City Manager

CARES Act: Coronavirus Relief Fund

The Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was enacted on March 27, 2020. The $2 trillion relief package included $150 billion for the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF), to assist States and local governments with populations above 500,000 address the public health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The State of California received an allocation of roughly $9.5 billion from the CARES Act CRF.

With a population of approximately 475,000, Long Beach was the largest California city to not receive a direct allocation from the Federal government through the CARES Act. The Mayor, City Council, and Legislative delegation successfully advocated to allocate a portion of the State’s CRF funds to cities through the State FY 2020-21 budget, passed on June 29, 2020. Long Beach was awarded $40.28 million in CRF dollars for COVID-19 response. These funds must be spent by December 30, 2020, according to U.S. Treasury guidelines.

Long Beach Program Funding

On July 14, 2020, the Long Beach City Council approved a spending plan for the City’s CRF allocation from the State. The general framework for funding prioritizes COVID-19 emergency response costs, community support, and business recovery and resiliency programs.

• City COVID Response—$19,130,494: to offset the costs of City emergency response from March-December 2020, including staff costs not eligible for other funding sources such as FEMA reimbursement.
• Community Support—$14,400,000: to invest in community needs, including congregate homeless sheltering, housing support, food and older adult resources, Black education health, mental health and domestic violence prevention, early childhood, youth workforce development, digital inclusion, and non-profit and arts community grants.
• Business Recovery and Resiliency—$6,750,000: to support transition grants for small businesses and non-profits, supplies and technology for economic recovery, economic inclusion and equity programs, and open streets initiative.

CARES Act Final Report

For information about the City’s CARES Act programs, please see the CARES Act 2020 Community & Business Support Program Outcomes Data closeout report.

• Residents

  Many CARES Act programs provide assistance and services to Long Beach residents through selected vendors. If you are a resident interested in receiving any of the resources listed below, please complete this RESIDENT INTEREST FORM or call the City’s info line at 562-570-INFO (4636). Your information will be forwarded to the appropriate staff and vendors managing the programs.
  

  Please also visit the City’s Health and Human Services Department website for more information about CARES Act services, including food resources, fiscal relief, mental health, health and medical care, and other community programs.

  Housing Condition Improvements

  • Certain housing conditions exacerbate illnesses related to COVID-19. Funds are available to residents for housing remediation services, including mold, air ventilation, and other code enforcement issues. 

  Food Insecurity and Meals

  • The City coordinates large food distribution events and a free home meal delivery service for older adults and residents at risk of COVID-19.

  Black Health Equity

  • Black residents suffer disproportionately from COVID-19. This program provides educational resources, outreach, and health support to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 among Black residents.

  Older Adult Supports

  • For older adults who are sheltering at home, the City offers connection to information, services, and community partners through the Long Beach Resource Line at 562-570-INFO(4636), Option 5. A new short-term transportation program with Long Beach Yellow Cab is also available to eligible low-income older adults.

  Mental Health and Domestic Violence Prevention

  • The COVID-19 pandemic has placed additional strains on the health and wellbeing of individuals and families. The City partners with agencies to provide access to mental health and domestic violence prevention support. See this resource guide for more info.

  Early Childhood Supports

  • The City supports early childhood education providers to increase access to these services for families impacted by COVID-19, including emergency supplies and grants for childcare subsidies.

  Youth Leadership & Ambassador Program

  • For low- to moderate-income families, the City offers youth leadership development opportunities to support COVID-19 outreach and education.

  Youth Programming

  • The City’s Parks, Recreation, and Marine Department offers innovative youth programming and resources during COVID-19, including community learning hubs to facilitate on-line instruction and after-school recreational activities.

  Digital Inclusion

  • The City’s Digital Inclusion Initiative launched the Digital Inclusion Resources Hotline as part of the CARES Act funding. Digital inclusion navigators were available to help Long Beach residents find information about local low-cost Internet service offers, computers and free digital literacy training courses. Assistance and language interpretation services were available for callers in Khmer and Spanish.
    
