- Video shows students graduating, people experiencing homelessness, and statistics on the impacts of homelessness in Kern County.
- Frankie Sanchez, a student in BC's Project Hireup, graduated from the program with goals to turn his life around after dealing with substance abuse and homelessness.
It’s places like Mill Creek Park that some Kern County residents may temporarily call home while dealing with homelessness.
One local man relates to that experience when he says he spent time moving from place to place.
Frankie Sanchez lived in Tulare County, struggling with substance abuse and unemployment after he stopped attending classes.
“I finished high school, and I attended a community college, but that’s when I went downhill,” Sanchez shares.
He says living in the streets lead him to a dark place.
“I was living alone, and I didn’t have a father figure," Sanchez said. " I didn’t have any brothers. It was just me and my sisters, and I didn’t have anyone to coach me and guide me.”
But it was in that place he realized he needed help.
Sanchez learned about the Mission at Kern County and decided to leave his hometown behind.
"There was a mission at the home, the city I was at, but I knew I needed to get away, so I came to a county I know nothing of to a city I know nothing of,” Sanchez said.
While at the Mission, staff connected Sanchez with Bakersfield College’s Project Hireup, a program in partnership with CityServe dedicated to decreasing homelessness and helping students find jobs.
“Through those six months, students are able to engage in education, personal and professional development, and career readiness,” Brian Rodriguez, the Director of Rural Initiatives and Adult Education at Bakersfield College said about the classes.
The Bakersfield-Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative reports nearly 2000 people in Kern Countyare experiencing homelessness as of April — that number is 22% higher than 2022.
Cherese Greoo, the Director of CityServe Kern knows how detrimental those impacts can be.
“Sometimes all of us are one decision away from being homeless,” she said.
Individuals without a high school education are shown to be 3.5 timesmore likely to experience homelessness.
That’s why Greoo helped start this program.
“It’s teaching the professional skills for somebody to get a job, it’s teaching them personal skills, how to build relationships, how to balance their money and to balance their time. it’s all of that together that gets them into housing security,” she explained.
The program began in spring 2020, and 179 students graduated from the program.
Sanchez is now one of those graduates.
During his time in the program, Sanchez proved himself by showing up to each lesson ready to learn.
That initiative earned him the above and beyond award at Friday’s ceremony.
He says the Mission and the program helped restore dreams he used to have, allowing him to recreate new life goals for himself.
“I have brothers in Christ, and I was born brotherless, so it was a different environment," he said. "They made me feel very welcome, and like I said I wasn’t alone.”
Sanchez plans to stay in Bakersfield and continue his education, ultimately hoping to work as a substance abuse counselor.
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