Please Hurry! –
February 17, 2020 – “When you look at homelessness, one of the pieces is drug addiction, and it needs to be tackled and addressed with intensity,” Carlos Baldovinos, the executive director of the Mission at Kern County, said.
The Kern County point in time count from January 2019 found that 51% of the individuals surveyed reported being addicted to drugs.
If they decided to seek treatment, they could have to wait weeks to get it. That’s because California’s MediCal insurance funds medication, but does not provide reimbursement for hospital providers, Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh explained.
“That’s a huge, huge barrier,” Goh said, adding that “after a person does participate in detox, there can be a two to three month wait” before receiving mental health treatment.
