CONTACT: Carlos Baldovinos, BKRHC Executive Board Chair, cbaldovinos@themissionkc.org
BKRHC Releases 2023 Point-in-Time Homeless Count
The Bakersfield-Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative (BKRHC) has released the 2023 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count report of persons experiencing homelessness in Kern County.
The PIT Count is an annual count that provides a snapshot view over just a 12-hour period of homeless individuals as required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The PIT Count is used by the State and Federal government to determine funding for counties, cities, and local continuums of care. The 2023 PIT Count uses data from emergency shelters, navigation centers, and transitional housing for the sheltered count, while volunteers are sent to areas around the County to locate and count unsheltered individuals. An accurate count ensures the region receives its fair share of State and Federal funding for homelessness programming and services
This year, 1,948 persons, or 0.2 percent of the total County population, were found to be experiencing homelessness in Kern County. The majority of the counted homeless population was located in the Bakersfield Metro Area, which includes the unincorporated areas of Oildale, East Bakersfield and Rosedale. Of the total number of individuals located and counted countywide, 1,017, or 52 percent, were found to be unsheltered, while 931 individuals, or 48 percent, were sheltered. Importantly, the year-over-year percentage number of counted homeless individuals who are sheltered is trending upward due to the availability and expansion of local emergency shelters, navigation centers, transitional housing initiatives and encampment engagement strategies, particularly in the Bakersfield Metro Area.
Overall, the total number of persons counted in the 2023 PIT Count is 22 percent higher than last year’s PIT Count. This year, the BKRHC and community leaders developed a strategy to increase volunteer turnout and improve the count’s methodology. The strategy resulted in a record volunteer turnout and included two additional days to count rural Kern County areas, including the Kern Riverbed, which has contributed, in part, to the year-over-year increase in total number of persons counted from 2022. Please refer to the official BKRHC 2023 PIT Count Report for additional information.
The 2023 PIT Count data and report undergoes a thorough review and validation process before being adopted by the BKRHC Governing Board and submitted to HUD.
ABOUT THE BAKERSFIELD-KERN REGIONAL HOMELESS COLLABORATIVE
The Bakersfield-Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative (BKRHC) is an independent, nonprofit organization composed of individuals, organizations and public agencies working to address homelessness in our community. Through collaborative planning and action, BKRHC works to reduce the impacts of homelessness and build a future where every person in Kern County has a permanent place to call home.