Around the clock sobering center to begin operating in December

The city christened the completedsobering center at its flagship behavioral health facility Monday as it continues to expand its Gateway network of shelter and services.

The Medical Sobering Center at the Gateway Center is slated to open in mid-December and can help up to 50 patients at a time struggling with alcohol or drug addiction. It will operate 24 hours a day.

“These beds will be filled as we go into the holiday season. We’re going to open this up and get people to help they need, even during this freezing, cold time of year when we need it most,” Mayor Tim Keller said at a news conference Monday.

He also thanked the City Council for its continued support.

“The City Council, in one form or another, has never given up on this project in the end, and so we very much appreciate that despite all the challenges,” Keller said. “We really can’t do anything without each other when it comes to the City Council and the mayor.”

City Councilors Brook Bassan, Renée Grout, Nichole Rogers and Dan Champine were in attendance. County Commission Vice Chair Eric Olivas also was at the event.

In 2021 the city paid $15 million for a 570,000-square-foot former Lovelace hospital that has become the Gateway Center, which has been plagued with delays and hefty construction costs.

There are only 2 sobering centers operating in New Mexico, according to the National Sobering Collaborative.

The state had the highest alcohol-related death rate in the country and ranked sixth for drug overdose deaths in 2021, according to a 2023 state Legislative Finance Committee report.

Cristina Parajón — former Gateway Center administrator and now a House representative for the state’s 25th district — spoke on what the completion of the sobering center meant to her.

“When I walked in, I felt really emotional. This project represents hours and hours of work, 60-hour work weeks where we were really trying to get this over the finish line,” Parajón said. “When I walked through these doors, I saw that people were going to receive dignity here. They will feel belonging when they walk through these doors.”

The sobering center is one of five services available at the Gateway Center. It also offers housing navigation, an engagement center, a receiving area for first responders and medical respite.

In April, the sobering center was awarded $4.2 million in congressionally directed spending. It also received $4.35 million from Bernalillo County in 2022.

It’s estimated the sobering center will cost $4 million to operate annually, according to Connor Woods, spokesperson for the city’s Health, Housing and Homelessness department.

“I’m going to close with something because it’s a push, and I know my audience, folks. How we pay to maintain this facility annually is going to be a challenge,” Director of Health, Housing and Homelessness Gilbert Ramirez said. “There’s still some advocacy that has to be done at the state level. Our Medicaid waiver could allow for this to be a reimbursable service for our state. We need champions at the state level to say, ‘Let’s push let’s make this available.’”

Representatives from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich’s offices and Rep. Melanie Stansbury were in attendance .