Homelessness is on the decline in Kern

The Kern County Homeless Collaborative (KCHC) wants to put an end to homelessness in Kern County. Christine Lollar told Tehachapi Kiwanis members that the Homelessness Census showed 953 people were homeless during a 24 hour period in January. The effort is held annually to determine trends and solutions to help people who are homeless. Since the homeless population is migratory, rural counts can vary and the KCHC is available to assist communities.

Lollar is the manager for KCHC whose members provide access to housing and services from emergency shelter to case management; from mental health and medical care to job training and benefit acquisition. The annual cost to communities for an individual who is homeless can be $35 to $150 thousand, but reduces to $25 thousand through housing. Funding comes largely through a U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant which specifies a "homelessness" definition for the Census.

Lollar urged people not to criminalize homelessness, which also fiscally affects communities, but to show compassion. "People are homeless for a variety of reasons. Some are educated and have run into unfortunate circumstances. Many have a mental health disability. In most instances the collaborative can guide and/or assist with solutions," she said.

Kiwanis members are dedicated to helping children and were saddened to hear that seven thousand children in Kern are unstably housed, either moving frequently, living with relatives or in hotels. One hundred fifty were homeless on that single day, according to HUD.

Lollar said "The best way to help end homelessness is to learn about it, find out about services, and work together as a community." Donations of household items is a help. Folks can volunteer and invest in the local work at http://www.KernHomeless.org through United Way, where 99% of contributions stay local. United Way contributors made it possible to invest $250 thousand dollars into the work of hunger and homelessness in Kern, this year.