Volunteers Looking To Help As Shelter For Unaccompanied Migrant Children Set To Open In Long Beach

LONG BEACH (CBSLA) — After Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia tweeted the need for volunteers, resident Jeffrey Jacob walked up to the doors of the Long Beach Convention Center Friday to offer help.

"That's the reason I came here today, is to see if there's anything I can do to help," he said.

Earlier this week, the Long Beach City Council approved a plan to house up to 1,000 unaccompanied migrant children on a rolling basis.

"Great thing that we can help," Jacob said. "Very proud that we're doing that. I think it's a real good thing, they deserve a break."

The shelter will provide housing, food, schooling and medical and mental healthcare for up to three months. The children will only be housed at the convention center until they can be united with already identified family members or sponsors.

"I think if you're able and you're blessed, you should lend your arm," Mikaela Morrison, a Long Beach resident, said. "You should give some help, because there's no telling what these children have been through."

Garcia has said the city's goal is that of reunification of the children with family members, if possible, or sponsors located here in the United States.

"I think it's good the mayor is trying to help out people in need, I mean they're kids," Shelton Black, a Long Beach resident, said. "You shouldn't leave a kid out there if they're family isn't there for them, at least have some way to help them out."

Garcia said Friday that the city was working to set up a volunteer portal with links on the city's website in the coming days with children, some as young as 3-years-old, expected to start arriving in the next 10 days.

The site is one of two announced in L.A. County, the other at the Pomona Fairplex.

• Long Beach