If you or someone you love is struggling with alcohol or drugs in San Antonio, cost does not have to be the wall. This guide lists the help that is free or built for people with little or no money first — county treatment, nonprofits that do not turn people away for inability to pay, and a free residential program where mothers can live with their children — then meetings, phone lines, and what to do after treatment.
If someone is in crisis right now
Call or text 988 — the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, free, 24 hours a day. If someone has overdosed or is in medical danger, call 911 first.
Free and low-cost treatment
The Center for Health Care Services (CHCS) is Bexar County’s public route into treatment — the place to start when there is no insurance and no money for private care. As the county’s mental health and substance-use authority, CHCS connects residents to detox, outpatient and residential services based on need, not ability to pay. Dial 2-1-1 and ask for the Center for Health Care Services to get routed to the right intake.
Lifetime Recovery — 96 Crossroads Blvd, San Antonio — (210) 734-6362. A nonprofit treatment provider whose own commitment is plain: no one is turned away for inability to pay. If money is the reason you have been putting this off, call them first.
Casa Mia at Crosspoint — free residential recovery for pregnant and parenting women, where mothers can live with their children while they recover. Casa Mia also helps with Medicaid enrollment, so coverage for follow-up care is part of the same stay. For a mother who cannot leave her children to get well, this is the program to know about. Reach Casa Mia through Crosspoint or by dialing 2-1-1 and asking for Casa Mia by name.
Free support that never closes
Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings run every day across San Antonio — mornings, evenings, Spanish-language meetings included — and they are always free, with no sign-up, no insurance and no paperwork. Walking into a first meeting is the step most people in long-term recovery say actually started it.
988 (call or text, 24/7) can also connect you to treatment referrals when you do not know where to start.
After treatment: where to live
Treatment is only the first step — the weeks after are where structure matters most. Sober living homes (also called recovery residences) give people in early recovery a drug- and alcohol-free place to live with house rules, testing and peer accountability while they work and rebuild. Sober living is private-pay housing, not medical treatment, and it is not typically covered by insurance — plan for it as rent, and ask any home you call exactly what its fees cover.
Sponsored
This placement is reserved for a local treatment or recovery provider. Providers who help San Antonio families can see sponsorship options here.
Helpful links & phone numbers
- Crisis, any hour: call or text 988
- Emergencies: 911
- Lifetime Recovery: (210) 734-6362
- Find county services, Casa Mia and local programs: dial 2-1-1 (free, 24/7)
- Check what other benefits you may qualify for: our free 60-second checker
One step at a time
Getting help for addiction usually means paperwork on top of everything else. Our team will build your personalized step-by-step guide — for treatment and for the food, health coverage and bill help that make recovery possible — free, through Apply for Me.
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$3 a month helps pay for the hosting and the checking that keeps this help free and up to date.
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