SUBJECT
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Overview of the City of Laredo Detoxification Department, DBA ROOTS Recovery Center.
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VIVA LAREDO PLAN ALIGNMENT
Alignment Rating:
Strong - The agenda item directly supports or fulfills clearly stated goals and policies in the Viva Laredo plan associated with health, wellness, and support services for vulnerable populations.
Supporting goal(s)/policy(ies):
“Provide access to services and programs that improve quality of life and support vulnerable populations.” (Viva Laredo Comprehensive Plan, Chapter 8: Health, p. 7.22)
• Relevance: A detoxification center such as ROOTS provides critical services to individuals suffering from substance use disorders - a vulnerable population with elevated health and social risk. By providing medical detox, stabilization, and referral to treatment, the Center embodies this goal.
“Support healthy living through programs and policies that promote well-being and dignity for all residents.” (Policy 7.2.1, Chapter 8, p. 7.23)
• Relevance: Detoxification services are a core component of community health and recovery. By offering medically supervised detox and facilitating access to longer-term treatment, ROOTS helps restore and preserve residents’ dignity and promotes healthier living.
“Improve health of its residents” (part of the Plan’s overall vision). The plan summary/overarching vision statement.
• Relevance: Establishing and supporting a detoxification service contributes concretely to improving community health as envisioned by the Plan.
“A great quality of life” - including social services, health, and safety - as part of the Plan’s goals for a prosperous but still affordable city. The Plan’s summary “what were the big ideas?” section.
• Relevance: Access to detox and behavioral-health services enhances quality of life, reduces potential social harms from unmanaged substance use (e.g. health crises, homelessness, public safety issues).
Chapter list inclusion: “Health” as a fundamental element of the plan’s 12 chapters. The Plan states that improving the health of residents is among its overarching aims.
• Relevance: By addressing substance abuse and providing detox services, the agenda item contributes to the Plan’s overarching objective of health improvement. The fact that “HEALTH” is a core dimension of the Plan underlines that health-related infrastructure - such as detox centers and behavioral-health services - are within the scope of the intended city planning actions.
The Plan states that improving the health of residents is among its overarching aims.
• Relevance: By addressing substance abuse and providing detox services, the agenda item contributes to the Plan’s overarching objective of health improvement.
Implicit equity/social inclusion goal - through the Plan’s participatory process and emphasis on services for all residents (especially underserved). The Plan preface and participatory process description.
• Relevance: Substance-use services often address populations with limited access to care; ROOTS’ services advance inclusivity and equity consistent with the Plan’s community-engagement and social-services ambitions.
Summary of alignment:
The proposed agenda item to maintain and support ROOTS Recovery Center demonstrates strong alignment with the Viva Laredo Comprehensive Plan. The following support that conclusion:
• The Plan explicitly identifies “Health” as one of its core chapters and includes policies emphasizing access to health services, improving community health, quality of life, and support for vulnerable populations. By providing detox and recovery services, the ROOTS Center delivers on those explicit policy commitments.
• The Center contributes concrete infrastructure and programming toward improving health outcomes, supporting dignity and well-being, and offering services to individuals who might otherwise be underserved - fulfilling the social-services and equity dimensions implied in the Plan’s participatory vision.
• The agenda item helps realize the Plan’s broader ambitions for a high quality of life, sustainable community wellness, and an inclusive approach to city-wide growth that balances physical development with social infrastructure (health, safety, services).
Because of the direct correspondence between the Center’s function and the Plan’s verbatim policies (e.g., “support healthy living,” “provide access to services ... for vulnerable populations”), the classification of Strong alignment is appropriate and well justified.
Additional Observations
Equity & Social Inclusion: The Detox Center helps bridge gaps in behavioral-health access - often one of the biggest barriers for low-income or vulnerable individuals - which supports the Plan’s overarching participatory and inclusive framework.
Public Health & Safety: Substance use often correlates with public-safety incidents, emergency-room utilization, homelessness, and other community costs. ROOTS may reduce such negative externalities, aligning with the Plan’s implicit intent for a safer, healthier city.
Sustainability of Social Infrastructure: By embedding health services into city planning (not just land-use, mobility, housing), the item reflects a holistic, long-term view for sustainable urban governance.
Integration with Other Plan Elements: While ROOTS is not directly a land-use or mobility intervention, its existence supports community resilience - which underlies successful implementation of land use, housing, and sustainability strategies.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION
Approval of the development of the Detoxification Department.
BACKGROUND
The City of Laredo Detoxification Department, operating under the name ROOTS Recovery Center, provides medically supervised detoxification and withdrawal management services for individuals experiencing substance-use dependencies and withdrawal and at risk for overdose. The program serves as an essential entry point into the broader behavioral health continuum, offering short-term stabilization, clinical assessments, and referrals to long-term treatment providers.
ROOTS Recovery Center offers 24/7, voluntary detoxification services, supporting individuals withdrawing from alcohol, opioids, stimulants, and other substances. The department maintains collaboration with local hospitals, law enforcement, EMS, behavioral health providers, and community-based organizations to ensure patients receive safe, appropriate, trauma informed, and timely care.
Services include:
Medical and clinical screening and evaluation
Withdrawal management under medical supervision
Chemical dependency counseling
Treatment & Discharge Planning
Crisis intervention
Skills development
Case management
Referral to inpatient, outpatient, residential, recovery-support programs, and tertiary services
Coordination with families, courts, and community partners when appropriate
ROOTS Recovery Center plays a crucial role in reducing emergency room utilization, mitigating public safety impacts related to substance use/behavioral health issues, and supporting recovery pathways for residents of Laredo and Webb County.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
N/A
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
recommendation
Staff recommends that City Council receive and acknowledge the overview of the City of Laredo Detoxification Department, DBA ROOTS Recovery Center, and further recognize that this item demonstrates Strong alignment with the Viva Laredo Comprehensive Plan-specifically the Plan’s Health Chapter policies to “provide access to services and programs that improve quality of life and support vulnerable populations” and to “support healthy living through programs and policies that promote well-being and dignity for all residents.”
Staff further recommends continued support for the Detoxification Department’s initiatives to enhance service capacity, strengthen inter-agency collaboration, and expand access to behavioral-health and recovery resources for individuals requiring medically monitored detoxification. These actions advance the Viva Laredo Plan’s long-term goals related to community health, equity, and overall well-being.
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Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Year: FY25
Budgeted Y/N?: Y
Source of Funds: TX HHSC, Insurance Payments, TX CORE, TX Opioid Abatement, Municipal Court Fees
Account #: 274-7410
Change Order: Exceeds 25% Y/N: N/A
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
No financial impact.