BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there were approximately 38,000 opioid-related deaths in the United States in 2025.
In response to the ongoing crisis, Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced a new 24-hour hotline called CA Bridge Connect, aimed at providing immediate help for people seeking opioid treatment.
For behavioral health technicians like Mandy Herrera, who works in a recovery center, the first step before asking for help is accepting that individuals have an addiction problem.
"They've either lost their family, they've lost their support system, they've ended up in the hospital, they lost their jobs," Herrera said.
Recovery centers provide treatment programs while Bakersfield AIDS Project founder Audrey Chavez says efforts are underway to make Narcan and other harm-reduction resources available free of charge to anyone who needs them.
Chavez says the phase while recovering can be long and winding.
"You may take five steps forward and you know one step back," Chavez said.
Chavez says what matters is having various resources available for everyone — even a new hotline.
"Any tool that helps someone to stay alive to get that support is important," Chavez said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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