Guides: Local Services: Ridgecrest

General Services

Community Action Partnership of Kern
Provides information on safety net programs such as food banks and assistance, financial and utility assistance, referral services, and more. 661-322-2237.
Kern County Department of Human Services
Links and information about local safety net services, welfare-to-work, adoptions, fostering, and children's services.
Kern County Resource Caregiver Family Guide to Services 2019
Local Kern County resources for children & family services, food banks, health care, special needs, support groups, public health services, and more.

Alcoholics Anonymous, IWV District
A community support group for those who seek sobriety, with meetings all over the high desert.
Behavioral Health & Recovery Services
Formerly the Kern County Mental Health Department, provides information and services for adults and children, as well as resources for crisis situations and substance use. Crisis Hotline: 1-800-991-5272.
College Community Services
Specializes in behavioral health and integrated care services in community and home settings, with a clinical team that includes therapists, psychiatrists, and recovery coordinators. 24-Hour Crisis Line: 1-888-343-4756.
Kern County Public Health Services Department
Programs on unintentional injuries, tobacco use, promoting immunizations, physical activity and healthy eating habits, communicable disease prevention and intervention programs and a variety of pre and post-natal programs. 661-321-3000
National Alliance on Mental Illness
Provides support, education, and advocacy for people with mental illness as well as their families and friends. NAMI Helpline: 1-800-950-6264.
Ridgecrest Crisis Stabilization Unit
Assists adults and youth in East Kern County diagnosed with serious mental illness who are experiencing a mental health crisis and who have a co-occurring substance use disorder. 760-463-2880.

Women's Center High Desert, Inc.
A nonprofit organization providing a network of services relating to domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse for Eastern Kern county and surrounding counties. General Phone: 760-371-1969.
24-Hour Helpline for Domestic Violence: 760-375-7525.
24-Hour Helpline for Sexual Assault and/or Abuse: 760-375-0745
24-Hour Helpline for Child Abuse Prevention: 760-375-7100.

S.A.S.S.
S.A.S.S provides personnel placements in the Indian Wells Valley, the Eastern Sierras-High Desert Region of California and throughout the United States. 760-375-1003

Kern County Aging & Adult Services
Services available to seniors 60 and over, including delivered meals, adult protective services, health insurance assistance, transportation, home care, and other supportive services. 661-868-1000

Food pantries can be found at many different locations. Call for current dates and times.

Cerro Coso Marketplace
Food banks are growing at Cerro Coso campuses!
Kern County Aging & Adult Services: Senior Nutrition
Provides food assistance to senior citizens aged 60 and over, in the form of cafeteria and home-delivered meals. 661-868-1000
Salvation Army: Ridgecrest Corps
The Salvation Army in Ridgecrest provides shelter, financial assistance, disaster services, casework & addiction services, and a food pantry Monday-Thursday. 760-375-7219

Cerro Coso Child Development Center
Provides day care to families who qualify. Cerro Coso students are given priority. 760-384-6362.
Head Start
The Office of Head Start (OHS) helps young children from low-income families prepare to succeed in school through local programs. Head Start and Early Head Start programs promote children's development through services that support early learning, health, and family well-being. 1-866-763-6481

Kern Regional Center
Kern Regional Center is contracted by the State of California through the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to coordinate community-based services and support for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.