The Voices Changing Youth Homelessness in Kern County

School was supposed to be a place to learn, but for Cynthia Lira-Martinez, it was sometimes the only place she could find food, feel safe or clean herself in a bathroom sink. Elias Martinez spent much of his youth moving between a car, a hotel and an abandoned house with his mother. The instability left him angry, distracted and struggling in school.

What teachers might have seen as disengagement or behavioral problems was, in reality, the weight of trying to survive without a stable place to call home.

Today, both are drawing on those painful experiences to help ensure other young people facing homelessness have the support they need.

As members of the Bakersfield-Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative’s (BKRHC) Youth Action Board (YAB), Lira-Martinez and Martinez are among nine young people who have experienced homelessness firsthand and are now helping shape local policy. Together, they are turning personal hardship into community-wide solutions, ensuring the voices of those most affected by homelessness help guide the systems designed to support them.

Their work comes at a critical time. In 2026, the Bakersfield-Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative recorded 171 unhoused transitional youth (ages 18-24), 55% of whom, or 94 individuals, were unsheltered. 6,336 TK-12 students in Kern County were identified as experiencing homelessness under the federal McKinney-Vento definition during the 2025-26 school year, according to the California Department of Education’s DataQuest database. 570 of those students were identified as unaccompanied homeless youth, meaning they were experiencing homelessness without residing with a parent or legal guardian.

Every person who is unhoused experiences homelessness differently, but overall, homelessness is a lack of the resources and support networks necessary to obtain and maintain permanent housing. This includes individuals and families who are literally homeless, imminently at risk of homelessness, unaccompanied youth, families with children, and those fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other life-threatening conditions.

For the Youth Action Board, making youth homelessness visible is essential to connecting youth with the support they need.Making youth homelessness visible is essential to ensuring young people are recognized, connected to resources, and provided with the support they need to thrive.

“There’s a lot of youth that are experiencing homelessness in our community, and if we don’t speak on it, and people don’t know how to identify it, then how are we ever going to get these youth the help that they need?” Lira-Martinez said.

November is Homeless Youth Awareness Month, but the YAB’s advocacy continues year-round. Members organize initiatives to educate the community about youth homelessness and how to support young people. They collaborate with local aid organizations to address unhoused youths’ everyday needs, from writing letters requesting basic necessities like can openers from food banks to speaking at Bakersfield City Council meetings, where officials formally proclaim Homeless Youth Awareness Month.

The board has also helped secure resources for lasting change. Members played a pivotal role in securing a $5.2 million Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program grant through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, bringing crucial funding for supportive services and permanent housing to Kern County. They contributed by conducting surveys, incorporating community feedback, and producing a video illustrating how the funds would benefit unhoused youth.

“There’s a lot of youth that are experiencing homelessness in our community, and if we don’t speak on it, and people don’t know how to identify it, then how are we ever going to get these youth the help that they need?”

– Cynthia Lira-Martinez

Homeless Youth Awareness Month activities include a warm clothing drive, the Cost of Poverty Experience, where community members learn about systemic poverty, and the Youth Connect Event, which connects unhoused youth to critical services.

The YAB also speaks at local and national conferences about the work they are doing in Kern County. They get to share their stories, inspiring local leaders and organizations to fund or develop solutions to support unhoused youth.

In previous years, the board also hosted the Purple Pie Challenge, a fundraiser that gave participants the chance to pie KCSOS administrators in the face with a purple pie—for a good cause. Purple is the official color for Homeless Youth Awareness Month.

While each member brings a distinct story to the board, they share the same goal of helping unhoused youth become housed and thriving financially, academically, professionally, and socio-emotionally.

Unhoused youth often struggle to balance simply showing up to school with fulfilling their basic needs for safety, food, and hygiene. Signs of youth homelessness at school include poor hygiene, repeatedly wearing the same clothes, fatigue, extreme shyness or aggression, a lack of basic school supplies, and not participating in field trips. Educators may mistake the effects of trauma and survival for behavioral problems or a lack of interest in learning. YAB members encourage educators to approach students with compassion first.

L: YAB member Te’Jon Douglas organizes water bottles at the Youth Connect Event. R: Some of the YAB members pose for a photo.

L: Lorenzo Speed is a YAB member. R: Blu Fisher is a YAB Co-Chair.

L: Esperanza Perales poses outside the Dream Center. R: Elias Martinez speaks at the YAB meeting.

