ADACCV Celebrates 65 Years of Sobriety in San Angelo

ADACCV commemorated their 65th anniversary on Friday. The organization has changed names, changed location, and fought back against opposition and lack of funding, all in their goal of helping San Angelo and the Concho Valley recover from alcoholism and drug abuse.  

Board President Ryan Linebaugh, CEO Eric Sanchez, and Activity Coordinator Jennifer Bateman gave thanks to the staff and administration for their efforts. Each reading testimony from those who were able to turn their lives around.

Wrapping up the presentation, Bateman thanked Sanchez: 

“I want to applaud Eric for seeing the talent in each of his employees and team members, always empowering them,” she said.

The council is eyeing improvements at the Cotton Lindsay Center, setting aside a dedicated space for their adolescent outpatient space and outdoor recreation. They are also looking at improvements for the Journey Recovery Center like better kitchens, staff offices, and more resident amenities like washers and dryers. 

Bateman read one letter from a patient: “A lot of people are nervous or scared if they’ll be accepted or not, myself included. Now being a few days from getting out, I don’t have doubts about the love this place has to offer.” 

1960 – Alcoholism Council Forms

Twenty-seven years after prohibition was repealed, alcoholism was no new issue, but the way it was dealt with was changing; as a problem that should be treated rather than hidden away. Throwing addicts in jail was not a sound solution. 

The Halfway House approach had been in place for decades in larger cities, but West Texas had few treatment options. 

Organizations to address the issue sprung up around the state, and on March 7, 1960, the future San Angelo Council met for the first time, forming committees in April, seeking to build a permanent treatment facility. 

1966 – Judge Marschall Changes Policy

In April 1966, the first halfway house opened at 21 N. Randolph. At that time, Corporation Court Judge Pat Marschall began giving intoxicated people who had been arrested the option of spending another three-night stint in jail, or take a turn at the halfway house. 

From October 1966: “Since it was created, not more than 35 men have gone there…of those men, six stayed sober and have not been before Judge Marschall on a drunk charge.”

The report notes that one man who took the offer remained sober and was now working steadily for a construction company. 

These figures at the time led some to criticize the policy, saying that the solution was a waste of time and effort, but the halfway house staff continued their efforts, and eventually were gifted a house of their own from Bill Griffis, a local attorney. 

1969 –  Pioneer Home Becomes New Halfway House 

Eventually named as “Williams House” in honor of one of its early organizers, Doug Williams, the home was originally at 306 W. Beauregard, where the Goodyear tire shop stands today.

It was built by the pioneer Kelly family, one of San Angelo’s earliest prominent clans. 

The house was first moved to 217 S. Randolph, west of Harry’s Food Store, and then moved to its present location at 136 W. College Ave. in 1969. 

Twenty years on, Williams told the story of moving the house on a quiet Sunday: 

“We did it when the football game was going on, so everybody was at home watching the Cowboys…we had to take some lines and cable down, so some people were missing the football game,”

They tried to make the move quietly, as a sort of end-run around the opposition, Williams explained. Some neighbors sought to get an injunction against the project. 

“One city commissioner said it was just like a dog pound; no one wants it there in their neighborhood.” 

Once the house was in place, workers and volunteers remodeled it, and welcomed the first residents in early 1970. 

Over the next several decades, the council made slow and steady progress despite lack of financial support. Williams went around town asking for donations and recalled that the first cash donation he received was $500 dollars from the former Central National Bank President Frank Junell. 

San Angelo eventually got used to there being a place other than jail for their loved ones in need of help. By 1989, the agency reported that more than 2,000 residents had called it home at one time. 

1978 – Detoxification Center Built

There was still a need for a place where the patient could “dry-out” or detoxify, before returning to treatment or a halfway house.

Committees were formed and plans were set to open such a facility at 609 River Drive, now Veterans Memorial Drive, west of the Shiloh ramp.

Opening in 1978, Tom Green County Judge Ed B. Keyes cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony 

In 1979, The San Angelo Council on Alcoholism, The Halfway House of San Angelo and the Detoxification Center merged into one organization that over the years would expand and adopt the “San Angelo Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse,” and eventually to all thirteen counties in the Concho Valley, taking on the current name. 

1985-1995 – State Funding Threatened Closure

In 1985, the Texas Legislature passed a resolution last year calling for the treatment alcoholic patients to be moved from state mental hospitals into community-based detoxification and residential programs. This meant the burden once held by the state was moving to the local level, and detox centers throughout Texas were bracing for closure. 

The Detox Center continued its work, and once again concerned citizens in town recognized another need not being met — a dedicated center for women undergoing treatment. 

This proposal took years to arrange, as several zoning proposals were rejected, sites were reconsidered, and funding was slowly raised.

In 1990, a property on Twohig Avenue was selected, and within a year the facility was at capacity. 

Not long after, the facility was threatened with a loss of funding. 

From a report in 1995: “The Women and Children’s Halfway House in San Angelo was notified Thursday that its request for state funding next year has been denied.

“Sara Lummus, president of the halfway house’s board of directors, said the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse gave no reason for its action.

“She also said the request was denied before TCADA had had a chance to review a report from state auditors, which she expected to be favorable.

‘No one at TCADA can tell us what we did wrong,’ Lummus said. ‘Their own people have visited here and said we’re a model program. We’re just sick about it, but we’re not giving up.’ 

When this gap in funding led to the closure of the house, ADACCV stepped in to raise funds and remodel the house, which reopened in 1997. This facility was eventually named “Sara’s House” to honor Lummus’ efforts. 

1997 – 1999 Women’s Halfway House Reopens/Cotton Lindsay Center Built

The tide had turned over the course of 40 years, and public sentiment changed dramatically, and public awareness of the issue was working in the council’s favor. 

ADACCV’s location on the Houston Harte Expressway opened in 1999, and in 2001 was named the Cotton Lindsey Center in honor of his support.  

2020 – Journey Recovery Center

The 72-bed treatment expansion, with detox center. Sara’s House and Williams House were converted to sober living residences.