Public intoxication accounts for more than 2,000 jail bookings a year in Travis County; the Sobering Center aims to change that. Receiving referrals and transports from police and EMS and open 24/7, the center offers both a safe place to sober up and a potential first step to recovery, for both one-time party-too-hards and those with chronic substance use problems. A joint effort of the city of Austin (which funds the annual budget) and Travis County (which owns the building, the former medical examiner's office), the Sobering Center's opening in August followed a nearly 20-year-long effort by local leaders and law enforcement.
