Mike Wallford has been living in East Bakersfield for 60 years. He said the city always tries to dump unwanted facilities in this part of town: a sewage treatment plant, a dog pound, he said, and now a homeless shelter. “They bring out all the trash out there; we’re tired of taking it. Take it out to Rosedale, to Haggin Oaks,” said Wallford. “They don’t want it. I don’t want it either.” Rosedale and Haggin Oaks are more affluent communities where there are no homeless shelters. Like many other cities in California, Bakersfield is struggling with a large and growing homeless population. To address the issue, the city just approved plans for a new 70,000 square foot emergency low-barrier homeless shelter. Once this new shelter is built in an empty office complex and warehouse owned by cotton manufacturer Calcot, East Bakersfield will have two homeless shelters. Walford, who made his comments at a public meeting in January, said this part of the city needs better infrastructure, not more
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