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Turn left toward Santa Rita Jail or right toward potential life-changing help.
That is the choice Horizon Treatment Services’ CEO Jaime Campos said he hopes will now be offered to Alameda County adults experiencing substance abuse or mental health crises when they get picked up by police thanks to the organization’s new Diversion Triage Center in Pleasanton.
“The people that are suffering on the streets … they need hope, not handcuffs,” Campos said. “And they need treatment.”
Located at 1020 Serpentine Lane, the facility officially opened its doors during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug. 4 with county leaders and community members in attendance.
Horizon Treatment Services is an Alameda County organization that has provided alcohol, drug and mental health related services since 1976, according to its website. Campos has been CEO of the organization since 2022.
The organization operates sobering centers across the East Bay, which Campos said are low barrier, open access programs that help people who are addicted to substances. He said these centers, similar to the new facility in Pleasanton, offer a safer alternative to incarceration.
“The main concept is that if we can safely receive somebody who is under the influence and try to engage them with referrals to treatment resources and things like that, then it’s a win, win for the community,” Campos said.
However, the Pleasanton diversion center does slightly differ from those other sobering centers. While it can act as a sobering center — like it did for the facility’s first client the day after the grand opening — it’s primary goal is to get people certain help they can’t get in jail.
According to Campos, the center has a contract with the Alameda County Behavioral Health, which funds the center by leveraging Mental Health Services Act funding.
“This most critical program serves a need; and that need is great across Alameda County. Diversion, support, and real-time access continues to be our system priority — and we are very pleased to see Horizon Services’ shared vision come to fruition,” said Karyn Tribble, director of Alameda County Behavioral Health. “Besides the tremendous barriers to recovery already faced by those experiencing any form of behavioral health condition; individuals who are unable to see the benefits of diversion programs find themselves struggling to regain hope and stability.”
While Campos said he acknowledges there are serious crimes befitting of jail time, for those suffering from certain crises all they might need is something like the diversion center to intervene early enough in order for them to turn their life around.
“Let’s not pretend that jail is actually health care. It’s not,” Campos said. “So if somebody has a behavioral health condition, let’s make sure they get the behavioral health treatment that they need.”
According to an Aug. 4 press release from the organization, the diversion center is staffed by peer specialists, case managers and a clinical program manager trained in both substance use and mental health support.
Campos said the center employs individuals who have also experienced substance addiction or mental health issues so clients can relate with staff and better engage with the program. He said having people who have lived similar experiences work at the center also helps create a sense of belonging and community.
However, he also pointed out that it is important for officers to know that the center can’t take any and all clients due to bandwidth and types of services the center offers. In order to admit someone to the facility, that client must meet certain criteria such as being non-combative, non-violent and willing to adhere to the center’s own guidelines of the program.
When someone meets the program criteria and chooses the diversion center over jail, Campos said not only does law enforcement save time in not processing those individuals at jail, but now they can quickly get back to more important police matters in the community.
And the location of the center, according to Campos, also helps because of its proximity to Santa Rita Jail.
As an example, he said officers making an arrest in Livermore don’t have the time to take people to resource centers in San Leandro, which is why they’re more likely to simply bring them to jail.
“We want (officers) to make the turn towards trying to help that client break the cycle of repeat incarceration and getting them the care that they need instead of going left towards Santa Rita,” Campos said.
Campos also said the center will work with crisis teams such as the Pleasanton Police Department Alternate Response Unit and others around the county as those crisis response teams need a place to bring clients.
“The Pleasanton Police Department recognizes the value of exploring various solutions/approaches, and this service presents an alternative for the community,” PPD Lt. Nicholas Albert told the Weekly. “Our Alternate Response Unit will assess potential opportunities to collaborate with the Diversion Triage Center on a case-by-case basis.”
Another win, which Campos said is just as important, is for the client because by keeping them out of jail, it lowers their recidivism rate.
“You’re preventing, what I like to call, a self-perpetuating cycle of incarceration,” he said.
He said jails and similar types of institutions can be traumatic experiences and placing people in jail who are experiencing mental health episodes or are dealing with some sort of substance addiction isn’t truly helping them get better.
“Oftentimes they can perpetuate what is actually keeping that person sick,” Campos said.
That’s why Campos said he is not only excited about the program and its future impact, but he also thinks it’s going to be a great opportunity for the community to see how common it can be to engage with people in need and help them begin a new chapter in their life.
“We want people to have that option to try to capture the miracle of recovery and start new lives,” he said. “We’re excited to help improve the odds of this happening for our Alameda County community members.”
The diversion center is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to midnight and accepts adults who are 18 years or older and are either under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or they are experiencing a mental health or drug-related crisis but don’t wish to be incarcerated or hospitalized.
According to the center, its services are voluntary and open to people “regardless of insurance or ability to pay. Minimal documentation, such as an ID, is not required for entry.”
