California residents seeking help for drug and alcohol addictions can access myriad resources across the state including medical detox, residential, intensive outpatient (IOP) and general outpatient (OP) programs, and aftercare services. This support is available through various government agencies, non-profit groups, private rehab centers, and organizations devoted to harm reduction supplies and education.
Drug Statistics in California
Addiction Nonprofits in California
Be Well Orange County
This organization provides mental health services and SUD treatment for adults in the greater Orange County, California area including a secondary wellness campus in Irvine. In addition to offering crisis stabilization, withdrawal management, residential treatment, and outpatient treatment services at their facility, they also operate a mobile response team for emergencies.
Young People in Recovery (YPR)
This is a national nonprofit organization that offers peer-based addiction recovery support for adolescents. Community chapters offer services that include life skills training, 12-step and faith-based programming, medication assisted treatment (MAT), harm reduction supplies, and related resources. There are 14 YPR chapters throughout California.
Parents and Addicts in Need (PAIN)
Located in Fresno, this nonprofit provides community services, rehabilitation programs, and emotional support for individuals affected by substance use. Available services include one-on-one consultations, recovery housing, family support groups, 12 step programs, and access to free naloxone. They also provide school services focused on SUD prevention and advocacy.
California 211
This is a free, confidential hotline that California residents can call to receive assistance with immediate needs, including food, housing, mental health counseling, transportation, and related resources. Call support specialists are available to answer the phone around the clock, referring callers to appropriate local services.
NAMI Orange County
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Orange County provides emotional support and educational resources for individuals with mental illness and their families. Available programs include family counseling, peer mentoring services, and online and in-person classes. They also operate a 24/7 warmline for mental health support and referrals.
Harm Reduction Programs
LA Community Health Project
This group provides preventative health services and addiction education to residents of Los Angeles. In addition to offering syringe services programs (SSPs) and naloxone access at their headquarters, they also run mobile clinics at designated sites throughout the city. Their work includes training health departments, law enforcement personnel, and general community members on how to take a harm reduction approach to support individuals in addiction recovery.
Santa Clara County: Harm Reduction Program (HRP)
Operating as part of Santa Clara County Public Health, the HRP operates mobile medical units throughout the county. These teams distribute sterile syringes, opioid overdose prevention resources, and safer sex supplies. They also provide health education, counseling services, and testing for HIV, Hepatitis C, and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Family Health Centers of San Diego
This organization provides preventative health services that include Hepatitis C testing and treatment as well as harm reduction techniques including clean syringes, MAT, fentanyl testing, and kits that contain supplies for safer drug use. They also offer addiction education as well as referrals to SUD treatment and detoxification programs.
Healthcare in Action
This organization dispatches mobile street medicine teams at major metro areas throughout the state, each staffed with doctors, nurses, and therapists. The teams provide medical, behavioral health, and addiction services, including case management and housing assistance. Their support includes the provision of harm reduction supplies to reduce the risk of drug-related overdoses in these areas.
The Sidewalk Project
Headquartered in Los Angeles, this is a nationwide project that provides public health services and community-based support to marginalized communities, including the homeless population. They provide resources, education, and advocacy through various mediums including art, music, and film. They are authorized by the City of LA to provide clean syringes, health services, and linkages to local providers through their mobile clinic.
Government Grants & Resources
California Department of Public Health (CDPH)
This department operates the Substance and Addiction Prevention Branch (SAPB), which provides services to treat the physical, emotional, and social aspects of addiction. They initiate partnerships with statewide and local organizations to learn more about the state of alcohol and drug abuse in California, with a focus on supporting SUD prevention programs, harm reduction resources, public awareness campaigns, and similar services.
Choose Change California
This organization is part of a statewide campaign by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). They provide MAT for adolescents and adults in addiction recovery. Services are delivered through an array of facilities and healthcare providers, including primary care physicians, and clients can find locations close to them via the searchable online database.
