BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Kern County is just over a week away from the annual Point-in-Time Count to track our homeless population and organizers are asking for volunteers.
The Point-in-Time Count provides a look at our community’s homeless population with as much accuracy as possible. While this report plays a large role in understanding our local population it's also vital to securing federal aid.
Last year was the first year the count was conducted in person since the pandemic with over 1,600 individuals counted.
Ahead of the count volunteers attend a two-hour training, then on January 25, at 4:30 a.m., they’ll be divided into teams. Equipped with the app on their phones, volunteers will help keep track of each individual they count in real-time and feed that data back directly to the Bakersfield-Kern Regional Homeless Collaboratives headquarters.
While this event is a long process, it also helps the community gain a unique perspective.
“What we hear back from the volunteers is they get something out of it too. Because it humanizes people who are oftentimes dehumanized, and it gives them another vantage point for how they got there," said Anna Laven, Ph.D, Executive Director of the BKRHC. "What’s their story? Because you’re asking them questions. So the volunteers tend to feel like it allowed them to get to know their community in a totally different way that was meaningful to them.”
Each year the count relies on hundreds of volunteers, but it’s only been in recent years they’ve seen an uptick in people coming out.
If you’d like to volunteer for the Point-in-Time Count happening next Wednesday you can learn more on the Bakersfield Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative website.
