The Blade: Where exploited teens loiter in service of the Bakersfield sex trade

[@CmarshallR]

I live on union ave. And the prostitutes are always just out and about. They even surrounded my 20 yo son's car one time and knocked on the window. They're bold af and never do I see police stopping them. The girls walk around in lingerie, bras, and underwear like it's nothing. Who knows how old these girls are. And for reals these motels are complicit because they are renting rooms out for these situations, they see everything and do nothing! It's sick af.

[@melissamartinez3593]

So r the cops and the shelters for these girls why r they located like right where the blade is !? Wtf

[@toniibabe1]

Why is a girls home for this behavior near union !!!! Come on .. that’s wild. That’s a set up put them in a better environment and away from the ‘blade’.

[@CmarshallR]

That's exactly what I'm saying! They put them in the belly of the beast, something should be done about this girls home, they should not be allowed to operate on Union Ave.

[@authormorgan21]

Somebody is profiting off of this under the table smh I bet my last dollar on that

[@user-vc7km9rp5c]

Yeah move the location of the girls home. An organization of that caliber in Bakersfield can afford to relocate to a safer area.

[@batmankissingbatcow]

They are moving it, they have been planning it for months

[@matthewbosley9813]

Because every "good" neighborhood fights tooth and nail to prevent them in their area....

[@savalos1166]

Seriously this group home is based on Union ave, what did they expect. Those people and judges who sent the girls there knowing the place was on Union should be held accountable for the death of those girls.

[@4FYTfa8EjYHNXjChe8xs7xmC5pNEtz]

Seattle shut down their stroll. At least the one on Aurora. I don't know how they did it. I noticed a few months ago the prostitutes were gone and the three worst motels were shut down. I thought they'd be back in a few days, but they're still shut down.

[@MJC1891]

This is a cultural problem too. Lots people glorifying this in music and movies. It’s sick

[@MrG77]

So sad. But its something thats going on in every city and town in the world. 🙏

[@clwhiteco]

Look, crossing the street and not looking both ways is discouraged by parents everywhere. What I see here is someone looking for a story and somehow they found a coincidental incident. It is a shame and a terrible loss when any young people with potential for a future are denied that right by an unfortunate accident, that is understood. However, the victim that was hit by a vehicle has been exploited by 17 news as a way to attract views. The problematic issues of prostitution have plagued "Union Avenue" since the 60s and 70s. This is nothing new to natives of Bakersfield. I just can't believe that the news people would have such a "hey day" by the fact that the victim of a hit and run, who was also a subject from a dysfunctional home and also a prostitute, was killed. She was killed by an idiot that fled the scene after running someone over. The story should be more about catching the driver that is responsible for this mess. Leave that girl's family history alone.

[@clwhiteco]

In addition to my comment, who would put a group home for troubled teenagers on "Union Avenue?" The people that started the group home should be charged with something, at least being stupid!