SOBER LIVING HOMES

Glendale crackdown leaves ‘2 or 3’ licensed sober living homes in city

14 unlicensed local facilities currently under investigation

Thomas Cody, executive director of the Navajo Nation Division of Social Services, talks during a news conference in Phoenix in May to explain what tribal leaders are doing to find and get care for members now being displaced by scores of illegitimate sober living homes that are under investigation for Medicaid fraud by the Arizona Attorney General's Office. Behind him are Arizona State Sen. Theresa Hatathlie, left, and Rhonda Tuni, right, the executive director of the Navajo Department of Health.

(The Associated Press/Anita Snow)

The most effective way to expose fraudulent sober living homes across the Valley has been a standard mode of residents keeping vigilant.

Glendale Councilor Lauren Tolmachoff saw something suspicious near her own home: a man wandering around on a recent Sunday evening who eventually passed out. Two days later, she saw the same guy, this time carrying a trash bag full of something.

“It was obvious something was amiss at this home,” Tolmachoff recalled.

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