BY CYNTHIA SEWELL

Edition Date: 04/22/08

Officials are expected to announce today total funding for a $2.7 million community detox center for people with mental-health crises and for addicts who need to detoxify.

Boise Mayor Dave Bieter said he will announce at Tuesday's United Way of Treasure Valley annual meeting that 100 percent of the financing has been secured.

Construction of the 8,500-square-foot facility could begin later this year.

It will be built on a lot near the Ada County Jail and Intermountain Hospital, a private psychiatric facility.

The center will have 12 detox beds, eight mental health beds and a sobering station, and will serve more than 1,000 people annually from Ada, Boise, Elmore and Valley counties.

The center has many partners, including the cities of Boise, Eagle and Meridian, Ada County, local hospitals and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

"This is a perfect example of how when a project is important and needed, the Treasure Valley can and will come together to accomplish it," Bieter said.

The agencies will also jointly share in the facility's $1.8 million annual operating costs. The Legislature agreed this session to put $900,000 a year toward the annual operating costs.

The Boise metro area is one of the largest in the nation lacking a detox facility for people without health insurance.

A 2002 Boise State University study on the need for a detox center reported that more than 17,000 people in the Treasure Valley struggle with addiction.

It also found that private medical centers turn away more than 300 people monthly who are seeking mental health treatment.

Cynthia Sewell: 377-6428