Sober living homes could soon come to Pueblo for recovering addicts
Homelessness and opioid addiction are two common issues in The Steel City. Now, a recovery program that has seen success in Denver wants to tackle those problems.
As of today, there are no sober living houses in Pueblo, even though they are a proven tool in the substance recovery world.
Thomas Hernandez and Jeff Riley with Tribe Recovery Homes want to change that. Both say sober living houses are a crucial part of keeping recovering addicts clean. They say they should know because they are both recovering addicts, themselves.
“Sober living has been a huge part of my life and my own personal recovery,” said Riley, “So we would like to give that experience over and meet the people where they are at down here.”
The pair spoke with community health leaders, including Pueblo County Commissioner Chris Wiseman Thursday about the hands-on, “not-giving-up,” type of attitude their program provides.
“Overdoses are going to go down hugely if we can house them and get them off the street,” said Riley.
The home situation plays a big part in avoiding a relapse, according to Dr. Mike Nerenberg with the Southern Colorado Harm Reduction Association. He runs a needle exchange program and says it’s one of the things he hears often from those he’s trying to help.
“If you don’t have a place to live, how can you recover? If you don’t have any prospects, how can you recover?” asked Nerenberg, “Housing is probably the first need we need to meet.”
Like the needle exchange, this program is expected to receive resistance from those who may have to live next to the homes.
Hernandez and Riley understand the worry and say they will find a location that neighbors are going to be okay with. More discussions are going to take place before anything moves forward.
