BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — A Kern County advocate who spent 24 hours talking with homeless individuals says California needs to focus more on addiction recovery and mental health services rather than building additional shelters.

Carlos Baldovinos, executive director with the Mission at Kern County, conducted his "Conversations on a Bench" initiative more than two weeks ago to better understand the homeless crisis. His main takeaway: the state's approach needs a fundamental shift.

"What conversations on the bench really showed me was okay we need to be putting in more effort into addiction recovery," Baldovinos said.

He believes mental health issues worsened significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people became isolated from normal routines.

"People got in a whole different

See Full Page