Housing vouchers could 'make a dent' in homeless population

Sam Morgen, The Bakersfield Californian
·2 min read

May 12—Kern County has been awarded 229 emergency housing vouchers that could significantly impact the number of people living on the streets locally.

On Wednesday, the Housing Authority of the County of Kern announced the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development had designated the vouchers to Kern as part of the American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion spending bill signed by President Joe Biden that intends to bring America out of the pandemic.

In Kern County, the housing vouchers will be targeted to the most vulnerable homeless individuals. The vouchers come at a time when homelessness appears to be rising. In the latest point in time count, the Bakersfield-Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative identified 2,150 homeless individuals, many of them living outside of shelters.

"We continue to see increased demand for homeless services and support," Housing Authority Executive Director Stephen Pelz said in a statement. "These vouchers could not have come at a more important time."

The vouchers offer the opportunity to potentially take at least 10 percent of homeless individuals off the street. The number could be even more depending on how many families use each voucher.

"It is a really unique opportunity," said Homeless Collaborative Executive Director Anna Laven. "It will definitely help us make a dent."

But the county will first need to find affordable housing before it can use the vouchers. Laven said a shortage in affordable housing units could make it difficult to fully implement the program. A recent report said the city was experiencing a 1 percent vacancy rate, with no housing units available in east Bakersfield in the first three months of 2021.

"Our challenge is finding available housing units for voucher recipients," Collaborative Board Chair Deborah Johnson said in a statement. "We must double down and expand housing inventory in the City of Bakersfield and Kern County if we want to see assistance programs like these EHVs succeed."

The vouchers will provide 18 months of funding and are renewable, according to the news release. Also included in the vouchers is case management support, which the Homeless Collaborative hopes will reduce recidivism.

You can reach Sam Morgen at 661-395-7415. You may also follow him on Twitter @smorgenTBC.