Spokane County hoping to combat opioid crisis with $13M sobering center expansion

SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — Spokane County is expanding its substance use and mental health treatment services with a new $13 million sobering center, aimed at combatting the opioid crisis.

The county recently secured $3 million in state funding for the facility, which will be built onto the existing Regional Stabilization Center.

County leaders said the sobering center will provide immediate treatment for those struggling with addiction, helping divert individuals from unnecessary hospitalizations and the Spokane County Jail.

“They can walk in and receive immediate treatment,” said Justin Johnson, Spokane County’s Director of Community Services.

Overdose deaths in Spokane County have nearly tripled since 2018, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office, even as national averages have declined. Last year alone, more than 300 people in the county died from opioid overdoses.

“Spokane County has been investing quite heavily in immediate treatment to address the substance use challenges that we’re seeing in the community,” Johnson said. “After 300 deaths due to opioids in the last year alone, Spokane County recognized the need to do something, to act immediately.”

The county has already seen success with a similar model at Spokane Treatment and Recovery Services (STARS), where more than 500 people have been admitted since December, with an 85% success rate in referring clients to inpatient or community-based services.

The proposed sobering center will double the capacity of the current STARS facility, addressing the high demand for inpatient treatment beds.

“Often individuals have heard of sobering. Well, we’ve incorporated that also with triage,” Johnson said. “Effectively what that means is, people who walk in, regardless of what symptomology or substance they’re on, receive an immediate assessment, withdraw from that substance and they’re referred up into inpatient.”

County officials believe the new center will help many more people recover from addiction and reduce the impact of substance use in the community.

The county expects to complete construction of the new facility in 2027.