To: Mayor Robert Garcia, Long Beach City Council</P

From: [Your Name]

March 12, 2021

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia

Long Beach City Council Members

411 W. Ocean Blvd. 11th Floor

Long Beach, CA

Re: Agenda Item #15, March 16th, 2021 City Council Meeting

Dear Honorable Mayor Garcia, City Council Members, & Staff,

Please accept and file this letter on behalf of Ronnie’s House, members of the LBC Beauty and Barber Association, Nonprofit Organizations that support the beauty industry, and other Beauty Industry Owners.

This letter is in response to Item 15 for the City Council Meeting dated March 16, 2021.

We take this opportunity to acknowledge you for your work in bringing in additional economic aid to support Long Beach residents, small businesses, and Nonprofit Organizations.

For the past year, Ronnie’s House has been committed to supporting the Beauty and Barbershop Industry in navigating their way through Covid-19. Our team has worked hand in hand with hundreds of beauty/barbers shops to provide: one on one business coaching, workshops, business resources, access to capital, integration of technology, and kept the industry up to date on changing health orders while connecting them with the PPE and Covid-19 Related resources.

Ronnie’s House has also advocated and continue to advocate for a financial relief package that can better match the beauty industry’s losses. We are confident that we can achieve an equitable relief package with your leadership and continued collaboration.

On February 25, 2021, we, along with the city of Long Beach, Co-Hosted Beauty Industry during the “Economic Recovery Roundtable” We want to thank John Keisler and Eric Romero from the Long Beach Economic Development Department, Councilwoman Stacy Mungo-Flannigan, Vice-Mayor Richardson’s, and Councilwoman Cindy Allen’s staff for listening to the needs of the industry, during the roundtable.

The roundtable provided beauty/barbershop owners the opportunity to voice challenges in their industry and brought awareness to the economic hardship that many shop owners continue to endure due to the Pandemic.

Now, as shop owners begin their recovery process and as the council votes on a new recovery plan, we bring forward the most significant concerns the beauty industry has faced:

A Year Lost In Revenue

Additional Restrictions (limiting the number of barbers or stylists that can do business at one time, resulting in another form of lost revenue)

Extra Business Expenses for PPE Material and changing spacing

Unexpected Technology Upgrades (integration of technology to create appointment systems as required by the health department) and

Additional Costs (resulting from closures like higher interest rates, accumulation of late charges, legal fees (to stop evictions), etc. )

Through the support of Ronnie House’s three roundtables, including the Beauty Industry Roundtable, business shop owners also disclosed that their road to recovery is more challenging than other industries due to:

• Lack of Staffing
• High License Fees
• Social Distancing
• requirements ( limit the number of customers that can receive services.)
• Customer concerns regarding their safety
• Minimal funding or grants that don’t even cover 5% of the industry’s losses.

Even though some shops were able to secure grants, many others in the industry weren’t able to due to their immigration status, unfamiliarity with using computers, and knowledge of open recovery opportunities.

As you may know, barbershops and hair salons are the backbone and heart of our community. These shops have served (historically speaking) as meeting places during the civil rights movement and were among the first businesses that black men, women, and immigrant communities opened. In present times, shops still serve as a place to gather, share health and economic resources, exchange knowledge, and further create a sense of community for many people.

Furthermore, many of our local Long Beach barbershops and hair salons have come together to distribute resources to their customers by sharing information about mental health services on their social media, distributing PPE to families despite current hardship and closures.

In closing, for the Beauty Industry to have a fair chance to recover fully and to move forward towards success, the City of Long Beach, Mayor Robert Garcia, and the City Council must be committed to investing in the industry through funding and resources.

As taxpayers and voters in this community, we are respectfully asking the City of Long Beach for the following:

A Five Million Economic Recovery Package Soley for Barbershops and Beauty Salons

As the recovery proposal stands, a million-dollar recovery package includes the beauty industry with other industries. We request a recovery package to be focused solely on the beauty industry. Other sectors should also seek recovery dollars for their financial losses. The industry’s losses are far too significant not to create a package focused solely on the industry to support with:

Financial Assistance

Grants should be made available to match a more substantial amount of the industry’s losses. We are requesting $25,000.00 in grant funding per business and $10,000 per Barber and Stylist.

Technical Support

Funding for organizations working in our communities that provide technical support to small businesses like our beauty industry should be funded. Organizations like Ronnie’s House and other community-based organizations have been at the forefront of supporting barbershops and beauty salons and are vital to the recovery process and a common request from the industry as a need.

Rent Support

Many small businesses are behind on rent and are vulnerable to eviction. We also request rent recovery grants to provide a minimum of $5,000.00 for assistance with back rent.

License Fees and Waivers

One of our many challenges for the beauty industry is rehiring barbers and stylists. The cost of license fees is also discouraging many from returning to work. We ask for a one-year waiver of all license fees and tax breaks to allow people to get back to work. Furthermore, an individual barber or stylist should receive lower license fees moving forward.

Recommendations of City Staff for an Equitable Recovery

City Staff has presented recovery packages in the past that have been changed on the council floor to support a specific industry while locking others out. City staff understands the importance of ensuring that all economic recovery dollars equitably cover all industries. Therefore, we ask the City Council to exercise reasonable judgment and not change items on the council floor to favor one industry.

All Businesses Have Access

We are asking that all business owners have a path to relief funds. We would like the funding to include undocumented and Reentry members of our community who are owners of beauty or barbershops. We are also requesting that any beauty/barbershop businesses that opened their doors any time prior to the Pandemic receive relief funds and support. A business that opened a day before the Pandemic should be eligible for funding.

Vaccine Support

Since beauty/barbershop industry workers are in close physical contact with customers, vaccination to protect them, their families, and customers is an immediate need. This is important for safety and economic recovery, so customers can feel safe to utilize their local barbershops and hair salons’ services.

Mayor Garcia, we respectfully ask you to make an immediate recommendation to the State for “Vaccines” for the beauty industry and show your commitment to equitable distribution of the Vaccine.

Thank you in advance for supporting the Beauty Industry and ensuring that the industry has an equitable chance to recover and thrive.

Sincerely,

Shirin Senegal
Executive Director
Ronnie’s House
Co-Founder LBC Beauty and Barber Association
6082 Atlantic Ave. Long Beach, CA 90805
Phone – 213-322-6404