AUSTIN, Texas — A major expansion of The Sobering Center in Downtown Austin will help connect more people to long-term recovery resources.
In 2018, the center opened as a partnership between the city and county to provide a safe place for people who are under the influence to sober up and rest, without taking up space in emergency rooms or jails.
“We really are trying not to discharge people without a plan,” said Ashlyn Branscum, the development and communications manager for the Sobering Center.
What does a night at the Sobering Center look like?
When people first enter the center intoxicated, they’ll complete an initial assessment with EMTs or paramedics, then go into the main room to rest and sober up. Once they feel better, behavioral health technicians or counselors will discuss their assessment scores with them, and refer them to more recovery resources if needed.
On the first floor, the center designated one room as a “depressant dorm” for those coming in under the influence of alcohol and the other as a “stimulant dorm” for drugs.
Branscum said the intention was to keep those two rooms separate so those under the influence of alcohol can rest and those under the influence of drugs have a space to walk around and speak with counselors. But Branscum said instead, it has turned into an intoxicated room and a sobered-up room.
About 60% of the people coming into the center are just one-time users who experienced a bad night, while the other 40% are repeats or “holdovers” who end up staying a little bit longer.
One of their repeat clients was picked up by EMS or Austin police 75 times in 135 days, and that’s when Branscum said they thought about creating a space for people to stay longer while waiting for a spot in rehab.
Sobering Center renovations
Branscum also said that adding another floor of beds gives those in recovery a calm space to heal away from people coming in and out of the first floor.
“It just is not a great environment, when it’s like, ‘Ok I have made the decision to stop some of this behavior,’ and then there are like folks who have actively been engaging in some of these things,” Branscum said.
This past summer, Travis County put in nearly $1 million to revamp the second floor offices of the center into this additional “dorm” space with 11 more beds. But since the Sobering Center is also a nonprofit, there’s a funding gap of about $400,000 they’re still looking to fill, so they can staff the floor 24/7.
City leaders’ response to the expansion
The center estimates it’s about $2 of community value for every dollar invested in them, saving tax dollars on jails and emergency rooms, and decreasing first responder times.
“You’re taking up a bed that somebody else could be using for a different kind of emergency, when really you just need somebody to kind of keep an eye on you for a little while,” Branscum said.
District 4 Austin City Council Member José “Chito” Vela, said the center is well worth investing in.
“It’s an important step forward in the Sobering Center really becoming the core piece of our substance abuse treatment plan here in Austin,” Vela said.
He’s planning on advocating for a funding increase for the Sobering Center during the city’s next budget cycle.
The Sobering Center is always looking for donations to keep its doors open and running. They are hoping to secure enough funding to open the second floor dorm by this fall.