Cornerstone counseling center in Tehachapi in danger of closing

Cornerstone in Tehachapi in danger of closing due to lack of funding, says founder Joshua Pierce, who is reaching out for help.

• Kern Behavioral Health and Recovery Services has given Cornerstone an insurance payment that's 80 percent lower than what was expected, says Joshua Pierce, the founder.
• Pierce is reaching out for help on Cornerstone's website.
• Kern BHRS declines to comment.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

For more than two years, the Cornerstone Center for Counseling and Discipleship has been providing help to those seeking solutions to a variety of problems.

But now Cornerstone is in danger of closing due to lack of funding.

I'm Steve Virgen, your Tehachapi neighborhood reporter.

The center is asking the County and the community for help.

"In my life, Cornerstone has been a lifeline, John Logan says.

Logan says he walked into Cornerstone 14 months ago, fighting a heroin addiction. He says he had been on meth for 25 years, then clean for five years before relapsing.

He says he was recently diagnosed with cancer and appreciates the support and care he receives at Cornerstone.

"They've been instrumental in me not just getting clean but learning how to live a clean life," Logan says.

But John says he experiences severe anxiety because of news that Cornerstone is in danger of closing.

According to the founder Joshua Pierce, it is due to a lack of funding.

He says the insurance payment from Kern Behavioral Health and Recovery Services is 80 percent lower than what they were expecting.

"That's barely enough to get us through the month," says Joshua Pierce, president of Cornerstone.

Pierce says he asked why the payment was significantly lower than usual, but hasn't received an answer.

He tells me he has experienced other issues with Behavioral Health and he claims that Kern BHRS will reportedly be cutting client care by not renewing their contract.

I reached out to Kern Behavioral Health and Recovery Services several times and was told that they would have no comment.

"I think a lot of it has been the bumps of being the first out-of-network program," Pierce says.

Pierce says he needs to sign a lease renewal on Friday but can't unless he has assurance of funds.

"I think we've created a space where people feel safe. They feel heard. They feel they don't have to hide who they are," Pierce says.

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