Free and low-cost addiction treatment in Los Angeles County

By Robby Patrick, President and Founder, The Blackburn Foundation. Published October 23, 2026. Updated October 23, 2026.

If you live in Los Angeles County and cannot afford addiction treatment, call the county’s Substance Abuse Service Helpline at 1-844-804-7500, a toll-free line open 24 hours a day for screening and referral. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health offers no-cost substance use treatment to county residents who are enrolled in or eligible for Medi-Cal and who are assessed as needing care, regardless of immigration status. If a gap remains, a treatment scholarship from The Blackburn Foundation, a Los Angeles nonprofit, can help.

Who can get no-cost treatment in Los Angeles County?

The Department of Public Health’s Substance Abuse Prevention and Control program says no-cost treatment services are available to youth, young adults and adults, regardless of immigration status, who meet these criteria:

• You live in Los Angeles County.
• An assessment shows you meet medical necessity for treatment.
• You are enrolled in or eligible for Medi-Cal, or you take part in AB 109, CalWORKs, Drug Court, General Relief or JJCPA and are commercially insured or otherwise not eligible for Medi-Cal.

If you are not sure whether you qualify, the county says to call the Substance Abuse Service Helpline for a screening.

How do I get started?

1. Call the Substance Abuse Service Helpline, 1-844-804-7500. The county describes it as a toll-free helpline, open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for screening, resources and referral to treatment.
2. Or contact a treatment provider directly. The county says any person, or someone acting for them, can contact alcohol and drug treatment providers directly.
3. Or visit a Client Engagement and Navigation Services (CENS) site. These are sites across the county where staff act as a link between state, county and city agencies.
4. If mental health is part of the picture, the Department of Mental Health lists its Help Line, (800) 854-7771, as the 24/7 Los Angeles County Help Line for mental health and substance use services.

What if I do not have Medi-Cal?

Check whether you are eligible. Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program, and SAMHSA’s Medicaid or CHIP state search links to each state’s program. If you have private insurance, start with what your plan covers; see how to pay for addiction treatment.

If treatment is still too expensive, SAMHSA advises asking each provider, when you call to set up an appointment, whether it has a sliding-fee scale or other lower-cost options. On a sliding-fee scale, the price you pay depends on how much money you make.

If you need low cost drug and alcohol testing in Los Angeles, for example for a court requirement or a family agreement, Blackburn Monitoring, a sister organization of The Blackburn Foundation, offers it.

What other free help lines can I call?

• 211 LA. Call 2-1-1 or visit 211la.org. 211 LA describes its support as free, confidential and available 24/7 in all languages spoken throughout the county.
• SAMHSA’s National Helpline, 1-800-662-4357. A free, confidential treatment referral and information service, open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in English and Spanish.
• FindTreatment.gov. SAMHSA’s confidential locator for treatment facilities across the United States.

How can a treatment scholarship help?

The Blackburn Foundation is a 501(c)(3) based in Los Angeles. Its treatment scholarship fund exists for the gap that opens when insurance or savings run out before care is done, and for people with no coverage at all. Every scholarship is decided case by case. Depending on need, a scholarship can help pay for:

• Intervention
• Detox
• Residential treatment
• Intensive outpatient treatment
• Sober living and transitional housing
• Therapy and psychiatry
• Mentoring and spiritual counseling
• Aftercare

Scholarships are open to people across the United States, not only in Los Angeles. You can apply online for yourself, for someone you love, or for a client. See also sober living scholarships, what a treatment scholarship is and every option side by side in help paying for rehab in Los Angeles.

This guide is general information, not medical, legal or financial advice. Talk with a qualified professional about your situation. How we write and source our guides: Editorial Policy.

Sources

1. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Substance Abuse Prevention and Control, No-cost treatment services eligibility.
2. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Substance Abuse Prevention and Control, Contact us.
3. Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, Behavioral health resources in Los Angeles County.
4. 211 LA, 211 LA information sheet.
5. SAMHSA, Find free or low-cost treatment.
6. SAMHSA, National Helpline, 1-800-662-4357.
7. SAMHSA, FindTreatment.gov.
8. SAMHSA, Medicaid or CHIP state search.
9. 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, 988lifeline.org.