Sober Circle

Petaluma Sober Circle is true community collaboration at its best. The Sober Circle program that addressed issues that contribute to serial inebriation among southern Sonoma County residents, like homelessness and mental health challenges, by providing treatment and wrap-around services to assist the client on the path to sobriety and into supportive housing. The program started long before the pandemic and continued despite its challenges, the multi-organizational team continued to serve clients and expand the program. That team included the Petaluma Police Department, Petaluma Valley Hospital, Providence SJH, Committee on the Shelterless (COTS), Drug Abuse Alternatives Center (DAAC), Partnership HealthPlan of California, Petaluma Health Center and Healthy Petaluma. 

Thanks to the excellent work of our team and partners, we’ve been able to make progress addressing the cycle of addiction in our community resulting in a 80% decrease in police calls and transports, more individuals in supportive housing and a diversion of individuals from our local emergency room (ER) to proper treatment facilities resulting in an annual cost saving of $600K in ER admissions. 

Launched as a pilot program, we hope to use Petaluma Sober Circle as a model that can be expanded county-wide to help individuals escape the cycle of substance abuse. During the fall of 2023, the Petaluma Sober Circle Program has been integrated into the operations of the S.A.F.E. Team as they address the needs of our southern Sonoma County commmunity.

Watch the collaboration video here.