HOMELESSNESS COMMITTEE
POST-MEETING AGENDA
SPECIAL MEETING
November 10, 2025, 1:00 p.m.
City Hall North Conference Room A
1600 Truxtun Avenue
Members
Committee Member Andrae Gonzales - Chair
Committee Member Eric Arias
Committee Member Larry Koman
1. ROLL CALL
2. PUBLIC STATEMENTS
a. Agenda Item Public Statements
b. Non-Agenda Item Public Statements
3. ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES
a. Adoption of the September 22, 2025, special meeting minutes Staff recommends adoption of minutes
4. STAFF REPORTS
a. Homelessness Committee Staff Report November 2025
Staff recommends the committee receive and file the report.
5. NEW BUSINESS
a. Discussion on Long-Term Guests at the Brundage Lane Navigation Center - November 2025
Staff recommend the committee receive and file the presentation. *1. PowerPoint presentation
6. COMMITTEE COMMENTS
7. ADJOURNMENT
1 HOMELESSNESS COMMITTEE
MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING
September 22, 2025, 1:00 p.m.
City Hall North Conference Room A
1600 Truxtun Avenue
Members Present: Committee Member Andrae Gonzales - Chair Committee Member Eric Arias,
Committee Member Larry Koman
Staff Present: Christian Clegg, City Manager
Jenni Byers, Economic and Community Development Director Viridiana Gallardo-King, Deputy Attorney II
Cari Cowling, Assistant Clerk
Joe Conroy, Public Information Specialist
Gary Hallem, Assistant City Manager
Priscilla Martinez, Economic and Community Development
Principal Planner
Nina Carter, Homeless Services Principal
Michelle Cruz, Management Assistant
Others Present: Carlos Baldovinos, The Mission at Kern County Oscar Zubiran, St. Vincent de Paul
_____________________________________________________________________
1. ROLL CALL
2. PUBLIC STATEMENTS
a. Agenda Item Public Statements
None
b. Non-Agenda Item Public Statements
None
3. ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES
a. Adoption of the July 22, 2025, regular meeting minutes Moved by: Committee Member Arias
2 Staff recommends adoption of minutes
Approved
4. STAFF REPORTS
None
5. NEW BUSINESS
a. Presentation on Day Center contributions to Homelessness Presentation from Carlos Baldovinos from The Mission at Kern County Presentation from Oscar Zubiran from St. Vincent de Paul Committee Member Gonzales referred the following requests to staff: that staff coordinate with St. Vincent de Paul on the Homelessness Management Information System to explore opportunities for providing support in implementing the system; and that staff assess ways to better integrate case management between St. Vincent de Paul and Flood Ministries through enhanced collaboration.
Moved by: Committee Member Eric Arias
Staff recommends that the Committee receive and file the information Approved
1. Additional materials submitted by Carlos Baldovinos, The Mission at Kern County
2. PowerPoint presentation by Oscar Zubiran, St. Vincent de Paul
6. COMMITTEE COMMENTS
None
7. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 1:52 p.m.
_________________________
ANDRAE GONZALES, CHAIR
_________________________
JULIE DRIMAKIS, CITY CLERK
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
MEETING DATE: November 10, 2025 AGENDA CATEGORY: Staff Reports TO: Homelessness Committee
FROM: Jennifer M. Byers, Economic and Community Development Director DATE: November 6, 2025
SUBJECT: November 2025 – Staff update on the City’s efforts to address housing and homelessness
[Document Description]
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends committee receive and file report.
BACKGROUND:
The Economic & Community Development Department and Bakersfield Police Department provide a monthly report to the Homelessness Committee. The monthly report provides data on housing, homelessness, and the Community Vitality Initiative.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact to the General Fund.
COUNCIL GOAL:
Safety and Resilience
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Homelessness Monthly Report – November 2025
3| P a g e
HOMELESSNESS
The City of Bakersfield contracts with Flood Ministries for street outreach services to unsheltered individuals.
