The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion introduced by Supervisor Kathryn Barger that will bring intensive residential mental health and substance abuse programming to the Antelope Valley.
“The northernmost portion of our County is in dire need of behavioral health care services,” said Supervisor Barger. “The closest crisis residential treatment program is more than 50 miles away in Sylmar. My Antelope Valley constituents deserve to have access to high-quality residential programming to treat their mental health needs. If we expect to make a dent in the mental health and homelessness crisis, this is the type of action the County needs to take – an investment in building up our mental health bed capacity to treat behavioral health disorders, heal trauma, and provide systematic care.”
The motion directs the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health to start its assessment process, which includes studying the needs of people served by the High Desert Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center. Their results will be used to document a need for a crisis residential treatment program in the County’s Service Area 1, which consists of the Antelope Valley.