Sobering Center celebrates first year in operation

(TULSA, Okla.) Mayor G.T. Bynum, 12 & 12, Inc. and the Tulsa Police Department celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Tulsa Sobering Center Wednesday, which serves as a jail diversion program designed to offer an alternative to adult men and women detained for public intoxication. Open in May 2018, the Tulsa Sobering Center has received national attention for its approach of connecting individuals with a continuum of care with the goal of providing better outcomes for the Tulsa community by reducing the number of adults with mental illness and substance use disorders who are incarcerated. “The Sobering Center has become a key resource in the past year for our community, police officers and the municipal courts system,” Mayor G.T. Bynum said. “This first year in operation shows what we can accomplish when we put common sense programs in place that focus on underlying causes of crime: better outcomes for residents, better use of taxpayer dollars, and a safer city for us all.” From May 2018 – May 2019, the Sobering Center had 767 individuals utilize the facility. Of those participants, 73 entered the medically supervised detoxification program at 12 & 12. Upon completion, 32 of the 73 adults went into treatment at 12 & 12. “Operating the Tulsa Sobering Center, in the Hardesty Wing at our main facility, has allowed us to connect participants who suffer with alcoholism or other addictions to our nationally accredited counseling and rehabilitation programs for substance abuse treatment,” Bryan Day, CEO of 12 & 12 said. 286 Tulsa Police officers brought individuals detained for public intoxication to the Tulsa Sobering Center instead of jail, saving officers approximately 3,000 hours. The Sobering Center allowed officers to return to service for more pressing public safety matters within approximately 10 minutes instead of going through booking processes at jail. “We are encouraged by the results of our unique approach to resolve issues that lead to crime and arrests,” Tulsa Police Deputy Chief Jonathan Brooks said. “With the Sobering Center, we are being more strategic and efficient with officer time and public safety funding while building partnerships that lead to enhanced response and care for Tulsans through our community policing efforts.” In collaboration with the Tulsa Police Department, the Tulsa Sobering Center is operated by 12 & 12 a leader in addiction treatment and recovery. 12 & 12 is a nationally accredited and state licensed Comprehensive Community Addiction Recovery Center that offers life-saving recovery tools for adults suffering with addiction or co-existing mental health and substance use disorders to achieve individualized recoveries. At the discretion of the detaining police officer, adults detained for public intoxication, who have not committed any other crimes, are taken to the Tulsa Sobering Center for a 10-hour period to “sleep it off” in a safe clean environment. During their stay, participants are provided with food, a place to rest and at their discretion, information about and access to counseling and rehabilitation programs for substance abuse. At the end of the holding period, adults are released from Tulsa Sobering Center without criminal charges, court dates or a record of arrest. 12 & 12 also arranges for participants to be transported, by a third-party, to an off-site location of the participant’s choosing. The Tulsa Sobering Center is a 24/7/365 operation which is utilized at the sole discretion of the Tulsa Police Department. The Sobering Center facility is not open to the public. The City of Tulsa provides 12 & 12 $250,000 annually, which goes towards the operational costs of the Sobering Center. Build-out costs for the facility were paid by a private donation to 12 & 12 from the Hardesty Family Foundation.   For more information about the Tulsa Sobering Center, visit: www.tulsapolice.org. For more information about 12 & 12, visit: www.12and12.org