A Bakersfield meeting discussion focused on joint advocacy with the Big City Mayors group to secure more resources for the city on homelessness and youth employment, a staff member said.

The staff member summarized the city’s joint advocacy priorities as “two big pots,” identifying homelessness — “mental health, substance use, and housing” — and youth jobs as the two central areas. “Out of all of our joint advocacy, really, 2 big pots,” the staff member said. “We have worked to get jobs here where we can actually have paid internships in the city of Bakersfield.”

The remarks highlighted work with California Volunteers on youth employment initiatives. California Volunteers was named as a partner in efforts to bring more paid internship opportunities to Bakersfield youth.

A meeting host pushed back on the scale of paid internships locally, saying, “I remember that, paid internships there were never really paid internships here,” indicating a difference between the stated goal and participants’ recollections of prior practice.

No formal motions or votes on these items are recorded in the transcript. The discussion in the provided transcript is limited to an overview of advocacy priorities and a brief exchange about whether paid internships have previously been compensated; next steps, timelines, and any formal commitments were not specified in the recorded segments.