First Sobering Center For Intoxicated People Opens In Texas

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AUSTIN, Texas (CBS) – Police and first responders in Austin, Texas have a new option when it comes to dealing with people who are intoxicated.

The city has opened what it's calling a sober center.

Authorities will be able to bring intoxicated people there to sober up, 24 hours a day, instead of taking them to jail or a hospital.

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Those who are brought in will have their vitals monitored and be supervised until the alcohol wears off.

"You start adding everything up and the $876 for an ambulance, your looking at several thousand dollars for one person that's intoxicated," said the Sobering Center Executive Director Rhonda Patrick.

It costs about $100 per patient to operate the facility.

The center can hold up to 75 people.