Sobering centers are community-based facilities that provide a safe environment for people under the influence of alcohol or other drugs to stabilize and recover, offering an alternative to emergency departments or jails. These programs, which often operate 24/7, typically provide medical monitoring, rest, meals, connections to health and social services, and substance use education and counseling.

There are a growing number of sobering centers in California, as well as in other states across the country. To support this growth, the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) is hosting virtual office-hours sessions that will explore key aspects of developing, operating, and sustaining sobering care, as well as introduce new resources to support this work. Made possible through the California Health Care Foundation, these sessions will provide valuable insights and practical guidance for anyone interested in improving the available array of recovery services and supports, regardless of whether their community currently has a sobering center. The sessions will provide a forum for participants to ask questions and engage in discussion about their programs.

Sobering center operators and staff, managed care plan representatives, and other interested stakeholders are invited to join these 60-minute sessions. Participants are encouraged to submit questions when registering to help guide the sessions.

Please register for one of the following office hours sessions:

Agenda

I. Welcome and Introduction

Speaker: Meryl Schulman, MPH, Senior Program Officer, CHCS

M. Schulman will welcome participants, review the agenda, and provide an introduction.

II. Operating Sobering Centers: A Review of Best Practices and Implementation Tools

Speaker: Shannon Smith-Bernardin, PhD, RN, CNL, Co-Founder, National Sobering Collaborative and Associate Professor, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF School of Nursing

S. Smith-Bernardin will describe sobering care and key aspects of operating these centers and provide an overview of new resources that can support sobering center operations and financial planning, including: Blueprint for Sobering Care in California: Implementation Guide and an accompanying financial planning tool.

III. Moderated Q&A 

Moderator: M. Schulman

S. Smith-Bernardin will respond to questions pre-submitted by attendees during registration. As time permits, M. Schulman will facilitate additional discussion based on live questions from participants.

IV. Closing 

Speaker: M. Schulman

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