- Video shows Edward Robinson passing out food to people in-need, photos of his time in the military, and the Kern County Black Chamber of Commerce business mixer
- Edward Robinson was homeless for a month in Michigan after his family lost their home, and he remembers what it felt like. Now, he's using his experience and education to help the homeless in Kern.
Edward Robinson knows what it’s like to be homeless, and he’s using his experience and education to serve the minority population in Kern County.
For Robinson, serving the community in Kern started from a place of need in Michigan.
“We ended up losing our house once.”
He says he lived on the streets for about a month, struggling to get by.
“I was going in the University of Michigan library pretending to be a student so I could fall asleep while ‘studying’ in the library,” he remembered, and he also remembers feeling embarrassed to ask for help.
“I remember realizing that I didn’t have much, but I wanted to be more,” he said.
His youth pastor, a veteran, heard about his situation, and Robinson says he suggested he join the military.
“He takes me to the recruiter and they start showing me videos of guys kicking in doors and jumping out of helicopters.”
He joined the army in the summer of 2004 as an infantryman and tells me he deployed to Iraq where he was injured in combat.
He eventually earned his honorable discharge in the Spring 2012 and decided to attend Hampton University with his GI Bill benefits.
“I was just exposed to this profound freedom and black excellence,” he said.
He continued to further his education with Baylor University’s online program which he says marked a turning point.
He loads up his mobile clinic on his way to provide food and resources to Kern County’s homeless population.
“My big this is really preserving folks' dignity," Robinson said. "I remember when I was homeless how embarrassing it was to ask for help.”
“So as you can see you got to be physically fit to do outreach,” he laughed.
With his organization, the Social Servant, he takes the resources straight to the community.
Because he says transportation is the number one barrier for minority groups to receive the help they need.
At the end of January, the Kern County Black Chamber of Commerce introduced Robinson as the new president and CEO, and with this platform, he says he’s able to continue serving disadvantaged community members.
“The same protected class members that are being served by the social servant are the very same protected class members being served by the Kern County Black Chamber.”
He adds he offers his services to others as a way to honor the people in his life who supported him.
“I’m wearing many hats but it all goes together in the heart of service.”
For more information on how you can support or receive assistance from the Social Servant, you can find Robinson’s contact information here.
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