San Luis Obispo County’s first-ever public detoxification clinic opened its doors on Aug. 16 after more than four years of planning, fundraising, building, and licensing.
The 16-bed facility, operated by Salinas-based nonprofit Sun Street Centers, is on the property of the 40 Prado Homeless Services Center in SLO and will primarily serve low-income men suffering from opioid or alcohol addictions.
One of the only such resources in the county to accept Medi-Cal, the clinic couldn’t arrive at a more critical time, according to Star Graber, a division manager for SLO County Drug and Alcohol Services, as the opioid crisis continues to take its toll on SLO County.
“Our opioid death rate surpasses the California rate, it surpasses other counties nearby, which is a concern,” Graber told New Times. “Fentanyl is the drug of choice out there, as well as synthetic meth. A facility like this will be very helpful.”
While construction on the $1.7 million clinic finished last August, SLO County and Sun Street Centers took another year to get through the state licensing process, Graber said.
After getting the final green light from the state on Aug. 1, the facility welcomed its first patients on Aug. 16: a few locals who had been receiving residential addiction treatment at out-of-county facilities.
Up until this past week, SLO residents seeking care for their addictions had to travel to clinics as far away as Hollister and Lancaster. The lone local resource used to be Bryan’s House in Atascadero, which has six beds but only serves women.
“Now, we got clients who wanted to come back to the county, and so a couple of them are back, which is great news,” Graber said.
Graber added that the clinic’s goal over the next several weeks is to transition more residents from out-of-county treatment centers to the local facility, and then to start adding in newly referred patients. But she noted that the county plans to keep its contracts with out-the-county providers to offer a good mix of options.
“Sometimes, people do need to go out of county. They need to get out of their environment,” Graber said.
Sun Street Centers, which operates three residential treatment clinics in Monterey County, described SLO’s center on its website as “a supportive environment for individuals seeking a life free from the devastating effects of drug and alcohol addiction.”
In addition to supervising medically assisted withdrawals, the clinic’s services also include recovery based classes, AA meetings, state-certified counselors, meals, and laundry facilities, according to the website. Patients’ residential stays start at 30 days, but can be extended to up to 90 days.
“It’s really based upon the progress and stabilization of the person,” Graber said.
Locals who could benefit from the new detox clinic, or know someone who could, can visit one of the county’s four drug and alcohol clinics, in SLO, Grover Beach, Paso Robles, or Atascadero. Contact (800) 838-1381 for more information or to schedule an appointment. Δ
This article appears in Aug 18-28, 2022.