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) hosted virtual office-hours sessions that explored key aspects of developing, operating, and sustaining sobering care, as well as introduced new resources to support this work. Made possible through the California Health Care Foundation, these sessions provided 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.

Replay office hours sessions: Monday, April 13 or Thursday, April 23.

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Agenda

I. Welcome and Introduction

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

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 described sobering care and key aspects of operating these centers. She provided an overview of new resources that can support sobering center operations and financial planning, including the Blueprint for Sobering Care in California: Implementation Guide and an accompanying financial planning tool.

III. Moderated Q&A 

Moderator: M. Schulman

S. Smith-Bernardin responded to questions pre-submitted by attendees. M. Schulman also facilitated additional discussion based on live questions from participants.