Kristina Duggan hosts a community meeting about an Affordable Housing project in District 3.

Highlights

Supported the City’s 2023 Homeless Emergency Declaration to improve coordination and stabilize the crisis
Expanded supportive outreach teams in District 3 to strengthen neighborhood-level engagement
Helped bring 50 new recuperative care beds to Long Beach through private partners
Helped entitle more than 1,800 new housing units in District 3, including over 100 affordable units
Supported the inclusionary housing ordinance to move projects closer to meeting state-mandated affordable housing targets
Pushed the City to approach homelessness with compassion and accountability

The Approach Behind the Work

Homelessness ranges from families living in their cars to career criminals who have made homelessness a lifestyle. Treating everyone the same way will never solve the problem. Real progress requires compassion for those who want help and accountability for those who continue to harm others.

Stabilizing the Growing Crisis
When I took office, it was clear that our system was not equipped to handle the 63% spike in homelessness that occurred during the COVID pandemic. In 2023, I supported the City's homeless emergency declaration to confront that reality head-on. The emergency was about improving coordination. We needed to align departments, expand outreach, and respond faster to this crisis.

Since then, I have worked to build a more connected and consistent approach to outreach. In District 3, we expanded supportive outreach teams made up of trained professionals who know our neighborhoods and can build relationships with people living outdoors. When people are not connected to services, situations often become more unstable because their basic needs are not being met, like eating, access to water, or access to a restroom. These teams are helping close that gap every day.

Filling the Gaps in Services and Treatment
Through many ride alongs with Outreach and Quality of Life, I found that waiting to build permanent housing for everyone will not work. Our outreach teams had little to offer in most engagements beyond referrals to overburdened programs or waitlists that did not lead anywhere. People do not disappear, and we need places for them to sleep that are not our sidewalks, parks, and beaches.

Kristina Duggan with City Building Officials and Healthcare organizations walking through Community Hospital to provide recuperative care and sobering beds.

That philosophy guided my work with private partners to bring 50 new recuperative care beds to Long Beach, providing options for people with medical issues ready to take their first step off the street.

On housing, I helped entitle more than 1,800 new units in District 3, including the first affordable housing project ever approved in the district, while fighting for improvements to limit the impact on surrounding neighborhoods.

I also supported inclusionary housing coordination to move new projects closer to meeting our state mandated affordable housing targets and reflect local needs.

People are homeless for a variety of reasons, and our approach to these unique situations needs to vary. I will continue working to expand services and treatment while advancing policies that require people to use them.

My focus moving forward will be:

Getting people off our streets and into dignified shelter and permanent housing, turning approved projects into real homes
Expanding treatment and support options while setting clear expectations for behavior in public spaces
Addressing encampments and problem locations to keep sidewalks, parks, and public spaces accessible for everyone

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