Long Beach held a ribbon cutting to mark the opening of 76 supportive housing units for the city's homeless or near-homeless population.
The building is called '26 Point 2,' a permanent supportive housing project that Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson says will do much more than provide a roof.
Richardson tells KNX News' Nataly Tavidian, "The big question is, when someone says, 'Yes, I'm ready to come off the street and get my life back on track,' Do we have the resources and places to place them?... This project takes 76 people, puts a roof over their heads, and gives them services in case management six out of seven days a week. That's transformative."
All the units have already been spoken for, filled with referrals through the city's coordinated entry system.
[iframe https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d2560.3043020189166!2d-118.15296512558082!3d33.78973343154813!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x80dd319bca4f7fa1%3A0x637bfbec0cc025b4!2s3590%20E%20Pacific%20Coast%20Hwy%2C%20Long%20Beach%2C%20CA%2090804!5e1!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1718228580250!5m2!1sen!2sus allowfullscreen="" height="450" loading="lazy" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" style="border:0" width="600"]Donnie Grimes is one of the new residents. He said, "I'll be taking six years clean, and I ended up here, and this is great because it just helps my journey, right? Because I got a case manager, and it just makes it a lot easier. If you're willing, the professional help."
Dana Trujillo, president and CEO of Accelerate Housing Group, who is the developer and owner of 26 Point 2, tells KNX News, "This project is very meaningful to us because Accelerate is located in Long Beach... our employees live in Long Beach, our kids go to school in Long Beach, we work in Long Beach. So this is really a meaningful project for us."
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Trujillo said each unit is a fully furnished studio with its own kitchen and bathroom.
As for the project's name, Trujillo said, "26.2 is the distance of a marathon. We liked the idea of life being like a marathon: You have obstacles and injuries, but you also have victories and accomplishments. It really takes perseverance and resilience to get through, and the important part is just to keep running."
Last year, Long Beach facilitated more than 3,000 new housing units, with a little over 670 of them being affordable housing and almost 700 accessory dwelling units. According to Mayor Richardson, all three stats are records, and the city hopes to keep that pace.
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