TEHACHAPI, Calif. (KERO) — Cornerstone counseling center founder Joshua Pierce and others from the facility say they need a contract to secure insurance services from the county. They speak at the Kern County Board of Supervisors meeting.
- Clients from the Cornerstone Center for Counseling and Discipleship share their stories to bring awareness in an effort to gain insurance services.
- September will be Substance Abuse Awareness Month. Kern County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services present events that will take place in September.
- Cornerstone is hoping to secure a contract for insurance services for their clients immediately.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
September is Substance Abuse Awareness Month... but on Tuesday, it was Cornerstone Awareness Day...
I'm Steve Virgen, your Tehachapi neighborhood reporter in Bakersfield...
The Tehachapi Counseling Center presented their case to the Board of Supervisors, and their message was clear: that they need more support from the county.
"Kern BHRS said: every person, every family, every community. But it doesn't seem like every community counts. They have 24 services on the western side and four on the eastern," says Jon Hickman, a Cornerstone counselor.
Hickman was among those from Cornerstone sharing their stories about battling addiction.
Bringing awareness to their center they say they need more help from the county. They don't receive adequate insurance services due to being an out-of-network facility.
"I've worked with Cornerstone for over two years and I'm also a recovering addict. I've worked in Tehachapi for six years, three of those years being in active addiction. In searching for local facilities to receive treatment there were no options in our area," says Jasmine Enriquez, a Cornerstone counselor
Enriquez is confident Cornerstone made an impact on Tuesday.
"I believe we were received today. I appreciate District 5's authenticity. It was good. I feel like there's going to be change. And that's all we want is some help and some support from our community," she says.
Kern County Supervisor David Couch advised Cornerstone to do what is needed to gain in-network services even if it takes time.
"Putting an item on the agenda to discuss this new and fresh I don't know that it's going to get you anywhere," Couch says.
"I think the larger question here is: how do we fix this? This is a problem. It's utterly compelling. They are missing a supervisor. That's going to be that way for several months," says Leticia Perez, a Kern County Supervisor.
Cornerstone founder Joshua Pierce says he has hope that they will soon get help.
I'm Steve Virgen, your neighborhood reporter.
Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere:
