Latest news with #Bakersfield-KernRegionalHomelessCollaborative
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Yahoo
‘Makeshift tents and cardboard boxes': Kern County homeless shelter director discusses encampment sweeps
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Bakersfield and Kern County are on the forefront of clearing homeless encampments and you can submit an encampment complaint to code enforcement. The question still looms…what defines a homeless encampment? Homeless shelters around town are routinely full, depending on the time of year. In fact, the chair of the Bakersfield-Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative says shelters are full upwards of 95% every single day. 'In this county we work really diligently to disband those encampments, so I think we're moving in a good speed, regarding encampments,' said Carlos Baldovinos, the chair of Bakersfield Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative and the Executive Director at The Mission shelter. Murder trial delayed in hit-and-run crash that killed bicyclist He defines encampments as, 'Makeshift tents and cardboard boxes. In essence that is in turn an encampment because you have 2, 3 4, 5, 8 people living alongside of that with really no public facilities with restrooms and showers and such,' said Baldovinos. A government code passed on Dec. 18, outlawing any outdoor sleeping or encampments on public property. Through 'Measure N' funds — the city has been able to relaunch the Bakersfield Police Department's impact team and launched Code Enforcement Rapid Response Teams — who address encampments around the city. The most recent encampment clearing, was in April across the Kern County riverbed. BPD reported 31 encampments were cleared, 28 people arrested, five people were cited, three people accepted shelter placements with flood ministries and 27 dogs were taken into protective custody. The Brundage Lane Navigation Center alone, has found permanent housing for more than 475 people since 2018. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
2025 Point In Time Count volunteers survey homeless individuals around Kern County Wednesday
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Homelessness rose by 37% in 2024, to more than 2,600 homeless individuals in Kern County, according to Bakersfield-Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative. The Mission at Kern County serves as the headquarters for the 2025 Point In Time Count. Kern County Board of Supervisors votes to separate voter registrar duties of Auditor-Controller-Clerk's office 'We're mandated by Housing and Urban Development to do this every year, it's a snapshot really, we have four hours to do this survey,' Steve Peterson, Director of Programs at the Mission at Kern County. Volunteers have four hours to go around town and the county to find every homeless person they can and survey them. In an effort to get an accurate number on homelessness in the county. Or as close to an accurate number as possible. 'Every year we get better and better, so I want to say that our count comers fairly close, but I'm sure we're not going to get everybody,' Peterson said. Tracking homeless in the shelters is the easy part. The hard part is counting the ones outside. But they have a plan for that. Never miss a story: Make your homepage 'What we do is we create these teams, there's a four-person team that will go out there, and they'll have a map. And they stay within that area, so we're not just randomly going out there,' Peterson went on to explain. Even then, it's still not enough to track all of them, especially in those rural areas of the county. That's why they'll still have two extra days to track those rural areas and make sure they're counted too. All to make sure the count is as accurate as possible, so that funds to help the homeless get properly allocated. 'They go to supportive services that come along and help people get into housing, or once they get into housing help them stay in housing… our goal is to get them off the streets so they can be in a safe environment. Nobody should have to live out there on the streets,' Peterson said. Hear what one volunteer had to say about her experience volunteering for the annual Point In Time Count in the video player above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