Today, many YAB members work for local organizations that support unhoused youth. YAB member Esperanza Perales, a clerk for School-Community Partnerships, strives to be the person she needed when she was struggling. Lira-Martinez, a Foster Youth Specialist at Kern County Network for Children, has already witnessed the impact of her own work.

“I had a youth come up to me and tell me how much I have helped her and how she’s motivated to keep going,” Lira-Martinez shared. “It’s little things like that—when the youth come up to you and you see that sharing the ugly parts of your story can help someone overcome the ugly parts of their story.”

When Lira-Martinez began working the front desk at the Dream Center five years ago, she recognized many of the youth seeking help, because she had experienced homelessness alongside them. Seeing them eventually transition into stable housing gave her a powerful realization that she had the ability to make a difference.

“We went through being homeless, but it didn’t break us,” she said firmly. “For a moment, we were bending and it was hard, but we came out on top of it. We overcame it. It was difficult, but now we’re on the other side of it, and we’re all trying to make a difference.”

Allyson Baptiste, YAB advisor and Program Coordinator of School-Community Partnerships, believes the entire community benefits when the YAB members use their lived experiences to drive systems-level change. Through advocacy, mentorship and education, the YAB demonstrates how young people who have experienced homelessness can help transform the systems that are meant to serve them and ensure other youth receive the support they need.

“I know how much I struggled, and how much I went through, and how much I wish I would have had someone advocating for me more or trying to make a change in the systems more,” Lira-Martinez said. “So now that we’re in the place to do it, I think we all want to do that.”

Youth Advisory Board Members: Gennessa Fisher (YAB Chair), Blu Fisher (YAB Co-Chair), Esperanza Perales, Cynthia Lira-Martinez, Te’Jon Douglas, Elias Martinez, Lorenzo Speed, Adolfo Valdovinos and Ryan Newer

Advisors: Allyson Baptiste (Program Coordinator, School-Community Partnerships) and Bryanna Wood (Program Coordinator, Kern County Network for Children)

The YAB hosted the Youth Connect Event, a resource fair for foster youth and youth experiencing homelessness.

How the Community Can Get Involved

Addressing youth homelessness requires a communitywide effort. Throughout November, Kern County residents, businesses, schools, and community organizations are encouraged to take part in Homeless Youth Awareness Month by:

• Raising awareness: Share information about youth homelessness and available community resources.
• Supporting youth: Donate winter essentials or help connect young people experiencing housing instability with available services.
• Participating in events: Attend or support HYAM activities and encourage eligible youth and professionals to participate.
• Wearing purple: Show solidarity with youth experiencing homelessness by wearing purple throughout November, the recognized awareness color for HYAM.

November 1–30: Monthlong Homeless Youth Winter Essentials Drive

The YAB will lead a monthlong donation drive to collect essential winter items for youth experiencing homelessness and housing instability throughout Kern County. Community members, businesses, and organizations are encouraged to contribute needed items to help young people stay warm and meet basic needs during the colder months.

Youth needs include:

• Blankets
• Cold weather clothing: sweaters, socks, gloves, beanies, scarves, Hot Hands
• Mens and womens underwear
• Hygiene kits, pads/tampons, mini first aid kits, mini body wash, shampoo, conditioner
• Comb/brushes
• Shoes
• Backpacks
• Fidgets

Drop off locations:
Bakersfield Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative
8 AM – 4 PM, Monday – Friday
2101 Oak St., Bakersfield, CA 93301

The KCNC Dream Center
8 AM – 4:30 PM, Monday – Friday
1801 19th St., Bakersfield, CA 93301

Friday, November 13, 2026, 9:30 AM–12:00 PM
Cost of Poverty Experience (COPE) Simulation

Educators and community service providers are invited to participate in a free Cost of Poverty Experience (COPE), an immersive, interactive simulation designed to deepen understanding of the challenges individuals and families face while living in poverty. Through realistic scenarios, participants gain insight into the difficult decisions, systemic barriers, and everyday challenges that can affect individuals and families experiencing financial hardship. The experience is intended to build empathy, strengthen awareness, and help professionals better understand the circumstances of the populations they serve.

Listen to the Youth Voice Amplified Podcast hosted by YAB Chair Gennessa Fisher

Youth Voice Amplified is a youth-led podcast that provides a platform for young people who have overcome adversity to share their stories of hope, strength, and resilience. In recognition of Homeless Youth Awareness Month, the podcast will feature a new guest each week who has personally experienced homelessness and will share their unique journey.