Sobering Center

A safe place to get sober

Our sobering center is the second opened in the state of Texas. Since April 2013, we have provided a safe, short-term stay to sober up in clean dorms separated by gender.

Our program is voluntary and clients can leave anytime. Most stay for 4-6 hours and visit us one time.

We receive clients from law enforcement, hospitals, emergency departments, and community settings like the airport or universities. They will be monitored by EMTs, there is no cost, and their stay is confidential. Every client speaks with a staff member who is state certified as a peer recovery specialist who is in recovery. In fact, being staffed by peers is what makes us different.

The sobering center has a unique blend of peer coaching, emergency medical technicians and behavioral health professionals to assist client needs. Information and referrals to recovery resources in the community is provided if needed.

We’re open 24/7 with the capacity to serve 68 men and 16 women at once. The sobering center has kept a bad night from becoming a worse night for thousands of Houstonians and visitors from out of town who never receive an arrest record and avoid a night in jail.

Staff work hard to de-escalate challenging client behavior. Ultimately, individuals that pose a safety issue or have a serious medical condition triaged to an appropriate service to meet their needs. This is a very low percentage. Most individuals meet the admissions criteria.

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8 minutes

Average time for officers to admit a client into the Sobering Center

Open 24/7 365 Days per Year

Sobering Center Admissions Criteria

  • Ambulatory (Client can walk, sit, stand, get up and down from floor cots and use restroom without assistance)
  • Non-combative
  • 18 years of age or older
  • We admit individuals impaired on alcohol and other drugs.
  • We do not admit individuals who are impaired from using bath salts
  • Open wounds requiring stitches need to be addressed before admitting.