- Santa Cruz County Sheriff Calls Sobering Center “A Huge Piece” Of Effort To Break Cycle Of Incarceration. For Lookout Santa Cruz, Dieter Holger reports that the Santa Cruz County Sheriff Chris Clark says the county’s 24/7 Sobering Center is “a huge piece” of an effort to give officers alternatives to incarceration for people struggling with substance use. Clark said law enforcement has “leaned into a public-health approach to drugs instead of a criminal one,” asking, “How do we look at working with other partners and getting others engaged to prevent this cycle of incarceration?” Amber Williams, the CEO of the organization that runs the sobering center, explained to the news site that “it’s no surprise” that overdose deaths began declining the same year the facility reopened in 2024. Marni Sandoval, the county’s behavioral health director and champion of the facility, echoed those sentiments, saying that the facility is “what we’re doing and investing in and committed to [because it] is working.”
- Summit County, Colorado, Opens 24/7 Sobering And Behavioral Health Walk-In Center. For CBS Colorado, Spencer Wilson reports on the mountain county’s new 24/7 sobering center where people can walk in without an appointment for immediate help with substance use, withdrawal symptoms, mental health crises and other behavioral health needs, regardless of medical coverage. The center provides withdrawal management alongside counseling and connections to housing, food and other community services, with follow-up after discharge to help people stay connected to longer-term care. Samantha Archuleta, chief clinical director for the health group that oversees the center, described the facility’s full-service approach to the news station: “This is a place where we’re just like, ‘Just come’ … Just walk in, and we will figure it out and help you.”
- Clackamas County, Oregon, Breaks Ground On New 76-Bed Sobering And Recovery Campus. Clackamas County announced it has broken ground on a new recovery campus for adults with substance use disorders that will provide withdrawal management, stabilization, mental health and residential treatment, medication-assisted treatment, care coordination and peer support. The campus will add new treatment beds and transitional housing, while accepting referrals from hospitals, families and law enforcement and helping reduce “inappropriate placement in jails and emergency rooms.” Gov. Tina Kotek said the campus “will save lives and provide hope for so many,” while County Commissioner Ben West called it the “crown jewel of the county’s recovery-oriented system of care,” adding that on-site transitional housing will help people “build their recovery capital and re-enter the community.”
