To help drug-addicted, recovery station opening soon in Bakersfield

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) - Coming this spring to 316 Kentucky St in Old Town Kern, Kern Behavioral Health and Recovery Services is preparing to open its first of two recovery stations.

"If they're under the influence, and they need to go somewhere, and they're not being adjudicated for a crime, meaning they're not being arrested, they can be brought there, they can stay up to 24 hours so that they can be, you know, help them clean up," Bill Walker, the director for Kern Behavioral Health and Recovery Services said.

He acknowledges there's a lack of residential care for homeless individuals in need of drug rehab. The majority of resources offer outpatient care.

"All of us are scrambling as there's more and more people with these service needs that also need housing, we're scrambling to try to add to our service delivery, housing," Walker said.

Paid for with funds from California's Mental Health Services Act, the recovery station is not a place to stay long-term, and it isn't for walk-ins. Law Enforcement, Kern BHRS, and Flood Ministries teams refer and transport individuals to the station when appropriate.

"We need to do something that people can't do for themselves," Walker said.

Kern BHRS is also constructing a recovery station in Delano.

What's unique about recovery stations, as opposed to the 22 sobering stations in California, is that sobering stations are not designed to serve individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse order conditions, according to Kern BHRS, noting that the recovery station is equipped for those needs.

With lounge-style seating, rooms for private sobering, and trained staff offering transportation and access to other sober living resources. A typical stay at the recovery station is just 4-10 hours.

And it's not just for the visibly intoxicated.

"They don't have to be like grossly under the influence," Walker said. "As a matter of fact, the more they're at a point where they don't want to take that next hit, they don't want to get that next high, but they want to go someplace, clean up, and talk about their options, that's best."