Austin Recovery, an organization that has served as the safety net for those who can’t otherwise afford addiction treatment services, announced earlier this month that they are closing their doors in May.
“This was an extremely difficult decision. There have been a lot of tears shed,” said Lynn Sherman, the center’s board chairman. “This decision has not been driven by COVID-19, but it has been hastened because of COVID-19,” she said, referring to the disease linked to the coronavirus.
Competition from surrounding treatment facilities over the past decade has made it difficult for Austin Recovery to survive, especially when Austin Recovery often offers clients entry on an income-based sliding scale, Sherman said.
“Austin Recovery, over the last 10 years, has transitioned from being the only residential treatment service provider in Central Texas to now being the safety net provider for those who could not pay for themselves or who don’t have insurance,” Sherman said.
The South Austin building and its southern Travis County detox house are slated to close on May 15, Sherman said. However, they’ll allow some patients to stay past that date. Everyone in a 30-day residential treatment program will be able to complete their stay, and everyone admitted through May 1 into outpatient programs will be able to complete their six-week program.
Those enrolled in 90-day outpatient program will be discharged before the end of their stay, either to another residential treatment center — if they have health insurance — or to a lower level of care. Pregnant women and women with children will not have another option for residential treatment in the Central Texas area, and Austin Recovery is making plans to determine how to get those families care outside the region if possible.
Travis County’s drug diversion court, which previously relied on Austin Recovery to treat people in the criminal justice system, will not be directly affected by the closure, because that diversion court established its own in-house treatment program about 10 years ago.
Maryse Saffle, an Austin Recovery employee who was laid off as the organization prepares to close, said the closure is a huge loss for the Central Texas community and for people who will need help in the future, she said.
“It’s the place locally that offers affordable or free treatment to people who need or want it,” she said. “These are traumatic times — everyone is surviving right now. When this is over, and people have a chance to go back to some kind of normal life, there’s going to be a lot of trauma to address. Isolation, job loss, depression — all of that goes hand-in-hand with addiction.”
In 2018, a total of 67,367 people died from drug overdose deaths in the United States, according to the national Centers for Disease Control.
Sherman and Saffle both went through the program themselves and are in long-term recovery for addiction. They both expressed concern for people in recovery who are struggling with addiction in this unprecedented time of economic crisis and isolation.
“I can tell you from firsthand experience that the number one threat to sobriety is isolation,” Sherman said. “I’m getting calls from people who have been sober, who are struggling because they’re isolated. I’ve also gotten calls from people who are ready to find services, because they’ve just had enough while they’re in the midst of complete isolation.”
Austin Recovery — which has been in existence since 1967 — is supported through donations, client payments, government funding and a grant from the St. David’s Foundation. To break even, donations must make up about 20% of expenses. However, Austin Recovery is not usually able to hit that goal, Sherman said.
The board will reconvene soon to determine how or whether they can reopen Austin Recovery, Sherman said.
“It’ll be a very difficult environment to do it in, but we’re committed to trying to find a way,” he said.
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