The Downtown Long Beach Alliance (DLBA) is offering the public an opportunity to get an inside look at the work of its public safety partners with a virtual tour series. DLBA’s YouTube channel now features video tours of the Long Beach Rescue Mission and Long Beach Health and Human Services Department.
“These videos are being created to make the public aware of some of the things the Long Beach community is doing to help support a positive community experience,” said DLBA Board Member and Public Safety Committee Chair Denise Carter. DLBA’s Public Safety Partners are “organizations and government agencies that are aligned with DLBA to provide services which enhance safety and well-being for residents and property owners in Downtown,” Carter explained.
Last fall, the Public Safety Committee established the goal of giving the public a chance to meet these Partners through a scheduled series of site tours. The original plan was to offer the opportunity to sign up for in-person tours, but with the arrival of COVID-19 last spring, the Committee decided to pivot to virtual tours.
“While businesses are shuttered and residents aren’t yet able to visit in person, DLBA and its public safety partners have been busier than ever providing the services that enhance the safety and well-being of our Downtown residents and property owners. The work continues,” said DLBA Chief Operations Officer Broc Coward. “Through these tours, people can appreciate the work that is being done around them on their behalf.”
The videos, which are filmed by Coward, are approximately 30 minutes long. They feature the director of each agency, who describes its purpose and goals while giving the viewer a thorough walking tour of the facility and the operations conducted there.
“We have adapted so the public still has access to our Public Safety Partners,” said Coward. “Hopefully this will inspire people to get involved with them, or with DLBA. If we get to the point where we’re scheduling real tours, we will invite the community to attend, but it is likely we’ll keep developing a library of virtual tours as well. We want to do our best to educate the community to all the public safety resources available.”