BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Governor Gavin Newsom has called on local governments and counties to address the issue of homeless encampments in cities, emphasizing the need for action with “urgency and dignity.” This initiative is part of a new model ordinance aimed at reducing the visibility of camps in public areas such as streets and parks. Newsom also announced the approval of $3.3 billion in grant funding to support communities in developing more behavioral health care services and housing for homeless individuals.
Carlos Baldovinos, Executive Director of the Mission of Kern, expressed that the issue is complex and cannot be resolved with a single executive order. “This is something that’s been going on for, for a long time, and cleaning it up, doing all those things, it’s not going to be done by just one executive order. It’s going to take some time and some effort by different municipalities across the state to work through all these, all these issues, because they’re complicated,” said Baldovinos.
The Bakersfield Police Department’s Impact Unit Team has been actively clearing encampments, most recently near the Kern Riverbed, where they dismantled 31 encampments, rescued 27 dogs, and provided shelter assistance to three people. However, Baldovinos noted that removing individuals from specific areas is an ongoing cycle. “So what happens to the individuals when a camp is disbanded? You know, they go out to the different areas, right? Because they need water, they need food, right? They need those services. So what happens is that they’ll get disbanded, then shortly thereafter, they’ll be back in right? So it’s, it’s kind of a the system just kind of keeps going,” he said…