Department of
Health & Human Services

Long Beach, CA – On Saturday, June 24, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. the City of Long Beach will host its fourth donation drive thru event, as part of a monthly series, to collect essential items to distribute to people experiencing homelessness in Long Beach. The event will take place at the Department of Health and Human Services (Health Department) Main Facilities Center, located at 2525 Grand Ave. Donations received during the event will be distributed at the Multi-Service Center (MSC) to people experiencing homelessness and will also be available to local partner organizations to distribute.

“As a community, we’ve been able to provide 8,000 essential, everyday items to people experiencing homelessness through these donation drive efforts,’’ said Mayor Rex Richardson. “I am grateful for the compassion our community has shown thus far and I hope we can continue to build on this momentum to achieve an even greater collective impact and support these residents.”

As the summer weather heats up, sun and heat protection items such as sunscreen, hats, protective sunshades/umbrellas and reusable water bottles are in need. Men’s clothing and hygiene kits also remain in high demand. The City welcomes any of the following items for contribution:

• Hygiene kits or house-warming gift kits from the Multi-Service Center Amazon Wish List.
• Backpacks filled with needed items such as hand warmers, flashlights, battery packs, batteries (usually D batteries), emergency blankets and charging cables.
• Pet care kits with things like pet food, treats, collars, leashes, pet toys or collapsible pet bowls.
• S, M, L, XL or XXL sweatpants, shirts, socks and men’s and women’s underwear, beanies, scarves, caps, hoodies, towels or blankets. Gently used items are appreciated, too.
• Welcome home kits with some of the suggested items above and a special hand-written motivating message to go in the kit.
• Food items like canned food, bottled drinks like juices or water, and snacks such as granola bars or power bars, instant oatmeal and instant soup.

While gift cards will not be accepted at the drive thru event, they can be donated at the MSC. To schedule a drop-off time, people can call 562.570.4586.

Since launching donation efforts in late February 2023, the City has collected more than 14,000 items generously donated by community members, including over 6,500 items during the City’s first three donation drive thru events, nearly 6,000 from drop-off bins available at Long Beach Public Library branches and other locations, and nearly 2,000 donations contributed through other avenues.

To ensure these items can be distributed to as many people experiencing homelessness as possible, in April 2023 the City launched a donation request form for Long Beach-based organizations that support people experiencing homelessness to request items to further support their organization’s mission. Local organizations are encouraged to submit the form based on their charitable outreach needs. More than half of the items have been distributed to the MSC and community organizations.

More information on how community members can get involved is available on the Volunteer, Donate and Get Involved tab at longbeach.gov/homelessness.

The City does not represent or warrant that any donations made to the City are tax deductible. Donors are encouraged to work with their tax professional. Receipts of donations are available at all drop off locations.

For more information on the City’s efforts to reduce homelessness in Long Beach, people may visit longbeach.gov/homelessness and follow @lbhealthdept and @longbeachcity on social media and follow the hashtag #EveryoneHomeLB.