BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Brenda Jean Bowens and her family run a local sober living facility, looking to help those in-need. While they know not all their neighbors support their work, they were upset when security footage showed a one placing a sign near their facility with the N-word on it.
- Video shows security footage of a racially-motivated sign being placed near a local Black-owned sober living facility.
- Bowens reported the incident to Bakersfield Police, the NAACP and pulled video of the sign being placed from their security cameras.
Brenda Jean Bowens and her staff hand out food every Tuesday to those in need in front of her sober living facility on Brundage Lane. Bowens and her family run the facility, taking in men with mental health and substance abuse issues and helping rehabilitate them.
"I love what I do, it's in my heart,” Bowens said. "We have a lot of love for them, regardless of what they do I don't judge them.”
It’s not been an easy journey though. When they first opened nine years ago, Bowens said the surrounding neighbors were less than welcoming.
"We got a lot of people that were worried about the guys, they didn't want them in the neighborhood,” she said. “We had it hard but we're not where we used to be.”
That's how she felt until last month when, on April 23, she said one of her neighbors placed a sign outside the parking lot facing their distribution. The sign had the N-word written at the top.
"When my husband was unloading the truck, they just happened to look over there and they see a big sign that says n***r,” Bowens said.
Bowens reported the incident to Bakersfield Police, the NAACP and pulled video of the sign being placed from their security cameras. She said they've had a disagreement with that alleged neighbor in the past over their trash cans, but nothing to this level.
"This is some serious stuff, I took it to heart and my family did too, she had no reason to do that, if she had an issue she could come talk to me."
We made an attempt to speak to the alleged neighbor Tuesday, but they weren't home.
Bowens said before this, she knew some neighbors weren’t fully supportive of the sober living facility, but she and her family just focused on helping those in-need and running the facility efficiently. Their clients receive social workers, drug testing, and mental health counseling.
Along with their food distributions, Brenda Jean’s Sober Living also runs a soup kitchen and internship program in partnership with CSUB. Bowens said the work they do is challenging and they want to focus on things like affording food for distribution or transportation for clients. Not a racially-motivated sign,
"It's hard running Brenda Jean’s, I have a lot going on to worry about a sign that says that,” Bowens said.
While she and her family are moving past the incident, Bowens said they hope the community won't look past it, but support what they're trying to do.
You can support Brenda Jean’s Sober Living through the Give Big Kern fundraiser.
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