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TAOS 鈥� As a casino marketing director in the 1980s and 鈥�90s, Steve Fuhlendorf spent nearly two decades promoting a business rooted in compulsive behavior before realizing addiction was a trait he shared, albeit for a different vice: alcohol.

 That moment came in 2001, after he had moved to Taos, where following a night of heavy drinking he realized that his habit would kill him if he didn鈥檛 seek help. He checked himself into the local detox center, which he credits with giving him the initial foothold he needed to change his life.

鈥淚t鈥檚 difficult, but it gets easier day by day, staying away and doing that reset 鈥� talking with people who have a similar problem, learning about the 12 Steps groups,鈥� he recalled of his weeklong stay at the facility on Weimer Road in Taos. 鈥淢ainly, it鈥檚 that having the support of other people is a big part of recovery.鈥�

Detox is a service Taos County residents have been without for 11 years now 鈥� the facility where Fuhlendorf got sober closed in 2015 following the financial collapse of its provider, Tri-County Community Services 鈥� but that鈥檚 set to change this spring.

Taos County announced a soft reopening for the detox center this spring with a new service provider, Rio Grande Alcoholism Treatment Program, where Fuhlendorf serves as community coordinator alongside Executive Director Lawrence Medina, who also got sober in Taos.

鈥淎ccess to detoxification services in this region is very complicated,鈥� Medina said on Thursday while meeting with staff inside the soon-to-reopen facility. 鈥淪ince Tri-County closed this, we鈥檝e seen recidivism rates increase and people falling through the cracks because they don鈥檛 have access to anything like this.鈥�

The clinic鈥檚 first phase will admit up to five patients for seven-day, round-the-clock  withdrawal management from alcohol, opioids and other substances in a social setting before expanding to fill 10-12 beds. An addition to the facility currently under construction and set for completion this fall will accommodate 24 patients, with men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 wings joined by a common area and kitchen.

While patients will initially be served in a non-medical setting, with peer support and therapy on hand to guide people through the first steps of sobriety, Medina has ambitions to grow services to include crisis care for patients experiencing 鈥渁cute鈥� withdrawal symptoms and a mobile crisis unit designed to intervene in situations requiring an emergency response.

Rio Grande intends to pursue accreditation within three months of opening, paving the way for the detox to attain state certification for medical detox services at the facility, creating more of a hospital-like setting.

The next phase of the project will also be key: seeking Medicaid credentialing, allowing the detox to bill for public health insurance 鈥� the most common form available among the populations detox centers typically serve.

The facility will also have an economic impact, creating about a dozen new jobs, according to Medina.

Sponsors of the project, including the Taos County Commission, expect the facility to make steady, meaningful progress in the fight to reduce addiction rates and related crime in Taos County and the wider region when it opens later this spring.

鈥淭his is not a drunk tank,鈥� Medina said, emphasizing that all patients at the facility will be required to undergo a medical clearance before admission. 鈥淭hat means you can鈥檛 just drop people off.鈥�

Rio Grande ATP, as it鈥檚 known for short, has provided outpatient addiction treatment services out of offices in Taos and Las Vegas for 48 years. The organization won a bid to provide services at the Taos detox facility, which is housed in a building the town of Taos transferred to Taos County in a property swap in 2021.

To renovate the shuttered facility and fund initial operations, Taos County was awarded around $3 million in federal and state funds. Medina estimated the total annual cost to run the detox will be around $1 million.

鈥淩enovating a building like this had its challenges, but we believe in detox,鈥� Taos County Manager Brent Jaramillo said. 鈥淲e believe in tackling the problem of substance use disorder, and with Rio Grande Alcoholism Treatment Program, we knew we had a partner that also believed in tackling this big issue.鈥�

Last September, the New Mexico Department of Health reported a 340% increase in drug overdose deaths and a 206% rise in overdose-related emergency room visits in Taos County in the first half of 2025 compared to the year previous.

Santa Fe and Rio Arriba counties also saw increases in overdose deaths, with spikes of 104% and 48%, respectively, underscoring the need for a facility Taos County believes will provide needed access to withdrawal management for north-central New Mexico.

Raul Noches, assistant executive director at Rio Grande ATP, said that Espa帽ola, where he lives, also doesn鈥檛 have a detox, which would serve the many small towns that surround northern New Mexico鈥檚 best-known communities.

鈥淎 lot of times, we focus on the cities, and we forget that there are other towns and other communities that surround these areas that are also struggling,鈥� he said.

The nearest detox center to Taos and Espa帽ola is in Santa Fe, according to Medina, who said that only a handful of facilities around the state accept public health insurance, causing available beds to fill up quickly.

The Taos detox center鈥檚 sponsors believe the facility will also help reduce the burden shouldered by local jails and medical centers in the region, which often serve as de-facto detox centers in the absence of a dedicated facility.

In recent years, Taos law enforcement and the courts have also introduced the Taos Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, which is designed to direct low-level criminal offenders toward outpatient addiction and behavioral health treatment services in Taos following

Taos County Sheriff Steve Miera has been one of the program鈥檚 sponsors. While he says not every offender qualifies for the program, he recognizes the importance of addressing the addiction problem in his community that often drives criminal activity.

鈥淎nything that helps the community I support wholeheartedly,鈥� Miera said. 鈥淚f it's an additional resource that gives people another option, or it gives them something additional that they didn't have before, I completely support it. I truly believe that (detox) this, along with the LEAD program, will be instrumental in assisting with all of these issues.鈥�

For Fuhlendorf, the seven years it鈥檚 taken to reopen the detox center has been personal 鈥� a full-circle experience he hopes will give more northern New Mexico residents the chance he had to safely navigate those first, critical steps in the recovery process.

鈥淚 probably wouldn't be alive without it,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here's a lot of people that can be helped, and we want to get those doors open so we can help them.鈥�

John Miller is the sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 northern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at jmiller@abqjournal.com.