August 2025 Report
Contacts with Homeless Individuals Weekly
Average
FY 24
Weekly Avg
Contacts with homeless individuals in the field 225
Unique Contacts with homeless individuals in the field 186 Service Acceptance and Resistance Monthly
Total
FY 24
Monthly Avg
Shelter Referrals 578
Referred individuals who accepted shelter 253
Referred individuals who refused shelter 325
Percentage of individuals refusing service 56%
Turn-Aways Weekly
Average
FY 24
Weekly Avg
Total Turn-Aways 75
BLNC turn-aways due to lack of dorm capacity 65
Male 33
Female 22
Couple (# of individuals) 10
BLNC turn-aways due to lack of pet capacity 10
Male 3
Female 4
Couple (# of individuals) 3
Transportation to Homeless Shelters Monthly
Total
FY 24
Monthly Avg
Total Transported 55
Transported to Brundage Lane Navigation Center 37
Transported to Open Door Network 8
Transported to The Mission 10
River Medical Outreach Team Monthly
Total FY 24 Totals
Number of Events 6
Number of Total Attendees 130
Number of Deliveries to Shelter 0
Number of Housing Placements 0
214
184
226
231
457
51%
113
100
13 53
29 18
4 5
4 40
23 5
12 3
44 4
0
4 | P a g e
The City of Bakersfield contracts with the Open Door Network for a jobs program serving multiple City functions. The City also funded an Open Door Network Jobs Center building near Downtown Bakersfield.
August Report Total Calendar YTD Max. Capacity % Filled Newly Hired Employees 0 8 -- --
Current Employees 49 -- 100 100%
Male 26 -- -- --
Female 23 -- -- --
Permanent Job Placements 0 10 -- --
5 | P a g e
The City of Bakersfield contracts with Mercy House to operate all aspects of August Weekly
Average
Maximum
Capacity
% of Capacity
Filled Weekly
291 299 97%
Male 132 135 98%
Female 107 110 97%
Couple (#of individuals) 52 54 96%
Permanent Housing Placements Monthly Total To Date
Number of Placements 7 511
current maximum capacity is 295 beds. Each night four (4) beds are held open for the Bakersfield Police Department to utilize which brings the functional capacity to 299.
6 | P a g e
COMMUNITY VITALITY INITIATIVE
August 2025
(CVI) centralizes and coordinates calls for service related to homelessness. City staff report on the source of calls, types of service requested, and the teams that respond to each call.
Call Sources
• Computer Aided-Dispatch (CAD): calls to the Bakersfield Police Department • Internal: calls directly to the Call Center
• Council: calls from City Council and t
Call Types and Response
Source
Number
of Calls Percent
CAD 946 82%
Internal 193 17%
Council 17 1%
Total 1156 100%
Community Vitality Incident Statistics-Heat Map August 2025 7| P a g ePage 9 of 23
Landfill
Weight (lbs)
*includes DSA
July 190,702
August
222,020
16%
July 2,109
August
2,237Total
Requests/
Locations
Addressed
6%
2025 Clean City Teams Performance Report
August/July
146/130
Mobile App
72/95
Field Check
21/29
Phone
1,992/1,842
Line of Sight
6/13
Email
88 81
134
459
1,590
July, 1,956
July, 75
August, 79
171
245
1,497
August, 1,854
0 3,000
SHOPPING CARTS
TIRES
COUCHES
MATTRESSES & BOX SPRINGS
MISC.
BAGS OF TRASH
CCI Performance
2,994
1,717
4,944
1,616
0 5,000
Bags of Trash Locations Cleaned
DSA Performance
July, 75
August,
89 DSA Businesses Pressure Washed
8| P a g e
507
Exp
Area
3 Downtown
Old
Town
Kern
Exp
Area
1 Exp
Area
2 24 Visits
4%
14 Visits
3%
Biowaste Cleanup Performance Report
August 2025
83 Call Outs
513
Service
Visits 3.6%
Commercial
Alley/
Dumpster
Sidewalk
Gov’t.
