Efforts by the Kern Stop Meth Now Coalition to stop drug use in our communities are translating into hard numbers.

In Tuesday’s annual update for County Supervisors, Behavioral Health and Recovery Services Director Bill Walker said they teamed up with Public Health and Clinica Sierra Vista to create an easy referral system for pregnant women at risk after seeing a 32% increase in the problem.

There are now more than 1,200 Neighborhood Watch groups and more businesses are setting up drug drop-off kiosks. Hundreds of people have been trained since the Coalition was formed in 2013.

Suzanne Grant