Arizona city grapples with sober homes

Some in Prescott fear being ‘drug rehab capital’

PHOENIX — With a growing segment of the country beginning to view addiction as a disease that needs treatment, a northern Arizona city is mulling over a new law that allows it to register and regulate a cottage industry of sober living homes thriving among its residential neighborhoods.

Prescott residents are dealing with an influx of recovering drug addicts drawn to the mountain community for many of the same reasons as retirees — cool air, pine trees and a small town atmosphere.

Neighbors complain about loud music, foul language and cigarette butts emanating from sober living homes. While residents say they believe addicts deserve help, many take a “not in my backyard” stance on the homes.

State governments throughout the U.S. are working to curb the effects of drug addiction.

Nearly every state, including Arizona, has increased access to a lifesaving drug known as naloxone that can stop a heroin overdose. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey also signed laws in May requiring doctors to check a state database before prescribing opiate painkillers in most cases, plus the law allowing municipalities to regulate sober living homes.

Under the law that goes into effect in August, cities, towns and counties can require sober living homes to register and force them to meet standards. Those can include onhours supervision and a plan to help rehabilitate and discharge people living there.

Prescott is drafting an ordinance that’s set to go to the City Council before August, said Jean Wilcox, a Prescott council member.

But in the realm of public perception, change is slow and many still view addiction as a character flaw said John Kelly, director of the Recovery Research Institute at Massachusetts general hospital.

“We talk about it and understand it more, but we don’t also talk about it as treatable and as a disease that people can recover from,” Kelly said.

Recovering addicts often move into sober living homes after leaving rehab. There they live with like-minded people, work and usually continue treatment through programs like Alcoholics Anonymous.

States including California and Florida as well as municipalities like Prescott have had trouble regulating the homes because recovering addicts are a federally protected class under the Fair Housing Amendments Act.

Prescott city officials resorted to zoning regulations to prevent any neighborhood from having too many sober living homes.

But that wasn’t enough for many residents, said Rep. Noel Campbell, R-Prescott, who added that his city is “inundated” with sober living homes.

“We want to do the right thing here, but I don’t want to be known as the drug rehab capital of America,” said Campbell, who sponsored the new law.

Prescott officials estimate the city has between 130 and 200 rehab facilities, in a city of about 40,000 people.

But only about 1 percent of all calls for service dealt with community residences, according to a police report detailing calls for service during a six-month period that ended in April.