Despite the pandemic delaying construction and creating financial hurdles, San Luis Obispo County’s first medically-assisted withdrawal treatment center, also known as a detox facility, is now complete.
A withdrawal treatment facility for SLO County has been a goal for nearly thirty years, said Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo (CAPSLO) CEO Biz Steinberg.
“That’s how long we’ve dreamed of it," Steinberg said. "It’s a miracle that this last year has been focused on it.”
The project was held up in financial uncertainty when the pandemic struck, causing costs for construction and materials to balloon.
Private donors helped bridge the gap to fund the $1.67 million dollar project. Soon, the center will serve 8-10 individuals at a time to detox safely under medical care, who will then be transferred to other treatment resources if needed-such as mental health.
Steinberg said this center will particularly help the homeless community, who tend to have both underlying mental health illnesses along with drug and alcohol addictions.
Without this center, Steinberg said, people overdosing tend to end up in the emergency room, with the county often having to pick up the tab for low-income individuals.
“It’s better if they can be right near their support systems, their friends, & family," Steinberg said. "And to be transitioned to a program within a community they are already a member of.”
About 10 percent of all adults in SLO County are suffering from substance abuse disorders, according to CAPSLO, and overdose deaths have been increasing throughout the years.
According to the SLO County Sheriff-Coroner's office, there were 43 overdose deaths in 2016, with increases each year, leading to 64 deadly overdoses in 2020.
County Supervisor John Peschong said a treatment center like this is the key to fighting the drug epidemic.
“This is going to affect people's lives, this is going to change the direction of people's lives," Peschong said. "That’s the only way we are going to get through this epidemic that is ravaging through our community.”
County Behavioral Health will be running the facility, and they plan to start serving clients this fall.
