LONG BEACH — On April 19, the City of Long Beach launched an online portal with detailed information on how community members, local organizations, and businesses can help support the migrant children who will be temporarily sheltered at the Long Beach Convention Center as part of the federal government’s national humanitarian effort to support unaccompanied migrant children arriving at the southern borders.
Children are expected to begin arriving at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shelter this week. While the reunification effort and shelter are led and funded by the HHS, the city will focus on assisting HHS and the federal government in welcoming the children and supporting them during the reunification process.
There has been significant interest from the Long Beach community to support these children, and now community members, local organizations, and businesses can do so by donating funds or submitting an interest form to support this effort.
Book Donation Drive:
Starting April 24, through May 8, community members and local organizations can drop off donated books at several locations throughout Long Beach. Leisure books, in English, Spanish, or English and Spanish, for grade levels kindergarten through young adult audiences must be in new condition. Textbooks are not needed at this time. All donated books will be provided to HHS for distribution to the children.
If you are interested in donating books and would like to know where you can drop them off, please click here.
Monetary Donations:
The Long Beach Community Foundation has launched the Migrant Children Support Fund to accept monetary donations from community members, local organizations, and businesses. All donations are designated specifically to provide assistance and supportive resources related to the migrant children humanitarian effort in Long Beach. Resources provided through these donations are intended to make the children more comfortable during their stay in Long Beach and during the reunification process. All monetary donations to this fund are tax-deductible.
This is the easiest and quickest way the community and local organizations and businesses can support this effort. Donations can be made online, or by mailing a check to the Long Beach Community Foundation at 400 Oceangate, Suite 800, Long Beach, CA 90802. Check donations should include “Migrant Children Support Fund” on the check designation.
Business and Vendor Services and Organization Donations:
- Businesses and organizations interested in providing complementary services at the HHS shelter should complete an interest form, which will be submitted to HHS for review and consideration.
Personal Volunteer Opportunities:
The City is actively working with HHS to identify additional ways the community can get involved, including through volunteer opportunities and possibly physical donations. People interested in volunteering should submit a volunteer interest form with their name and contact information and HHS will be in contact as opportunities are identified. Volunteers may be utilized for a number of activities and services, which will be headed by HHS. Additional information on these opportunities will be provided at a later date. Information on how to become a HHS sponsor is available on the HHS Sponsors and Placement webpage.
On April 6, the Long Beach City Council unanimously approved to allow the City Manager to negotiate a partnership agreement with HHS to support their efforts to temporarily house and quickly reconnect unaccompanied minors who have been arriving at the southern border.
Long Beach has a long history of welcoming and helping immigrants and refugees. While at the Convention Center, the children will remain under the care of HHS until they can be reunited with their family or a U.S. sponsor. The Convention Center has ample space for the children to recreate, learn and receive medical attention if needed, and has the capacity to accommodate up to 1,000 children. The HHS shelter will not impact COVID-19 vaccination clinic operations currently underway at the Convention Center. Costs for the operation and use of the facility are being provided by the federal government.
Additional information regarding HHS shelter operations will be available soon.
Details: HHS webpage.