    
  • Please note that the Hotline is temporarily closed. The City hopes to relaunch the Hotline once additional funds have been identified. If you are looking for low-cost Internet and computer resources, you can contact human-I-T. To speak with human-I-T representative, please Call (888) 391-7259 or text “City of Long Beach” to (562) 372-6925. Or you can email digitalinclusion@longbeach.gov.

• Businesses & Non-Profits

  The City utilizes CARES Act funding to provide direct relief and resources to businesses and non-profits. If you have any questions about the following programs, please call (562) 570-4BIZ (4249) or visit the Economic Development Department website.

  COVID-19 Outdoor Dining Grant Program

  • The City’s Outdoor Dining Grant Program provides financial relief to Long Beach bars, breweries, distilleries, restaurants, and wineries that are approved to operate outdoors. It will administer grants up to $10,000 to reimburse a variety of existing eligible expenses associated with operating outdoors. Eligible expenses must have been incurred between June 1, 2020 and December 28, 2020. +Learn More

  COVID-19 Small Business Transition & Technology Grants

  • The City offers grants to small businesses for working capital (up to $5,000 each) and touchless technology costs such as contactless payment systems (up to $2,000 each). +Learn More

  Non-Profit Relief Program

  • Non-profits whose operations have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic may apply for grants that provide working capital and resources to retain staff and provide community services. +Learn More

  Business Improvement Districts Grant Program

  • The City partners with Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) to strengthen small businesses and revitalize commercial corridors within select service areas during COVID-19. Contact your BID association to see what programs are available.

  Open Streets Initiative

  • In an effort to assist businesses during COVID-19, the City’s Open Streets Initiative repurposed public space for dining, customer queuing, and vehicle loading.

  Arts Organizations

  • Arts organizations and artists are eligible for grants through the City’s CARES Act funding. The largest arts institutions in the City receive direct funding, while smaller organizations and artists may apply for grants through the Arts Council for Long Beach.

  Small Business and Non-Profit PPE Distribution Program

  • Many small businesses including non-profits have closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The City offers free personal protective equipment (PPE) for businesses and organizations to meet health requirements for reopening. +Learn More
    
    

• Vendors & Service Providers

  The City seeks to contract with local service providers to offer the community resources listed below. If your organization provides the following services and would like to be considered, please complete this VENDOR INTEREST FORM.

  Requests for Proposals (RFP) will be posted on Planet Bids as available. Please visit the Purchasing Division’s website to learn more about how to register as a Vendor with the City and apply for CARES Act programs. For questions regarding open RFP opportunities, submit all inquiries to William Reyes at rfppurchasing@longbeach.gov or 562-570-5664.
  

  Housing Condition Improvements

  • The City will contract with a service provider to remediate housing conditions that contribute to the spread of COVID-19, such as low air ventilation, water intrusion, mold, and old carpeting.

  Basic Needs Warm Line

  • The City currently operates an information line to connect older adults to various resources and services for COVID-19. The line will be expanded to become the “LB Resource Line” connecting all residents in Long Beach to resources such as food, housing, medical supplies, mental health, and child care. The City is looking for agencies to support live calls, conduct resource navigation, and case management for callers with complex needs.

  Food Insecurity and Meals

  • The City has allocated CARES Act funding for the following grocery and meal delivery efforts to residents impacted by COVID-19:
    • Conducting program outreach, eligibility screening, and enrollment;
    • Grocery procurement and/or meal preparation and packaging; and,
    • Food delivery.
  • The City is also contracting with organizations to provide food and nutrition-related services and supports to populations experiencing high levels of food insecurity and/or barriers to food access as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These services include the following:
    • Startup or expansion of community-supported agriculture projects;
    • Outreach, promotion, and assistance for eligible individuals and families with enrollment in food-related resource programs;
    • Purchase/repair of equipment required for proper storage/transport of food;
    • Purchase of healthy food for food distribution events;
    • Materials and supplies for packing of healthy grocery kits/boxes for food distribution; and,
    • Develop and/or expansion of other food security-related projects within the community.

  Black Health Equity

  • The Black Health Equity Community Coalition is an empowerment model to promote health education and equity in Long Beach. This program requires contracting with medical providers and community partners to provide gap healthcare services and conduct outreach to mitigate the risk, transmission, and spread of COVID-19 among Black residents. The City is contracting with providers to connect uninsured and underinsured Black Long Beach residents experiencing mental health or substance use concerns to behavioral health services. 

