Up to 100 children call the Bakersfield Homeless Center “home” on a single night. Homeless children are children in crisis.  They have lost their housing and are trying to cope and function in a shelter environment.  Most likely, they are also at a new school.  The comforts of home are gone.  BHC staff helps children feel safe and secure by creating a sense of normalcy and routine while our shelter is their home.  BHC operates two childcare centers - Discovery Depot and the Rainbow Room. The Discovery Depot is an on-site licensed childcare facility which provides care for up to 21 children from infancy to five years of age.

 

The Discovery Depot and the Rainbow Room Child and Youth Program:

• Provide a healthy, safe, supervised, multicultural environment
• Allow parents an opportunity to search for work and housing
• Emphasize school readiness for pre-schoolers
• Provide tutoring and homework assistance for school-aged children
• For more information please contact Discovery Depot at (661) 324-0984.

Champ Camp is an onsite educational after school program for primary, middle and junior high students.  Homeless students have access to curriculum, social, recreation, computer and arts enrichment from 3-6 p.m., Monday through Friday.  An average of 40 homeless students attend Project Connect daily.  It is staffed by a minimum of three employees plus volunteers who work closely with young people.

The first hour of each session is devoted to curriculum-related activities.  If children do not have homework, staff helps them utilize reading and curriculum related activities.  During the last two hours of each day children are allowed to select their own projects choosing from arts/crafts, games, reading, and a variety of structured and supervised programs.

2008-2009 Volunteers included college interns, retired teachers, high school seniors, and community members.