BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Homelessness remains a major issue in Bakersfield, and for organizations like The Mission at Kern County, continued community support is key to helping people get off the streets and into stable housing.
"So the need is really great when you look at it. And we have in our shelter space and out recovery programs, women and children's programs, which are off-site, we're actually housing 300 of our neighbors each and every night," said Carlos Baldovinos, executive director of The Mission at Kern County.
Baldovinos said The Mission offers a variety of services, from case management, referrals for mental health services, emergency shelter, and daily meals.
"The numbers that you see people lining up outside, they're actually lining up for lunch," Baldovinos said.
"On a yearly basis, if I just give you a global number, we serve about 252,000 meals per year," he said.
At the most recent city council meeting, The Mission received an additional $300,000 from a homeless housing assistance and prevention grant to fund an additional year of operations for its 40-bed expansion. Baldovinos said the expansion opened up in 2021 in response to surging numbers in the homeless population.
"If you look at the numbers from 23 to 24, we had 37% increase from year to year," Baldovinos said.
Baldovinos is referring to the annual Point in Time Count, which gives a census for how many people are experiencing homelessness. The 2025 PIT Count saw a decrease of 2.3%.
"That 40-bed expansion has been an asset to decreasing homelessness in our community as well," Baldovinos said.
The 2026 PIT Count will take place in January. He said when those numbers release in the spring we'll have a better understanding of the current need in Kern County.
"And that's what Kern County is all about, it's working together and moving the ball forward, especially with something like this that is not going away anytime soon," Baldovinos said.
Baldovinos encourages community members to get involved by volunteering their time or coming to serve a meal if they have time.
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