Wellspring Affordable Housing Opens in LBC

by Dianne Anderson

Homeless shelters are brimming with the elderly, a fast growing segment of the unhoused since 2017, displaced by roaring rents, and pushed to the fringe of society since COVID funding stopped flowing.

But for those who were able to strike it big in a recent lottery, a new community permanent housing center provides stronger wraparound services to help keep previously homeless older adults off the streets or out of shelters in these uncertain economic times.

Alison King, director of the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services, said the new development is a welcome addition to the city. She is excited about the offerings and affordability of the new building that is set near essential services, health care, and transportation with free wi-fi access in the common areas.

“There are a number of affordable housing developments in the city that offer similar amenities, however only a few offer onsite access to health care,” she said. “There are two other affordable housing developments that are currently leasing, and many planned over the next few years.”

Ken Lombard, BRIDGE Housing President and CEO, said part of their West Coast portfolio has over 13,000 affordable apartments that are home to 30,000 residents. Now in its 40th year, another 8,000 units are in the development West Coast pipeline.

There is no time restriction for how long a resident can live in their apartment.

The newly constructed 88 units are located at the corner of Walnut Avenue and Anaheim Street and include one, two, and three-bedroom affordable apartments. Qualifying households earn between 30-60% of the Area Median Income.

Also featured is an 18,000 sq. ft. community health and wellness center on the ground floor, owned and operated by TCC Family Health. The five-story development held its ribbon cutting ceremony with Mayor Rex Richardson and other dignitaries earlier this week.

Later this year, the state-of-the-art facility is set to open offering, among other services, pediatric and adult healthcare, women’s health/OB services, dental health services, acupuncture, behavioral health services, and pharmacy.

He said the project includes 20 permanent supportive housing units for formerly homeless seniors. Property amenities include a large community room with a kitchen, two resident services offices, free community room Wi‐Fi, an outdoor terrace, a playground, laundry facilities, on-site parking for residents, and bicycle parking.

“The project is 99% leased, and the affordable units were offered through a lottery that took place last summer and through referrals from the Housing Authority of the City of Long Beach. The supportive units are matched with residents through the county’s coordinated entry system,” he said in an email.

Resident services at Wellspring are offered through two specialized providers, Mental Health America of Los Angeles, and comprehensive case management support to residents in the 20 permanent supportive housing units, which is funded by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. The YMCA of Greater Long Beach will provide general resident services to the affordable units.

According to the City’s 2023 Point in Time Count Report, 3,447 people were homeless, representing a 4.6% increase from 2022. Of the homeless, the count shows that African Americans are extremely over-represented at about one-third, although they represent only 12% of the city. Latinx make up about one-third homeless, although they represent 44% of the general city population.

The elderly are also increasingly impacted.

Justice in Aging, a senior nonprofit poverty law group in California, reports temporary relief during the pandemic helped, but after the eviction moratorium, the state’s eviction rates surged to pre-pandemic levels, now with six out of ten seniors facing unaffordable rents.

From 2017 through 2022, they report that Californians, aged 50 and older access to homeless services nearly doubled, far outpacing the 4% growth in population for that age group, with an increase of 166% for those aged 65 and older.

The nonprofit reports that for extremely low-income older Californians, the rental situation is even more dire with nearly 8 out of 10 Extremely Low-Income older renters struggling to pay rent. Of those, 63% are paying more than half of their income for rent. Nationally, older and disabled renters make up almost half of all ELI renters.

According to the state’s Homeless Data Integration System, Black or African American people in California are overrepresented in homelessness, representing 7% of the state’s population but 29% of those who accessed homelessness services while experiencing homelessness in 2021.

“The share of Black or African American people experiencing homelessness as well as the share of American Indian, Alaska Native, or Indigenous people experiencing homelessness was five times greater than their respective share of the state’s overall population according to the Point-in-Time (PIT) count,” HDIS reports.

For Justice In Aging, see