Let’s Get Healthy California
This government program tracks data associated with health statuses across the state. Then, they analyze these reports to find opportunities for improvement, identifying key issues and contributing factors that affect resident behavior and conditions. They operate a designated substance abuse program aimed at understanding more about the state of addiction in California, funding initiatives, and resources to help them meet recovery goals.
California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS): Behavioral Health Services
The California DHCS, Behavioral Health Services supports adults, youth, and children through its Community Services Division (CSD). This includes monitoring and managing an array of residential facilities designed to treat various behavioral health conditions, including drug and alcohol addiction. Available programs include short-term residential therapeutic programs (STRTP), social rehabilitation programs (SRP), and community treatment facilities (CTF). They also operate a non-emergency treatment referral line for individuals seeking SUD services.
California Medi-Cal
Med-Cal is California’s approved Medicaid healthcare program. Individuals who are enrolled in Medi-Cal have access to SUD services at an approved, Drug Medi-Cal-certified program. Most counties voluntarily participate in the state’s Drug Medi-Cal Organization Delivery System (DMC-ODS). These counties provide residents with a full continuum of SUD benefits including crisis services, addiction treatment, and aftercare support.
College Addiction Resources
California State University, Long Beach: CARES Team
The Campus Assessment, Response, and Evaluation for Students (CARES) Team helps students in physical, mental, and emotional distress access the recovery resources they need. Students may enter the program voluntarily, or their peers may make a referral.
Orange Coast College: Substance Abuse
Students at Orange Coast College can receive comprehensive harm reduction kits at the Student Health Center. Each kit contains two boxes of Narcan, fentanyl testing strips, and information on SUD treatment and opioid risks. These supplies are provided at no cost to the recipients.
University of California, Berkeley: Social Services
Students at the University of California, Berkeley can visit the Social Services department for support with alcohol and drug addiction. Available services include individual and family counseling, peer-based support groups, and clinician appointments. Providers can also make referrals to outside treatment resources as well as community-based meetings.
Stanford University: Office of Substance Use Programs Education & Resources (SUPER)
Offered through the university’s Vaden Health Services department, SUPER provides addiction recovery programs, prevention education, and other research-based resources for students. They offer safe riding and walking services as well as peer-based treatment and support through their Cardinal Recovery program, where students can attend weekly recovery meetings and special events across campus.
California Institute of Technology: Counseling Services
Available mental health counseling services at Caltech include individual, couples, and group therapy. In addition, providers can also consult with students, staff, and faculty members on various issues, including addiction recovery, offering recommendations and referrals if outside support is required. After-hours crisis services are available on a 24/7 basis through a dedicated hotline.
LGBTQ+ Resources
Westwind Recovery:
This is an alcohol and drug rehab facility only available to members of the LGBTQ+ community. They provide graduated levels of client care including partial hospitalization (PHP), intensive outpatient (IOP), and general outpatient (OP) programs. Providers can also connect clients to aftercare services, including seven sober living houses. Available services include individual, group, and family counseling, 12 step recovery programming, and peer-based support groups.
Golden Gate Recovery
This facility provides addiction recovery and mental health services for LGBTQ+ individuals. They offer PHP, IOP, OP, and aftercare programs as well as sober living homes. Therapies include both holistic and evidence-based approaches including individual and group counseling, dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), psycho-education therapy, mindfulness, and similar services.
PFLAG California
There are local PFLAG chapters in Long Beach, Orange County, South Orange County, Manhattan Beach, and Newport Beach. At each location, members of the LGBTQ+ community and their families can find resources, support, and community-based referrals. In addition to educational programs and local advocacy campaigns, PFLAG also provides urgent crisis intervention and weekly support meetings.
ACLU of Northern and Southern California
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ensures that individual rights and freedoms are extended to the entire U.S. population, including members of the LGBTQ+ community. Individuals in addiction recovery can contact their local branch to receive resources and support. California has a designated ACLU affiliate center in the northern and southern parts of the state.
