The first Martin Luther King Jr. Prosperity Neighborhood Community Summit will be held next week on Tuesday, January 23rd at the MLK Community Center, 1000 S. Owens Street in Bakersfield. The event starts at 6 pm and lasts until 7 pm with childcare services, food and beverages, and Spanish interpretation provided by the hosts, the city of Bakersfield. The summit requires participants to complete a questionnaire for registration, found on the Prosperity Neighborhood website page.
According to the city’s website, the main goal of the event is to get residents’ feedback on the best way to revitalize several neighborhoods and end intergenerational poverty. Areas of the city that are being focused on are the MLK/Lakeview Prosperity Neighborhood which covers areas in central Bakersfield between California Ave. and Brundage, and the Niles and Monterey (NiMo) Prosperity Neighborhood between California State Route 178 and East Truxtun Avenue.
In 2022 the city started the Prosperity Neighborhood initiative that aimed to meet the needs of residents from youth to adulthood in ways through healthcare, improved community infrastructure and private properties, public safety, education, and economic opportunity. Kern Sol News reporter Victoria Rodgers wrote more information on past initiatives in East Bakersfield, and the article can be found here.
