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This is truly a pitiful situation that the City of Long Beach finds itself in. As a former resident of Long Beach for 25 years, having grown up there, I have come to witness the decline as well as the resurgence of the economic state of the city. There was a time when the city had become a "dumping ground" for mental patients and had a very high percentage of people on public assistance and also an increased number in homeless individuals. I'm sure there were incidences similar to this recent unfortunate case, although, I do not recall hearing about them. Now that Long Beach is in an economic recovery period and is trying to attract a more affluent and upscale resident base as well as clientele, it would be way beyond the scope or desire of Long Beach to provide a city-run shelter for homeless individuals. In my current community in Virginia Beach, VA, we do have a fair amount of individuals who are homeless as well. The difference between here and Long Beach, we try to help our homeless by having shelters available operated by churches, synagogues, and private non-profit organizations. We have readily accessible soup kitchens and food pantries, clothing closets, rental assistance programs, free counseling services, day centers for those who care not to stay in a shelter overnight or have nowhere to go during the day. There is even a program that will provide, free of charge a bicycle or the repair of a bicycle for any individual in need as long as income verification can be produced. The point in this "ramble"...maybe, just maybe, Long Beach needs to start taking better care of their residents, no matter what their socio-economic status may be. We here in Virginia Beach are a resort/tourist city, the same as Long Beach, and there are many here who cried for years (and still do) "NIMBY", Not In My Back-Yard, to homeless shelters. But on the converse, the realists know that the homeless situation is not going away any time soon and the people who are need of the services, need to be able to receive them. So, the City of Virginia Beach, will accept any and all help that is offered by any legitimate organization in terms of assisting its homeless population. I think its about time Long Beach does the same. Stop crying NIMBY, accept there are (and always will be) homeless residents, and set up legitimate and accessible support services so this type of horrific situation does not happen again. Shame on you Long Beach.