Countywide : Survey Says Drug Programs Needed

More facilities are needed to treat chemically addicted pregnant women, adults and youths in the county, according to an informal survey of area residents conducted by the Ventura County Health Care Agency.

In a series of forums held since February throughout the county, residents said that gaps in county services force many addicted adults and youths to fend for themselves, said Stephen Kaplan, Health Care Agency administrator of Alcohol and Drug Programs.

While county officials are unsure of the actual number of residents who need drug and alcohol recovery services, it is clear that many simply aren’t getting the help they need, Kaplan said.

“Currently, if you are a male in this county with no or limited medical insurance and you want to get into a residential recovery unit, you’re basically out of luck,” Kaplan said.

Women under the age of 18 who want to recover from drug or alcohol addiction have access to a six-bed facility in Ventura, but a similar county-run residential program for males does not exist, Kaplan said.

Several area hospitals offer residential treatment programs, “but they are out of reach of anybody who has a limited income and no medical insurance,” Kaplan said.

Aside from increasing the number of treatment facilities, residents have also called for more programs to prevent troubled youth from becoming addicted to alcohol and drugs and better outreach to the Spanish-speaking community, Kaplan said.

Forums are scheduled at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Simi Valley Library, 2969 Tapo Canyon Road; the Oxnard Community Center, 200 E. Bard Road, on May 23 and the East Valley Area Sheriff’s Station, 2101 E. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks, on June 13.