Salvation Army ends detox program for Hennepin County

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The Salvation Army is pulling out of a program to run Hennepin County's detox center, leaving the county scrambling to find a replacement.

The Salvation Army has run the facility for six years. When officials announced it would not renew its contract, the county mailed 40 letters to various organizations to ask whether they were interested in taking over the program.

Nobody responded positively, so, in January, the county will temporarily take over the 40-bed detox facility at 1800 Chicago Ave. S. in Minneapolis.

The county did find a group to reluctantly take over operations in April. The American Indian Housing and Community Development Corporation, which provides services for American Indian self-sufficiency, agreed to take over the contract, but only with increased funding. They wanted and the county agreed to 100,000 for planning and transition roles.