Detox center opening today
An interim detox center run by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is scheduled to open today at 3 p.m.
The detox center is on the second floor of El Paso County's metro jail facility at 210 S. Tejon St., restoring a service for the seriously and chronically intoxicated for the first time since February. A permanent center is under construction at 2721 E. Las Vegas St., north of the Criminal Justice Center. That facility is expected to open in early November, the Sheriff's Office said in a news release.
The 24-hour facility is a social model detox, meaning it will not provide medical-level care but will act as a safe environment for people to sober up. Detox facilities are used by communities in part to prevent alcoholics from going to hospital emergency departments.
Pikes Peak Mental Health closed its detox operation at The Lighthouse Assessment Center over financial concerns. El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa later came up with a plan to set aside 40 beds of a planned detention center for detox if area hospitals and others would help pay for its operations. He offered the site at the metro jail as a temporary fix.
People needing detox services can simply go there or call 520-7122. The public entrance is on the south side of the building near the stairs. An intercom will allow people to talk to the detox staff for admittance. Police and emergency workers can use an entrance at the east vehicle ramp.
