BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — “It’s an opportunity that I can just present so we can help more people, so we can better treat more people that are dealing with addictions, that are dealing with mental health and really get down to the root of the matter, because a lot of there’s a lot of good stuff happening in our community,” Executive Director for The Mission at Kern County, Carlos Baldovinos said.
Baldovinos has been a champion for individuals facing homelessness and addiction in the Golden Empire. His work has now drawn the attention of the federal government.
Last week, Baldovinos was invited to a joint meeting with the White House, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Health and Human Services.
“They put out the executive orders, but there was really no substance, thorough substance behind these executive orders. … How do we implement that nationally?” Baldovinos said.
The Trump administration invited 15 individuals from across the country to help create a “best practice toolkit” to implement two Executive Orders.
Both the Great American Recovery Initiative and the Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets order focus on cleaning up the streets of American cities and helping address the ongoing drug and homelessness crisis.
The tool kit would provide resources and programs that the federal government can use to help tackle the growing homelessness crisis.
Baldovinos said many at the meeting were impressed with Kern County’s Higher Up program.
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“Those individuals that are actually in our recovery programs actually become students at [Bakersfield College]. … If you look at the relapse from people that are actually once they graduated from the program … their level of relapsing, it’s less than 75%.”
Baldovinos says the meeting served as a great networking event for people across the nation with the same goal.
But to be invited to the white house was an honor for Baldovinos.
“Just what a great opportunity it was to be in our nation’s capital. To be part of policy and change that again, it’s going to help people’s lives. And if we can, if I could be part of that, I’m all in.”
Representatives from the Department of Health and Human services are set to visit Kern County this summer. They are expected to hold a roundtable and examine the way the county has tackled homelessness.
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