I am working to get Cornerstone’s Substance Abuse and Prevention program on the middle and high school campuses.

Drugs have been an issue in Tehachapi for decades and current estimates put the addiction rate of Tehachapi at 13%. For those of us who have gone through the education system in Tehachapi we know that drugs and alcohol abuse are deeply embedded within the culture of our youth. I graduated THS in 2008 and remember just how bad it was then and after speaking with teachers, students, and administrators the problems have only escalated. The pandemic has only increased these problems. Now that school is back in person and students are on campus, Cornerstone would like to help meet the need by providing Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention Programs on campus.

Cornerstone’s programs use the latest evidence based practices, cognitive behavioral therapy, family systems, etc. to provide quality treatment and prevention strategies. Students in the prevention program will be able to attend multiple group counseling sessions focused on social and psychological skill development. Students in the treatment program will have regular group counseling, have regular one-to-one sessions with a counselor and/or therapist (depending on need), and after school groups (depending on need).

To cover the cost of this program Cornerstone is asking for $100,000 from the COVID funds received by the district to help students overcome the mental health issues that have arisen. As the rest of our programs become self sufficient we will provide this program for free to the schools.

We currently have support from several teachers, faculty, staff, and administrators within the schools and are working on getting support from the heads of the school district.

I am determined to meet this need so I am preparing a presentation for the school board on Nov. 16. But I need at least 1,500 local signatures on this petition just to be taken seriously, but my goal is 5,000 so the issue cannot be ignored.
I implore you to help us get this program on campus by signing this petition and joining us at the school board meeting.