Dignity Health | hello Healthy | Winter 2018-2019

14 DignityHealth.org/Bakersfield | Winter 2018–2019 Dignity Health is continuing its mission to serve the underserved by backing a new program to help break the cycle of homelessness in Bakersfield. In the last year, homelessness has increased by 9 percent locally. To help mitigate the increase, Dignity Health is partnering with the nonprofit organization Garden Pathways to launch the Homeless Outreach and Intervention Pilot. The yearlong effort will seek to address the very complex, underlying issues of homelessness, as well as connect homeless people to the services they need. “We listened to the community, and there has been a lot of concern, confusion, and even some fear regarding the increased number of homeless people we are seeing on our streets,” says Robin Mangarin-Scott, Vice President of Strategic Marketing and Communications for Dignity Health Central California. “This program gives us a unique opportunity to go out face-to- face, one-on-one, and ask the homeless what they need to find the lives they deserve.” Hope for the future Eventually, Garden Pathways will put together a multidisciplinary team of professionals, such as nurses, therapists, and behavioral specialists, to go out and offer on-site services to homeless people. Organizers hope this targeted approach will help re-establish trust with homeless people so they will be more likely to seek care and ultimately transition to other housing options. “We have to go beyond giving them a meal or a place to live for a couple of nights,” Mangarin-Scott says. “We need to meet them where they are, and that’s where we can provide hope for a new future.” Once the program is completed, the two organizations hope to use the results to create a replicable model that can be used throughout the city for continued outreach and advocacy. Reaching out Dignity Health will provide $100,000 to support the pilot program, which will be managed by Garden Pathways. During the discovery phase, which began in September, teams of five employees hit the streets twice a day in the area surrounding 34th Street, between Union and Chester avenues. They began by surveying the area for environmental factors that may contribute to homelessness—things like recycling centers; abandoned businesses; empty homes, which can be used for squatting; or overgrown vegetation, where a homeless encampment may go unnoticed. “This effort is unique because it’s proactive instead of reactive,” says Juan Avila, Chief Operating Officer of Garden Pathways. “Our approach is to be consistent and present every day so we can connect the homeless with the services they need to move them along in their journey.” Breaking the cycle of homelessness Help us make a difference! If you would like to volunteer, call Garden Pathways at 661.633.9133 or send an email to juana@gardenpathways.org .