SLO County’s first detox center for low-income people is underway — and facing a funding gap
A new $1.67 million detox center under construction in San Luis Obispo is set to become the first treatment facility of its kind for homeless and low-income people in San Luis Obispo County.
The 2,660-square-feet treatment center is being built on the 40 Prado Homeless Services Center campus, with plans to open by July 31, according to the Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County (CAPSLO), the agency coordinating the development.
The new Medically Assisted Withdrawal Treatment Center at 34 Prado Road is designed to meet widespread community needs by serving low-income county residents ages 18 to 64.
Once completed, it will be the only detox facility in San Luis Obispo County offering “medication-assisted residential withdrawal management center for low-income residents,” said Loren Leidinger, CAPSLO’s outreach and development director.
The nearest facilities that offer similar services currently are in Santa Cruz, Fresno or Los Angeles, Leidinger said.
“This could not have come at a better time,” said Grace McIntosh, deputy director of CAPSLO. “It adds that final piece to the commitment made to the community 10 years ago, providing access to the care and services that this population so desperately needs.”
McIntosh said that many in the homeless community face mental illness and drug and alcohol addiction at the same time.
“So many (unhoused people) are self-medicating with substance use,” McIntosh said. “This will help eliminate substance use and then get them into mental health treatment.”
SLO detox facility to treat low-income people
While CAPSLO is managing the detox facility project, San Luis Obispo County will administer services to clients on site, in close proximity to the 40 Prado shelter, coordinators say.
Clients at the new center first undergo six to eight days of medically assisted withdrawal treatment. Then they can stay up to another 90 days in the residential treatment facility.
“It is the same facility with different levels of care available,” said Star Graber, who manages the Drug and Alcohol Services division in San Luis Obispo County’s Behavioral Health Department. “Each client will be evaluated every 30 days for continuing stay in the facility, or they may be able to transition to a lower level of care within the community.”
Currently, McIntosh said, low-income and homeless community members often end up in hospital emergency rooms.
“If people are actively withdrawing, it could be life-threatening situation,” McIntosh said. “The new facility will have 24-hour supervision and case management so they don’t have to go to an ER.”
Drug use, deaths on the rise
Leidinger said the center will help address a sharp rise in substance abuse disorders and deaths across the United States, a trend documented by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and reflected by local data.
That includes a rise in the use of opioids such as illegally manufactured fentanyl.
In San Luis Obispo County, 33 opioid overdose-related deaths were reported in 2017, up from 15 in 2006, Leidenger noted.
“There are sober living homes and outpatient services (in SLO County), but there is no clinically managed residential detoxification facility where an individual can safely withdraw and stabilize,” Leidinger said. “For those without insurance, or who are on Medi-Cal, the challenge of withdrawal is daunting: These individuals are left to rely on day treatment alone.”
“And even the most motivated of individuals are challenged to get to the multiple appointments each week that are required,” Leidinger added.
“San Luis Obispo already sees the effects of this devastation,” Leidinger said.
According to Leidinger, there are approximately 22,300 to 27,100 adults with substance use disorder issues living in San Luis Obispo County. That’s about 10% of the county’s adult population.
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New SLO treatment center has funding gap
The facility was initially estimated to cost $1 million, but delays in the availability of construction materials caused by the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the cost to $1.67 million.
The current funding gap is $135,945 and does not take into account unforeseen expenses.
CAPSLO is currently reaching out to partners and interested parties to ask for assistance to meet the funding gap, including county and city government agencies to make up the difference.
Most funds committed so far have come through the Mental Health Service Act, Homeless Emergency Aid Program and AB109 funds.
“We anticipate about 30% of the funding will come from the community including the cities, private and corporate donors,” Leidinger said.
This story was originally published April 21, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
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