Wollongong's new sobering-up centre is due to open by the end of the month, ushering in a safer summer nightlife for the city according to its operator.
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Watershed drug and alcohol recovery centre chief executive Will Temple on Monday revealed the voluntary NSW government centre would be located in Lowdon Square, near Wollongong train station.
It will be open from 11pm to 11am on Friday and Saturday nights to provide 12 beds for drunks who are picked up by police or emergency service workers in the Wollongong CBD.
Both men and women will be catered for, with a secure, female-friendly section being built in what Mr Temple said would be a "state of the art" alcohol-recovery centre.
Watershed has been providing drug and alcohol services in the Illawarra for 35 years and was chosen by the government to run the voluntary drunk tank last month.
Since then it has been fitting out the first part of the facility, which Mr Temple hopes to open by the end of the month or early September.
The NSW government announced in January its plans to open the Wollongong centre, and at the same time announced a hardline stance against drunks in the Sydney CBD.
A mandatory lock-up for drunks was established last month in Sydney to combat violent and drunken crime, but Mr Temple stressed the Watershed-run centre in Auburn Street would be vastly different.
"This is a completely different kettle of fish because it's run by a drug and alcohol service and we are providing this for the community - it's a community service," he said.
"People who are causing trouble and who are violent and carrying on will still be locked up by police. They won't be brought to the centre ... because our focus is to be a safe alternative to the lock-up for people who are out, drunk and at risk for any number of reasons."
He said the centre was designed to help police and ambulance officers, as well as keeping late-night revellers safe when they were intoxicated.
"This is for people who are not doing anything wrong, they are just intoxicated and our aim is to keep them safe and keep the wider community safe as well," he said.
"At the moment the only options for the police are to lock them up, take them to the emergency department or take them home, which takes a police car off the beat for all that time."
"So it's about freeing up police and freeing up the accident and emergency department, and we're looking at trying to work with paramedics so it can be about freeing up ambos to do their work as well."
Mr Temple said the centre would operate with three staff for every five clients and a nurse on hand to assess those admitted at all times.
The last admission each day will be at 6am.
As well as providing a clean bed and food and water for intoxicated revellers, Mr Temple said the sobering-up centre would act as an early intervention service for problem drunks.
"We're very excited about this opportunity, because we can touch base with these guys and it's about getting some information from them about what they are drinking and how they are drinking," he said.
"Alcohol is a major issue in Wollongong and it's on the rise, so we really need to tackle it from the early intervention side."
Over the next three weeks Watershed will be holding community information sessions about the centre and is also seeking part-time drug and alcohol staff.
