PHOENIX (AP) — A huge addiction recovery community in Tucson, Arizona, shuttered suddenly this week, leaving more than 200 people homeless as Arizona investigates widespread Medicaid fraud largely affecting Native Americans, authorities said Thursday.
Ocotillo Apartments & Hotel, a rundown complex that was being used as a sober living community, closed Wednesday.
Details about what happened were sketchy. A copy of the notices telling people they had to leave referred to them as “Happy Times clients.”
“We don’t know much about the operation,” said Andy Squire, spokesperson for the City of Tucson. “They city got called last week and our housing outreach people have been trying to help. Our response has largely been humanitarian.”
Squire said the city was working with the Tohono O’odham and Pascua Yaqui tribes to find temporary shelter or treatment facilities where the former residents can stay.
Source: Tucson recovery community closes during Medicaid probe / SCNOW