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Congressman Alan Lowenthal (CA-47) announced that he secured inclusion of $17,266,950 for 15 community projects in the 47th District within the final 2023 appropriations government funding package. The $1.7 trillion package passed the House of Representatives today. The spending bill, which previously passed the Senate, now heads to President Biden who is expected to sign the bill as soon as it reaches his desk.
“I came to Congress with the overriding goal of listening to my constituents and helping them improve their lives,” Congressman Lowenthal said. “These projects, prompted and proposed by my communities and constituents, will do just that. I am proud of what I have been able to secure for the 47th District, and even prouder of the fact that these projects will directly improve the quality of life, wellness, and education of hardworking people and families throughout the district.”
The community projects were submitted to the Congressman by community organizations and local governments in the 47th District. The requests were selected for submission by the Congressman through a competitive application and vetting process to ensure compliance with House Appropriations Committee guidelines, community support, benefit to constituents, and valuable use of taxpayer funds.
“It has been my honor during my tenure in Congress to fight for our district to ensure that we get the federal funding we need to improve the lives of local families, advance infrastructure needs, create jobs, and support the economy,” Congressman Lowenthal said.
The 15 projects that Congressman Lowenthal championed during the federal funding process and eventually secured funding for include:
APLA Health & Wellness-Long Beach Health Center ($500,000): This project will facilitate the expansion of APLA Health’s Long Beach Health Center, to better serve a primarily LGBTQ population with medical, dental and behavioral health care as well as sexual health services such as STD screening and treatment, HIV testing, PrEP and PEP.
Arts and Services for Disabled, Inc. ($980,000): This Community Project funds a major renovation of adult day programming facilities. The facility will serve as a high-visibility community space offering free art and mental health wellness workshops, community center use, clinical music therapy services and training, networking, and professional development opportunities for other health and mental health Long Beach service providers.
Ben Em Dang Co Ta Foundation ($750,000): The project will support cultural outreach and community development programs to foster community relations, combat prejudice and to share the narrative of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) contributions to our community.
BPSOS Center for Community Advancement ($300,000): The project will establish a Mental Health Resource and Training Center in Orange County, CA with the goal to increase access and utilization of mental health services for underserved Asian Americans, by incorporating cultural competence for health providers and professionals to prevent, detect, and provide early intervention for individuals with serious mental health illnesses.
Cambodia Town, Inc. ($56,950): This program will provide free online Khmer classes from beginner to advanced proficiency levels on a weekly basis by Cambodian instructors to participants of all ages and ethnicities. The program will increase access to Khmer classes for youth and adults in comprehension, vocabulary and conversational ease. The project will also offer conversational English classes to Cambodian older adults who wish to communicate in English.
City of Avalon-Pebbly Beach Road ($2,000,000): This project involves the shoreline stabilization of a 0.75‐mile stretch of Pebbly Beach Road. Over time, wave erosion and sea level rise has destabilized portions of Pebbly Beach Road within the project area. Over thirty large voids caused by wave erosion have been discovered under the roadway. The roadway corridor (including sidewalk) segments over those voids with the potential to collapse are presently cordoned off to prevent public access. This project will drastically improve public health and safety for motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists along Pebbly Beach Road. Pebbly Beach Road is a critical arterial roadway the connects the industrial area that includes the Avalon Freight Terminal.
City of Long Beach-Anaheim Corridor Improvements ($7,000,000): The Anaheim Corridor Improvements project is a multi-effort safety improvement effort for a three-mile stretch of Anaheim Street in Long Beach from Anaheim Street Bridge over LA River at San Francisco Avenue to Termino Avenue. This area is a major regional travel corridor. The project improves safety in mobility with upgrades to traffic signals with protected turns, construction of pedestrian refuge medians and turn restrictions in historic collision hot spots.
City of Long Beach-LB Learning Hubs ($750,000): Long Beach Learning Hubs currently administer free Internet services (hotspots) and computing devices (tablets, Chromebooks); provide technical support for computing devices and hotspots administered; implement virtual digital literacy courses; and implement communications efforts to promote the resources and services. In addition, the City has launched four community learning hubs where LBUSD students can access online learning and after school programming. This funding request would allow the City to continue building resources and programming for digital inclusion by increasing access at parks and libraries.
Community Medical Wellness Centers, USA ($2,000,000): The proposed project expands behavioral health and substance use disorder services by increasing staffing. In addition, funds are requested to provide transportation and increase access for patients reliant on public transportation and to purchase furniture, computers and software, and licenses for the electronic health record system to support the additional staff.
Cypress College ($500,000): This program will expand support services for military-connected students by providing individual case management and services including mental health support; academic advising; basic skills training for incoming students; book and technology loans; issuance of necessary school supplies; and academic and personal workshops. This project will target the 900 veteran students currently on campus as well as seek resources for the additional 600 veterans, for a total of 1500 students who will be supported with the expansion.
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles ($750,000): These funds will be used to support construction of 20 new homes in the Washington Neighborhood of Long Beach, each of which will be sold with an affordable mortgage to low-income families earning 80% or below of the area median income. The 20 units included in this proposal will be a larger part of a 36-unit development which will include homes set aside for low- and moderate-income households as well as workforce families.
Long Beach Day Nursery ($250,000): The Long Beach Day Nursery project will support staffing to provide high quality childcare education programming.
Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance ($805,000): This request would allow OCAPI to provide mental health program services to underserved, low-income diverse communities in the 47th district of Orange County, CA. Program services include, counseling, case management, psychiatric, psychoeducation, wellness and support groups, and supportive services.
SEE, Books & Buckets ($50,000): The Books & Buckets program provides youth outreach, education and violence prevention services targeting the Washington neighborhood of Long Beach. The Books & Buckets Youth Academy takes youth through an intensive 8-week academic and athletic program. The request will support staffing and operating costs.
The Children’s Clinic, ” Serving Children and Their Families”, dba TCC Family Health ($575,000): This project will directly benefit the short-term and long-term physical and mental health benefits of the constituents of California’s 47th District by ensuring TCC has the resources to design the new health and wellness center in a welcoming, trauma-informed and healing manner reflecting the communities and cultures we serve and ultimately expanding the quality of care this community needs and deserves for years to come. Through this funding, TCC will have the ability to purchase medical, clinical, dental equipment and furnishings, and furniture for offices, lobbies and meeting spaces including Pacific Asian Counseling Services (PACS) offices, three conference rooms, children’s activity room, doctor offices, behavioral health offices and meeting room spaces.
