Bakersfield’s nearly $2 million Proposition 47 program worked with 144 people in its first 18 months, covering behavioral-health treatment for 76 people and substance-use treatment for 47 others, plus nine short-term and 16 permanent housing placements.
Assistant city manager Jamie Achterberg told KGET that 84 participants were referred to other supportive services and said results are “trending in the right direction.” The three-year initiative is funded by an award from California’s Board of State and Community Corrections.
The program targets people who are homeless or at risk and aims to interrupt the path from parole to homelessness. Participation is voluntary, Achterberg said; even after someone agrees to enter a shelter, placement can take one to three days at sites such as Bakersfield’s Brundage Lane Navigation Center.
