Adapt Sobering Center Opens

ROSEBURG, OR – The Adapt Sobering Center has opened in Roseburg as the first such facility in Douglas County.

The sobering center opened Friday, August 13, off Diamond Lake Boulevard near Adapt’s residential treatment facility, when the sobering center began taking referrals from local law enforcement.

A sobering center was identified by the community in 2020 as a way to increase cross-system collaboration to reduce involvement in the justice system by people with substance use disorders, according to a press release issued by Adapt, our community partner providing addiction treatment, behavioral health care, primary care and prevention services.

Rather than remaining on the streets, publicly intoxicated individuals and those experiencing ill effects from other drugs are removed from an unsafe situation in the community and brought to a safe, secure environment where they can become sober, while reducing the burden on local jails and the emergency department, according to the press release.

Individuals are referred and transported to the sobering center only by law enforcement.

The sobering center is open to provide temporary lodging under those circumstances 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Staff at the center can offer referrals for behavioral/physical health and social services. Referrals to the sobering center also prevent a criminal record for sobering clients, according to Adapt.

The sobering center contains eight units for adult women and men, and was built using renovated shipping containers to keep the project on budget and open the facility as quickly as possible.

The sobering center was made possible with broad community support from Douglas County, Umpqua Health Alliance, Oregon Health Authority, Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, the Local Public Safety Coordinating Council, David and Kelly Trinchero, and the cities of Roseburg, Winston, Sutherlin and Myrtle Creek.

Operating costs are expected to be about $350,000 a year and to be covered by state and local community partners, grants and donations. Adapt is currently accepting charitable donations to support ongoing operations.

For more information: https://adaptoregon.org/services/addiction-treatment/adult-services/sobering-center/