  • The City is providing up to $600,000 to support Black-serving nonprofit organizations and microbusinesses (defined as less than $150,000 in annual revenue) for service delivery to the Black Long Beach community to reduce the impact of COVID-19 for Black residents. This funding will also provide direct relief to Black-serving nonprofit organizations and microbusinesses who have been economically impacted by COVID-19. The following categories of services are sought to perform one or more of the following activities:

    • COVID-19 Virtual Training
    • COVID-19 Health Education and Outreach Services
    • COVID-19 Healthy Living and Resource Guide
    • COVID-19 Care Package Delivery Service

  Older Adult Supports

  • Five organizations have been selected under this funding opportunity and have begun services to provide outreach and education to priority populations and programming to reduce social isolation or loneliness in older adults. These organizations will bring older adults into virtual programming, provide services in more languages, and connect them with resources.  Updates on program activities will be shared through the City’s Healthy Aging Center.

  Mental Health and Domestic Violence Prevention

  The city has selected six organizations to provide the following programs and activities. For more information, residents can contact the City’s Resource Line at 562.570.INFO (4636), option 5.

  • Mental Health Awareness Campaign: Feature inclusive and representative messages that inform Long Beach residents what mental health conditions are, how to seek treatment and ways to support others during this pandemic.
  • Mental Health Treatment Access: Create more than 500 developmental play therapy kits to support telehealth therapy sessions for children and families.
  • Domestic Violence Services: Provide trauma-resiliency-informed domestic violence services, such as behavioral and mental health counseling, emergency housing vouchers and assistance with sheltering for victims or survivors of domestic and interpersonal violence.

  Public Health Case Management

  • The City will contract with a technology provider to manage COVID-19 data and facilitate a coordinated response by streamlining intake; quickly determining eligibility for social, economic, and health related services; and allowing for interoperability to coordinate referrals to needed care and support systems.

  Early Childhood Supports

  • This program will support the purchase and delivery of developmental and emergency supplies (e.g., diapers, formula, and PPE), expansion of early childhood education sites to accommodate physical distancing requirements, and grants to early childhood service providers.

  Non-Profit Relief

  The City has selected sixteen organizations for Non-Profit Direct Services to support populations disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. These non-profit organizations serve Latinx, Cambodian, Asian Pacific Islander, low-income, LGBTQ+ community members, low-income youth, and people with disabilities. The organizations will perform one or more of the following activities:

  • Conduct outreach, engagement, education, and connection to COVID-19 testing;
  • Provide health education about COVID-19 prevention;
  • Provide direct case management and systems navigation as needed to COVID-19-related health, social services, basic needs, and other supports;
  • Provide coordinated responses, such as multi-sector collaboration, to support communities of color impacted by COVID-19; and,
  • Provide connection to violence prevention efforts and mental health services to ensure family safety.

  Digital Inclusion

  • City staff have selected organizations for the following programs:

    • Administering Digital Inclusion Resources and Services: administering free Internet services and computing devices; lending computing devices and hotspots; providing technical support for computing devices and hotspots administered; developing multilingual outreach materials to promote resources and services; implementing communications efforts to promote resources and services; and implementing virtual digital literacy training classes.
    • Digital Inclusion Navigators Program: to staff the Digital Inclusion Resources Hotline and provide real-time Khmer and Spanish interpretation. 
    • Digital Inclusion Community Outreach Program: implement community outreach efforts to promote and connect digital inclusion resources and services to communities most in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
    • Multilingual Digital Inclusion Resource Guides: develop an online and hardcopy digital inclusion resource guide.

  Youth Leadership

  • The Youth Leadership program is focused on providing social connectedness, mentoring, and well-being supportive services to youth ages 10-24 most impacted by COVID-19. Eligible youth-centered non-profit organizations are encouraged to apply. Scope Areas include:

    • Peer navigation to increase COVID-19 awareness and education, testing and linkage to supportive services to improve the social, emotional and physical health of youth; and,
    • Increase social connectedness and spaces (either physical or online), such as mentoring programs among other models.