The declaration by the Long Beach City Council will cut some of the red tape associated with approving contracts and projects, which will allow the city to move more quickly to help address the issue.
Long Beach will use funds from a nationwide settlement against opioid manufacturers and distributors toward a youth education and prevention campaign in partnership with the Long Beach Unified School District, among other harm reduction efforts.
The city in May awarded a nearly $3 million contract to the owner of a motel that was named one of six nuisance motels due to high crime. Recent data shows the situation hasn’t improved.
During the decade after the 2008 recession, state funding for public health dropped 64%. COVID-19 funding has boosted the budgets of local public health departments, but the exodus of staff has left local officials struggling to fill vacancies.