BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Earlier in January, the Kern County Board of Supervisors approved the third round of disbursement for the Homelessness, Housing Assistance, and Prevention (HHAP) Grant funds. These funds are intended to help combat homelessness throughout Kern County.
The county's total HHAP allocation is roughly $1.8 million dollars. Both the City of Bakersfield and the Bakersfield Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative can now continue to move forward providing homeless services to those in need.
Anna Laven, Executive Director of the Bakersfield Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative, says investments like this are critical. She says for decades, homelessness was under-resourced, and the organization is excited to be able to have another opportunity to add innovative projects, and to invest in programs for helping the homeless.
"More specifically that the Bakersfield Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative will be focusing on are things like landlord incentives. We have a really challenging situation in terms of affordable housing supply, so we are really trying to make sure that we have options for folks who are interested in moving out of homelessness through a journey to permanent housing," said Laven.
Laven says while the organization is thankful for the allocation of funds, she does think a long-term investment would further help them continue to provide the vital services that are needed here in Kern County.
"Grateful that they are there. The only piece, I think, for us that we would love to see as a change is instead of them being one-time investments, that these really are ongoing dollars. We know that homelessness is a crisis throughout California. We are always trying to add more tools to the toolkit. We have more work to do, as always, but we are definitely headed in the right direction," said Laven.
This grant program is intended to give homeless people a chance not just to secure housing, but to find employment, serve their community, and improve their lives.
One of those lives belongs to Carmen Flores. She is one of the clients who has benefitted from HHAP funds, and it has given her a chance to work in one of the many programs that allow her to serve in the community.
"I feel very grateful. It's working. Thank God for the programs. That's why the programs are there. We need to use them to better ourselves. It's not like it's a hopeless situation. It's not. They are willing to help you and me. It's changed my life a lot," said Flores.
One of the things Flores says she has thoroughly enjoyed about working under the grant is giving others hope and explaining the array of opportunities available to turn lives around.
"We're doing something, I'm doing something positive. Something that is going to make them think that this is not the end, but to let them know don't give up. There's jobs out there. There's a lot of opportunities. There's a lot of programs that can help you get housing and whatever it takes or needs, the needs that people have," said Flores.
According to Laven, following the approval of the funds, the next steps consist of going through requests for proposals for organizations that are interested in carrying out the activities they have planned.
