On March 8, 2023, as part of the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Mid-Year Budget, the Bakersfield City Council approved funding for a Community Vitality and Family Reunification Initiative. The City aims to prevent and address homelessness in the region by improving strategic and efficient field responses to individuals in need of services and reducing the number of individuals who are discharged into homelessness from agencies such as incarceration institutions, medical facilities, and foster care. The initiative would prioritize reunifying individuals experiencing homelessness with care, family, and loved ones within and outside the Continuum of Care’s (CoC) jurisdiction.
Flood Bakersfield Ministries, Inc. (Flood) will implement Public Safety and Vital Services program, Community Vitality and Family Reunification to provide street outreach, supportive services, and family reunification in collaboration with City Code Enforcement’s Rapid Response Teams (RRT), and Bakersfield Police Department (BPD). Flood street outreach teams will be dedicated to accompanying RRT and BPD to calls for service, conduct triage and assessment, and/or connect clients to immediate resources such as sober living homes, detox, mental health services, shelters, short-term housing, as well as case-management and housing navigation. Anticipated Project start date is July 1, 2023.
FISCAL IMPACT:
City Council has approved $300,000 of Public Safety and Vital Services (PSVS) funding to implement and support the Community Vitality and Family Reunification Initiative.
COUNCIL GOAL:
The action aligns with City Council goal 2 to collaborate with and assist supportive service providers in achieving progress towards a meaningful reduction in homelessness in the Bakersfield-Kern CoC region.