Press Release

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September 15, 2003

An East Bay drug treatment facility is expanding so that voter-mandated services can be offered to more local residents.

The Discovery House in Martinez will conduct a groundbreaking on Monday, September 22 at 9:30 am at 4639 Pacheco Boulevard. The event will launch a project to replace a 65-year old building which houses a 24-bed men's alcohol and drug program with a new 40-bed facility. Contra Costa Health Services is managing the construction project, which is expected to be completed in June 2004. The builder is Vila Construction Co. in Richmond.

"This is an essential service for the community," says Supervisor Gayle B. Uilkema, who will host the ceremony. "I know that Discovery House is a good neighbor and is accepted by the local community."

According to Bob Kajdan, Program Manager for the County's Alcohol and Other Drugs Services Division, the $3.4 million for the Discovery House project is being provided by a bond measure. The ground-breaking caps a two-year planning process that included community input. The bond obligation will be retired with funds Contra Costa Health Services receives from the federal and state government to operate the program.

Kajdan says the existing building was built prior to World War II. The County bought it for $1 and moved it from the Concord Naval Weapons station to its current site after the war. The new three-story, 8,300 square foot building will comply with Americans with Disability Act requirements. It will be staffed 24/7. The three-story new building will be air conditioned, which the current facility is not.

"When voters approved Proposition 36, they said very clearly they wanted people with drug and alcohol problems who commit non-violent crimes or are arrested for possession of drugs to be sent to treatment instead of jail. The new Discovery House will make it possible for us to serve more of those clients," says Kajdan.

All of the clients at the program participate on a voluntary basis and are supervised at all times. They receive group and individual counseling for an average of 90 days. Many will then move into sober-and-clean living houses for a year or more while attending school or working.

Since Prop 36, the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act of 2000 was approved by voters, more than 1300 clients have been referred from the justice system for treatment to various treatment facilities in Contra Costa County.

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