Your monthly news & updates
|
|
Groundbreaking Changes Coming To Lamont
|
|
A year ago we reported that State funding was secured for an $8.2 affordable housing complex in Lamont. This year, on July 18, the official groundbreaking ceremony took place, with BHC-Kern partners front and center.
Mountain View Village
will include new transit stops, bicycle and pedestrian improvements connecting the complex to surrounding neighborhoods. Other amenities will include an electric vehicle charging station, a CalTrans rideshare program, a bicycle education program, and the purchase of bicycles for all households in Mountain View Village. The development builds off of a Caltrans grant that will construct 20 miles of bike lanes connecting Mountain View Village to the rest of the community.
Thanks to the combined efforts of the Comité Progresso de Lamont, youth from the Lamont Boys & Girls Club, local developers, the Kern County Housing Authority, Leadership Counsel, and community members, the 40-unit multifamily apartment complex will provide much needed affordable housing in the area.
|
|
Historic Legislation Will Provide Safe #Agua4All
|
|
While visiting the rural community of Tombstone in Fresno County on July 24, Governor Newsom signed
SB 200
, also known as the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. Like many other communities throughout California, Tombstone's water supply has been unsafe to drink due to contamination from carcinogens such as nitrates, total coliform, and 1,2,3-TCP.
The Fund will provide nearly $1.5 billion dollars over the next 10 years for safe drinking water projects in vulnerable communities. This landmark bill was secured after decades of advocacy by not only environmental and social justice organizations, but also by the residents of the impacted communities. Several BHC-Kern partners were pivotal in bringing this bill to fruition, including Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, Community Water Center, and the Dolores Huerta Foundation. This victory demonstrates, once again, that persistence and
people power
can
change the narrative!
|
|
Local Immigration Activist Released from Detention
Facility Thanks to Several NFL Players
|
|
Local immigration activist Jose Bello, who made national headlines after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement twice, has been released from ICE custody after NFL players paid his bail, the American Civil Liberties Union reports.
Bello was released from Mesa Verde Detention Facility earlier this month, according to the ACLU. His bail of $50,000 was paid by NFL players Josh Norman and Demario Davis, The New York Immigrant Freedom Fund, a program that pays immigration bond for individuals who are unable to pay it, and The National Bail Fund Network, a network that works to free people from pretrial incarceration and immigration jail.
|
|
Six young people from Kern County had the opportunity to attend TCE's annual summer camps designed for youth leaders from across the State. Four young women participated in the Sisterhood Rising Leadership Retreat, and two young men took part in the Sons and Brothers Leadership Retreat. This year both camps focused on learning from these emerging leaders, all of whom were repeat attendees, the most effective ways to support young women and men as they strengthen their communities.
|
|
"It's Just What I Have To Do"
|
|
For Carlito’s family, fieldwork is an unstable but necessary form of income. Carlito’s jobs take him to fields scattered across the outskirts of the city, with different companies overseeing the fields. Some days, he has shade, water, and toilets readily available. Other days, he may not have those necessities.
Read more about
Carlito
and other teens who help support their family by working in the fields.
|
|
Delano Sets A Precedent in Kern
|
|
Delano became the first city in Kern County to declare itself a sanctuary city after the City Council voted to approve a resolution at the Aug. 5 meeting.
The resolution received much opposition during the previous City Council meeting, but this time it was passed with a 4 to 1 vote from the Council; Mayor Joe Aguirre was the only dissenting vote.
“We are now making sure that we are becoming involved in supporting SB-54 with this resolution,” said Council Member Grace Vallejo. “We shouldn’t stand by and be idle on anything that addresses our citizens. Whether it’s this particular issue or any issue.”
Previous to the City adopting the sanctuary resolution, the elementary and high school districts had decided to adopt their own resolutions in 2016 and 2017 to declare schools a safe haven for undocumented students and their families.
Read more about
Delano's
landmark policy.
|
|
More than 400 Greenfield families received 10,000 lbs. of produce at the August 8 Farmers Market. With more than 1,900 people benefiting from the event, this was our largest Farmers Market to date! Made possible by the collaboration and hard work of BHC-Kern, CAPK, Greenfield Walking Group, and the Greenfield Family Resource Center, a big t
hank you goes out to the
volunteers who braved the heat to serve others in the community!
|
|
‘We are one human race, we are one people’:
Advocates call on elected officials to end gun violence
|
|
Community members gathered on August 8 in front of Representative Kevin McCarthy’s office to rally against his response to the recent mass shootings that shattered communities in the United States.
McCarthy blamed the shootings on video games that “dehumanize individuals” and encourage violence, while the Dolores Huerta Foundation blamed white supremacy, racism, and lack of education touted by elected officials.
“This whole thing about video games being the reason is so outrageous,” Dolores Huerta said at the press conference, organized by The Dolores Huerta Foundation, Women’s March Kern County and First And Always Melanin.
|
|
Calling All Parents and Community Members
To Support Equitable Education!
|
|
Building Healthy Communities| 9000 Stockdale Hwy| Bakersfield| CA| 93309
|
|
We have the power to build healthy communities for the next generation!
|
A #HealthyKernCounty benefits us all
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
