Before the department spokeswomen presented, Mayor Garcia opened the study session by saying in part, "Long Beach has also been a leader in many areas of building supportive housing for the homeless, particularly around veterans, and particularly about working with a lot of our local agencies in trying to access mental healthcare and mental health services for many of our homeless...Hopefully tonight is an inclusive conversation to engage the community."

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Department Director Kelly Colopy and Homeless Services Officer Teresa Chandler, alternating back and forth, reported on the status of city programs to address homelessness over the last ten years. Colopy and Chandler said the city department applies yearly to the federal government’s Department of Housing and Urban Development for budgetary resources, in which HUD provided $7.5 million out of a budget of $10.9 million for this year. They said city homelss services are provided is an integrated and coordinated system that includes street outreach, intake and assessment, emergency shelter, transitional housing, permanent housing and supportive services.

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Colopy and Chandler admitted the city has "only two full-time employees to respond to more than a hundred requests for outreach per month." They also identified a number of daunting challenges: increased rents which force people out; Section 8 voucher sums which HUD sets based on its "fair-market" rates that aren't sufficient to meet locally charged rents; 60 percent of housing comprised of single to one-bedroom apartments, limiting options for families with more than four people; a 2 percent vacancy rate which leads apartment owners not to accept vouchers; statewide changes in prison incarceration policies that have put more people on the streets; the loss of Redevelopment funds; the increased use of drugs; and the lack of resources for mental health and drug-abuse detoxification.

After the presentation by the departmental representatives and questions and comments by City Council, the public commented.

One woman who testified was in her fifties, she had had been "a drug addict," "homeless" and has been "nine and a half years clean" and now suffers from Lupus and Parkinsons disease. She told the Council that she and her friend were going to be homeless in a few weeks and will be sleeping in her car because the apartment where they lived (East Village area) for the past three years has been sold...and said the new owner had begun demolition without permits.

In response, Mayor Garcia directed the woman to speak with city Health and Human Services representatives present.

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Another woman who spoke said she lives in the same apartment building and echoed the other woman's concerns. Following the Council meeting, she said that prior to her current residence she'd been homeless for almost three years, became homeless on losing her job in 2010 and doesn't want to be homeless again which is why she always pays her rent on time, never plays loud music or causes trouble for apartment management. She added that her sister also lives in the same building and can't breathe without oxygen and wouldn't survive if she became homeless and living on the streets.

Reached for comment, the apartment owner's new property manager emailed that the new owners are a partnership interested in improving the building and surrounding neighborhood and are committed to a cleaner, safer, more livable environment for the building's tenants and aiding in the neighborhood's quality of life. He said the building is almost 50% vacant and was so at the time of purchase. His email stated that it's very unfortunate to have to terminate tenancies for most of the remaining tenants to properly handle deferred maintenance; said nobody has been evicted thus far and the owners are making every effort to work with tenants in a humane and understanding manner. His email added: "It is also unfortunate that there are some people who don’t see our side of this and seem to be trying to create controversy and unrest only making our job even more difficult making the tenants feel even more upset."

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Another woman who testified was Elizabeth Waite, who identified herself as the student representative on the Homelessness Task Force at Long Beach City College and LBCC Pacific Coast Campus Representative of Senior Studies. Waite said she wanted to speak on behalf of homeless college students; said there is an epidemic of homelessness on college campuses; and added LBCC has documented 500 homeless students.