BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Kern Bridges Youth Homes is hosting a gala premiere of an Emmy Award-winning documentary about foster youth on Saturday, Aug. 29, at 6 p.m.
The event will screen "Possible Selves," a documentary by filmmaker Sean Caddick, who spent 4 years embedded with foster youth in Los Angeles County. The film follows two young people, Alex and Mia, as they work toward graduating from a 4-year university — a milestone reached by only 3% of foster youth.
"This documentary goes on to win an Emmy Award for LA area documentary, and my thought was, let's screen that in town," David Milazzo, event director for Kern Bridges Youth Homes, said. "And if we're going to do that, why don't we do something with a connection to Kern Bridges, who are the boots on the ground here in town."
The gala will feature a red carpet experience and is intended to raise awareness and funds for foster youth services in the Bakersfield area.
Kern Bridges Youth Homes has operated for nearly 40 years, providing services including youth homes, adoption services, and supervised visitation. Milazzo said thousands of young people have benefited from the organization's work.
"It is very unsettling to have your life upended in this way and not have adults around you to support you," Milazzo said. "If they don't have strong, caring adults around them, things can get messy and their lives can turn into crime or violence or all sorts of mental health issues. So to have these people around that actually care about them, it's life changing for them."
Milazzo noted that several other organizations in the area also serve foster youth, including Covenant Coffee, Victory Family Services, Bakersfield Angels, and Open Door Network.
Tickets for the Aug. 29 gala are available at kernbridges.com or possibleselves.kernbridges.com.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy
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