Veterans Programs
VA Health Care System
There are seven designated VA Health Care Systems in California. These locations provide 24-hour residential care, IOP, and OP services for military personnel, veterans, and their family members in addiction recovery. In addition to these facilities, the VA also operates Ambulatory Care Centers and Behavioral Health Clinics that provide opioid treatment services.
California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet)
Military members, veterans, and their families can access CalVet to find healthcare, educational resources, employment, housing assistance, home loans, and related resources. This includes mental health and behavioral health services for those in addiction recovery.
CalVet Veterans Homes
Veterans who require long-term care can receive support through one of the eight State Veterans Homes across the state. These homes vary in size, accommodating from 60 residents to more than 1,000 residents at a time. Each location offers its own amenities, levels of care, and social activities.
Los Angeles Ambulatory Care Center
The VA also operates the LA Ambulatory Care Center. This facility provides dedicated opioid treatment services, IOP, and OP services for veterans in addiction recovery. They also offer recreational and creative arts therapy, trauma recovery services, mental health rehabilitation, and related support services.
Oakland Behavioral Health Clinic
The Oakland Behavioral Health Clinic provides mental health treatment and SUD treatment services. Available programs include individual and group counseling, medication management, medication assisted treatment, and a paid work therapy program.
Indigenous & Tribal Programs
Tribal MAT Program
This program provides MAT services for Tribal and Urban Indian communities in California. In addition to addiction medication, providers can also help clients find cultural activities and recovery-focused counseling services. They receive funding from the State Opioid Response (SOR) grant and partner with multiple organizations to advance their mission, including the California Indian Opioid Safety Coalition.
Fresno American Indian Health Project
This initiative helps support the Native American community within and around Fresno, California. They provide culturally sensitive services that include health education classes, nursing services, mental health and behavioral health counseling, and SUD prevention and treatment programs. They also offer referrals to outside providers.
Native American Health Center, Inc.
Located in the San Francisco Bay area, this center provides medical, dental, and behavioral health care services for adults, adolescents, and children in the Native American community. Their resources include a 24/7 crisis support line as well as individual and counseling sessions that incorporate evidence-based practices such as motivational interviewing and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR).
Drug Laws in California
California Government Prevention and Care Services
Under Senate Bill 110, California organizations that provide SUD treatment services must accept Medi-Cal benefits for clients participating in incentive-based contingency management (CM) programs. With a CM program, clients who demonstrate sobriety, through means such as a urine test, can receive perks such as gift cards.
Proposition 36
Passed in 2000, this law is also known as the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act. It mandates that any qualifying, non-violent drug offender may serve their allocated sentence in a drug treatment facility rather than prison or jail.
California Ethical Treatment for Persons With SUD Act
Enacted in 2022, this law requires that all individuals receiving treatment for SUD be treated with respect and dignity, which also extends to any members of their family. Under this law, treatment providers are required to create and implement a client-focused bill of rights that should be available to all current and prospective clients.
Proposition 64: Adult Use of Marijuana Act
Enacted in 2016, this law decriminalizes adult recreational marijuana use. Now, adults 21 and older may buy, possess, and consume up to 28.5 grams of marijuana and up to eight grams of concentrated marijuana without conviction. They must consume the substance in their private residence or in a licensed commercial establishment. Smoking marijuana while driving a vehicle, in a public place, or anywhere smoking is prohibited remains illegal.
Campus Opioid Safety Act
This law, which went into effect on January 1, 2023, aims to minimize the number of opioid-related overdoses and deaths throughout California. It allows colleges and universities across the state to provide overdose prevention education, resources, and federally-approved overdose reversal medications on their campuses.
Sources
- Slone, L. (n.d.). Living Well / Reducing Substance Use. Let’s Get Healthy California.
- 2022 Edition — Substance Use in California. (n.d.). California Health Care Foundation.
- Christopher@CDPH, K. (n.d.). Deaths from Excessive Alcohol Use.
- SAPC Data Brief, August 2023. County of Los Angeles Public Health.