The Pueblo-based substance abuse treatment provider taking over El Paso County’s detox center has been given more time to complete the renovations on the Stratmoor-area building it will move into next year.
The new detox center at 1000 Maxwell Street was to have been ready by mid-2018, but renovations are running about six months behind schedule, said Crossroads Turning Point President and CEO Leroy Lucero.
Under an amended agreement with the county, Crossroads can continue to operate out of the old detox center off Las Vegas Street on the county jail’s campus until Jan. 1, when the new building is expected to be ready.
The detox center takes in self-admissions and referrals from local law enforcement and hospitals. Those admitted have a chance to sober up before caseworkers offer help, such as guidance related to economic assistance or referrals to treatment programs.
Lucero plans to open the Maxwell Street location with 20 beds — roughly the same number as at the county detox — with room to double that, if funding is available and demand is high.
“I guarantee you it’s going to be an improvement in the environment, both for the clients as well as the community,” Lucero said.
After Crossroads moves out of the old detox center, it will be transferred back to the Sheriff’s Office.
In 2009, then-Sheriff Terry Maketa elected to build the $1.7 million detox center with money the office was paid by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for detaining undocumented immigrants in the county jail.
Sheriff Bill Elder said he and his staff have considered using the space as a minimum-security expansion of the jail’s veterans ward, which offers special opportunities and programs to rehabilitate veterans and help them reintegrate into the community upon their release. Once Crossroads leaves the building, he’ll determine if it could be used for that purpose and what security improvements or renovations would be needed, he said.
His office has provided food, janitorial services and medical services for the detox center.
The county detox center was established in 2009 as a temporary solution after the area’s previous detox center closed abruptly. The closing of The Lighthouse detox facility — run by AspenPointe, then known as Pikes Peak Mental Health — left those struggling with alcohol and drug addiction with few places to go, except emergency rooms and public parks and sidewalks.
In November, the county officials welcomed the opportunity to hand over the reins to a new operator.
“County departments of human services aren’t substance abuse treatment providers and don’t have access to the full continuum of care that a substance abuse treatment provider would have access to,” said Julie Krow, executive director of the county human services department, which previously managed the detox. “So far, Crossroads has been a great partner.”
About six months after the county announced it was seeking a new operator, the center’s staff had dwindled and admissions declined because the center was not operating at its full capacity of 40 beds. County records show the number of people discharged from the facility had decreased from 385 in April 2017 to 280 in September 2017.
From December 2017 to July, discharges at the facility have ranged from 115 per month to 190 per month, with repeat clients accounting for a portion of those visits, according to state data.
Crossroads charges a co-pay based on a “sliding scale” that takes into account income and the number of dependents a person has, Lucero said. However, they don’t turn away people who can’t pay, he said.
The facility is funded, in part, by the fees collected from clients and reimbursements from Medicaid and other insurers. Because Crossroads now runs the region’s designated withdrawal management facility, AspenPointe pays the organization with funding it receives from the state and federal government. Crossroads’ contract for fiscal year 2019 is worth up to $792,000, said Kevin Porter, AspenPointe’s vice president of marketing, sales and communications.
Crossroads purchased the Maxwell Street property for about $700,000 over the summer, and renovations are expected to cost about $600,000, Lucero said.
Contractors will build a 6-foot cedar fence surrounding most of the property and an entrance that blends in with area homes, Lucero said. Renovations are also needed to divide the inside of the home into dormitory-style sleeping areas, offices for counseling and a full-service kitchen.
He plans to host an open house for local residents at the end of the year.
“We plan to be a good neighbor. We plan to work with community residents,” he said. “Give it time, they’ll find out that they won’t even know it’s there.”
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