The Sobering Center serving Austin and Travis County is very excited to announce the appointment of a permanent Executive Director beginning January 2, 2018. Rhonda Patrick brings a wealth of experience to this position and will be responsible for opening the facility and future operations. After renovation of the former Medical Examiner’s Office the facility should open in the Summer of 2018. Rhonda has a Masters in Social Work and Public Administration and was most recently the Chief Executive Officer of Behavioral Health Alliance of Texas, Inc., for which she secured and managed 2.5 million dollars in state and federal addiction and maternal health grants. Her expertise lies in the design, implementation and management behavioral health companies, organizational, clinical, and fiscal strategic planning, community collaboration, revenue development and sustainability planning.
Rhonda has been in the addictions and mental health recovery field for nearly 20 years. She has been a professional social worker, entrepreneur, and social service innovator for most of her professional life. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and accomplished executive. Rhonda has worked in many distinct positions in the treatment industry and has gained firsthand experience in all of the different facets of how to effectively help others recover from addiction. Before coming to the Austin Travis County Sobriety Center, she served at some of the most well respected and trusted treatment centers in the world. She is often called on by others in the field as an expert on mental health, addiction, recovery, and stands on the front lines welcoming people into a program of recovery. Her dedication and commitment to individual and community wellbeing and her belief that the sobriety center is essential in improving the quality of life of our most vulnerable citizens as well as keeping our visitors and neighborhoods safe, has prepared her to lead the Sobering Center.
The Sobering Center provides a safe environment for publicly intoxicated individuals to sober up and, when appropriate, initiate recovery. It aims to enhance public health and public safety by providing an alternative to the emergency room and jail.
The non-profit local governmental corporation was formed by Travis County and the City of Austin in 2016 after a collaborative stakeholder process. Judge Nancy Hohengarten serves as Board Chair and Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo and Commissioner Margaret Gomez serve on the 11 member board.