Bldg.*
Other**
301 Visits
59%
Service by Area
322 Visits
63%
117 Visits
23%
36 Visits
7%
55 Visits
11%
89 Visits
17%
68 Visits
13%
Service by Location Type
*Visitor’s Center, Courthouse, Beale Library,
Hall of Records, City Hall South,
**Commercial Property, Parking Lot/Garage, AMTRAK
7.8%
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
MEETING DATE: November 10, 2025 AGENDA CATEGORY: New Business TO: Homelessness Committee
FROM: Christian Clegg, City Manager
DATE: November 6, 2025
SUBJECT: Discussion on Long-Term Guests at the Brundage Lane Navigation Center
[Document Description]
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommend the committee receive and file the presentation.
BACKGROUND:
In response to a referral from Councilmember Andrae Gonzales, City staff and Mercy House, the operator of the Brundage Lane Navigation Center, will provide a presentation regarding factors contributing to long-term stays at the facility and potential strategies to reduce extended residency.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The action to receive and file this report will have no fiscal impact on the General Fund.
COUNCIL GOAL:
Safety and Resilience
ATTACHMENTS:
None
Discussion on Long-Term Guests at the
Brundage Lane Navigation Center
YEAR TO DATE
• POSTIVE EXITS – 99 (20%)
• NEGATIVE EXITS – 36 (7%)
• UNKNOWN EXITS – 383 (73%)
MERCY HOUSE 2Page 14 of 23
Our Mission
3MERCY HOUSE
BASED ON A RECENT SURVEY OF 24 US
CITIES, THE AVERAGE LENGTH OF STAY
IN A HOMELESS SHELTER IS:
7 MONTHS, OR JUST OVER 200 DAYS
YEAR TO DATE BLNC AVERAGE SHELTER
STAY:
175 DAYS
4MERCY HOUSE
LONG TERM GUESTS
YEAR OVER YEAR:
NOVEMBER ‘24
58 GUESTS OVER 180 DAYS
58 GUESTS OVER 1 YEAR
2 GUESTS OVER 2 YEARS
OCTOBER ’25
120 GUESTS OVER 180 DAYS
56 GUESTS OVER 1 YEAR
15 GUESTS OVER 2 YEARS
5 WHY IS LENGTH OF
RESIDENCY INCREASING?
SYSTEMIC ISSUES:
• INSUFFICIENT PSH
• INCREASING RENTS/ STATIC BENEFITS
• NO RAPID RE-HOUSING
PERSON-BASED ISSUES:
• INSUFFICIENT / NO INCOME
• EVICTION / CRIMINAL HISTORY
• LOW SPDAT SCORE
• PET RESTRICTIONS / MULTIPLE PETS
• ABSENCE OF DOCUMENTATION
• BEHAVIORAL HEALTH / SUBSTANCE USE
DISORDERS
OF THE 56 GUESTS OVER ONE YEAR:
19 HAVE MISSED HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES DUE TO EVICTION / CREDIT ISSUES 11 HAVE MISSED HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR LACK OF INCOME 10 HAVE MISSED HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES DUE TO MENTAL HEALTH OR
SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS
9 HAVE MISSED HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES DUE TO CRIMINAL BACKGROUND 4 HAVE MISSED HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES DUE TO IMMIGRATION STATUS 3 HAVE MISSED HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES DUE TO PET ISSUES
DESPITE THESE CHALLENGES, OF
THE 56 GUESTS OVER 1 YEAR,
27 OF THEM HAVE BEEN
MATCHED WITH A VOUCHER AND
ARE CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR
HOUSING.
7MERCY HOUSE Page 19 of 23
SOLUTIONS TO REDUCING LENGTH OF RESIDENCY:
MERCY HOUSE
8MERCY HOUSE
• ON-SITE CAL-AIM SERVICES (NAVIGATION/
MOVE-IN EXPENSES
• TARGETED CASE CONFERENCING
• LANDLORD OUTREACH
• REUNIFICATION
CITY
• ADVOCATE FOR MORE HOUSING
RESOURCES / RENTAL ASSISTANCE
• ENCOURAGE LANDLORD INCENTIVE
PROGRAMS
• INCREASE MENTAL HEALTH / SUBSTANCE
ABUSE BEDS
9 MERCY HOUSE Page 21 of 23
10 MERCY HOUSE Page 22 of 23
We help people find their way back home.
mercyhouse.net