The Californer - How to Help Migrant Children in Long Beach

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Release Date: 2021-04-19

Two weeks ago our City Council voted unanimously to provide temporary shelter to unaccompanied children arriving at our southern border. This humanitarian work is being undertaken by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and is first and foremost an effort to move children into a humane environment as they are quickly reunited with family or a sponsor. The Long Beach shelter is temporary until August 1, has no impact on conventions, and is paid for by the federal government.

Over the past weeks, we have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of community support. So many of you have called, emailed or left messages asking how you can help. We are excited to announce that we have launched a new online city portal at longbeach.gov/migrantchildren to coordinate efforts for community involvement.

We've also been informed that the children will be arriving sometime this week. Let's show them a warm Long Beach welcome, and focus on being kind and compassionate.

Here's how you can help.

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Donating
The easiest and quickest way folks can support this effort is to donate online via the new Long Beach Migrant Children Support Fund at the Long Beach Community Foundation.

The Long Beach Community Foundation, in partnership with the city and HHS, has launched the Long Beach 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 to migrant children at our Long Beach shelter.

Providing Services/Volunteering
Businesses and organizations interested in supporting the work at the shelter should complete this interest form. We will be sharing the information collected with HHS for review and consideration. Examples of services include:

Food/meal services
Education
Recreation
Mental health
Entertainment
Family reunification
Child supervision
Legal services
Religious services
Language translation
Case management
Facility set-up assistance
Health care

If you are interested in volunteering in some way, please fill out this volunteer form here. We plan to launch our first volunteer effort later this week.

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All of this information can also be found at longbeach.gov/migrantchildren.

Thank you all and let's do the right thing.

Thank you,

Mayor Robert Garcia

Filed Under: Government, City

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