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AFSCME Council 5 Condemns Ramsey County’s Closure of Detox/Withdrawal Management Program: A Betrayal to the Community and Workers

Max Hall
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Max Hall

612-247-3725

Max.Hall@afscmemn.org

AFSCME Council 5 Condemns Ramsey County’s Closure of Detox/Withdrawal Management Program: A Betrayal to the Community and Workers

St. Paul, MN— AFSCME Council 5 and Local Unions Representing Ramsey County workers affected is sounding the alarm after Ramsey County announced its devastating decision to close its Detox/Withdrawal Management program. This closure will displace dozens of frontline workers who have dedicated their lives to saving others, and it will strip the community of critical resources at the very moment they are most needed. We also have serious concerns surrounding the potential privatizing of these services to organizations with questionable ethical ties to county leadership staff and hired analysts who were contracted to study the public program's effectiveness.

Minnesota, along with other states, is in the midst of a drug epidemic that has torn families apart and stolen too many lives. Yet instead of investing in care, Ramsey County is cutting it. This decision abandons both the vulnerable residents who rely on them and the workers who serve on the frontlines.

“Our members at Ramsey County have dedicated themselves to helping people in crisis — guiding them through some of the darkest and most dangerous moments of their lives,” said Bart Andersen, Executive Director of AFSCME Council 5. “Closing this program down is not just a loss of jobs; it will be a betrayal of our community. It means fewer people will get the essential care they need, and more families will face the heartbreak of losing a loved one. This is wrong and preventable, and we will not be silent about the harm it will undoubtedly cause.”

NOTE: Affected workers and allies will be at the upcoming Ramsey County Public Hearing on Monday, September 22 at 5pm. Location: Saint Paul City Hall - Ramsey County Courthouse, Council Chambers (third floor) 

For the workers themselves, this decision feels like both a professional and personal blow:

  • An excerpt from a Ramsey County Detox Team member:
    • "Staff here have been begging for help for more years that I can count. With the stigma surrounding addiction and mental health, I feel like the staff at detox and our program in general often get pushed aside when it comes to support from the county... Withdrawal is often misunderstood. It is not just discomfort; it is agony. I have watched people tremble uncontrollably, sweat through sheets, cry out in pain, and beg for relief that sometimes comes too slowly. The severity can be life-threatening—seizures, hallucinations, dangerously high blood pressure—and witnessing this suffering has made me fiercely protective of the dignity and safety of those in our care. No one chooses addiction, and no one should have to endure withdrawal alone."
    • "The news that our detox unit will be closing weighs heavily on my heart. I worry for our patients—where will they go in their moments of crisis? Who will be there to catch them when they fall? I think of the families who will have one less place to turn for help and the colleagues who have become my second family. The closure marks the end of an era for all of us, and I know its effects will ripple through our community in ways we cannot yet fully see."
  • “Every day, I come to work knowing that someone’s life depends on us being there. This closure sends the message that our community’s struggles with addiction don’t matter — but they do, deeply.” — Ramsey County Detox Team member
  • “We are more than employees. We are caretakers, neighbors, and advocates. When you close down detox and withdrawal management, you’re shutting the door on hope for hundreds of people who desperately need it.” — Ramsey County Detox Team member
  • “We see people at their most vulnerable — and we walk with them toward recovery. If this closure goes through, it’s not just jobs that are lost, it’s a lifeline for families who have nowhere else to turn.” — Ramsey County Detox Team member

Names associated with these quotes above will not be released for now given concerns about retaliation by leadership. 

AFSCME Council 5, AFSCME Local 8, and AFSCME Local 151 call on Ramsey County leadership to reconsider this closure and to prioritize community health and safety over short-term budgetary decisions. Addiction is not going away — and eliminating critical detox and withdrawal services will only deepen the crisis.

“This is about saving lives,” Andersen continued. “Ramsey County must do better for the people who live here, for the families who are struggling, and for the workers who fight every single day to help our neighbors find stability, recovery, and hope.”

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