Long Beach : City Council Delays Vote on Funds for Aid Center

Long Beach officials delayed for two weeks a vote on whether to help fund a multi-service center with money donated to the Mayor’s Fund for the Homeless.

The funds have been requested by Christian Outreach Appeal, a shelter on 3rd Street, which bought a building on Pacific Avenue where a number of agencies could offer services under one roof. The multi-service center would offer everything from showers and mail service to job training and family counseling, officials said.

The vote, expected Tuesday, was postponed because Councilman Evan Anderson Braude said a school in the area wanted more time to address some last-minute concerns.

The mayor’s fund includes more than $90,000 donated by residents. A vote by the city would release $30,000 of the 2-year-old fund to renovate the building and $60,000 to help the center begin operating next spring.

Christian Outreach Appeal closed escrow on the building this week and will proceed with its renovation plans regardless of the city’s decision, Director John Jensen said. However, without the money, other agencies could not afford to move into the building, he said.

Advocates for the homeless have been calling for a multi-service center for five years, saying it would make it easier for homeless people to get off the street if all the services for them were in one place.

Braude said he learned during lunch Tuesday that the principal of Washington Middle School wanted to further discuss the project. The other council members, although critical of the delay, voted unanimously to wait two weeks.