Wasco's homeless outreach team reports steady engagement, several placements in quarterly update
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
City staff and community partners reported increased acceptance of services during weekly outreach, described placements and partner coordination, and the council voted to receive and file the quarterly report.
The Wasco City Council received and filed the city's homeless outreach quarterly report after staff described steady outreach engagement, partner coordination and several individual placements since the previous report.
Homeless outreach staff described weekly Wednesday street outreaches that now regularly involve partner agencies including Team Challenge, Kern Family Healthcare, Kern Medical, Be Finally Free, and local churches. Staff said outreach teams are seeing higher rates of service acceptance and repeatedly visiting encampment sites, notably on BNSF property near the Amtrak area.
Staff and partners described several individual outcomes: one woman who was reluctant at first was assisted and later moved to Bakersfield for services; another man was placed at Tommy's Legacy and reported doing well; outreach teams helped a couple who had run out of gas to get home to Indiana; a separate person was assisted to secure detox and referral to Teen Challenge. Staff also described document-replacement work, apartment searches and mobile clinic visits with Kern Medical and Kern Family Healthcare.
The report noted ongoing challenges: encampments on BNSF property and Amtrak land are recurrent; fencing there remains cut and the site periodically requires multi-agency cleanups. Outreach staff said some people remain resistant to services and that success is a gradual process.
Council members praised the outreach work. Mayor Pro Tem Saldana moved to receive and file the report; Council Member Reina seconded. The roll-call vote was unanimous.