation to request the city attorney to draft a resolution requesting the Governor and state legislature to declare a state of emergency to combat homelessness. Councilman Austin. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And I want to thank my colleagues, Gonzalez and Miranda Richardson, for signing on and support throughout the region. We are seeing an increased number of homelessness. And in Long Beach, our last homeless count in 2015 identified over 2300 homeless individuals, including 255 children. L.A. County has seen an increase recently of 5.7% in just the past year, including an increase of 20%. People living in tents, shantytowns and vehicles. It is estimated about 47,000 homeless individuals in L.A. County. That's the current number in about 1515 thousand statewide. Long Beach is one of four agencies in L.A. County that provides a continuum to address homelessness. Along with L.A. County, the city of Los Angeles, and the city of Pasadena. In our health department, we have an outstanding program to provide outreach and services to homeless in Long Beach and providing coordinated services through the Multi-Service Center. However, this is the crisis of our day and more resources from the state are needed to address this problem. Last month, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to call for a state declaration of emergency on California's homeless crisis. Last week, the California State Assembly also adopted a resolution requesting Governor Brown to declare a state of emergency on homelessness. So given the growing homeless crisis in our city, our county and state, it is important for our city, the city of Long Beach, to be active in this issue and join in the call for the state to provide resources necessary for local governments to help address this glaring problem. And so I like to just take this opportunity to, again, thank my colleagues for signing on and asking for your support on this very important motion. Thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman Gonzalez. I just wanted to say thank you to Councilmember Austin for bringing this forward. I think it marries with what we've been working on. We'll be looking to bring back a report in a few months with the health department that will talk about homelessness as a as a larger picture in relation to housing, of course, addressing children and families, because there is a larger number of children and families that are out on the streets at this moment, which makes it really tough. And I think taking a stance and knowing that we're doing something proactive here in the city is a is a great way to show our support for minimizing this issue. So thank you very much. Thank you. Next up is councilman, your anger. Thank you, Mayor. I want to also thank. Councilmember Austin for bringing this forward. It's a growing problem. It's certainly a big one in my district that we've been fighting the good fight to have these people receive services to get housing and it seems like nothing seems to work. So perhaps this motion would be providing some much needed attention to this issue so that we can address it throughout the city. Thank you. I'm sorry. Customer. Yes. Thank you, Mayor. I also want to thank Councilman Orson for bringing this item in my district. Whereas other communities, I think amount of homeless people, as you know, is a big concern. And I think at times I have stopped and spoke to some of these individuals and all they need is a little help. And I definitely feel like that because the fact that what they're out in up against, you know, this is a I mean, a worldwide problem right now. Homeless is just not a joke. I mean, when you just take a look in in everywhere, especially in the city of Long Beach and in L.A. County, it's just something that I mean, we really have to take a real seriously concern. And and I'd like to you know, you think of some of these things happening. I think the government has to declare a state of emergency when it comes to that, because we're looking at things now we've never, ever seen. I know in my time here. So as a city, we cannot resolve this alone. So we need leadership. You know, I think also from Sacramento. So some of our leaders that will also see the problems that we're having and the individuals can get to them and let them know that this problem is a really epidemic. And we really need to do something about that. And I thank you again, Councilman. I said bringing this forward and then individuals know the concern, you know, the need of all these things that we're trying to do for them. Thank you again, Mayor. Thank you. Any public comment? Seeing none. There's emotion in a second. Members, please go and cast your votes.