Tucson Adult Rehabilitation Center

Tucson Adult Rehabilitation Program Transitioning

The Salvation Army has operated an Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC) in both Phoenix and in Tucson for many years to provide no-fee, six-month, residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation services to men and women struggling with addiction.

In recent years, neither the Tucson nor Phoenix program has been operating at full capacity, so to be good stewards of resources and streamline operations, the two centers will be consolidated at the Phoenix ARC.

Intake of new program participants at the Tucson center has stopped, and the participants who have not yet completed the Tucson rehabilitation program will be transferred to the Phoenix program.

The sale of donated goods at Salvation Army Family Thrift Stores in the Tucson area have provided the income to support the Tucson ARC. With the consolidation of the Tucson program with Phoenix, the Tucson thrift store connected to the ARC on 6^th Avenue will close, along with the Sierra Vista store (both scheduled to close by Oct. 1), and donation pick-up service will be scaled back. 

The thrift store on Oracle Road in north Tucson will remain in operation, along with the donation center on Tanque Verde.

Employees of the Tucson ARC who do not find other jobs at Salvation Army programs will receive a severance package and outplacement services to help them find other jobs. We will also do what we can to help thrift store staff transition to other employment opportunities.

The building which housed the Tucson ARC will be repurposed to meet other identifiable community needs. The Salvation Army Tucson will work with its Advisory Board to identify the best use of the property and the appropriate community support needed to make it a success.

The thrift store on 6^th Avenue in Tucson and the thrift store in Sierra Vista will both be sold, with part of the income generated placed in an endowment to support the remaining ARCs in the West.

A portion of the income from the sale of the Sierra Vista thrift store will be used to seed a capital fund for future development of a community activity center in Sierra Vista.

We feel the most important takeaway is that The Salvation Army isn’t going anywhere. We’re here for Tucson and Sierra Vista, and we’re here for good. We continue to operate our Hospitality House shelter in Tucson and offer social services, food for the hungry, utilities assistance, senior outreach, after-school programs, summer camps, emergency disaster services, holiday support, and worship and community centers in both communities.

The Salvation Army is very thoughtful and careful in making such decisions and strives to create sustainable programs that are beneficial to local communities. There will be a lot of hard work ahead, and we are grateful for our generous supporters who help us accomplish great things every day.

For further inquiries, please contact:
Scott Johnson
Public Relations Director
The Salvation Army Southwest Division
scott.johnson@usw.salvationarmy.org