A new walk-in clinic in Denver’s Hale neighborhood is now offering same-day treatment for fentanyl addiction, with no appointment, insurance, or prior sobriety required to walk through the door. WellPower’s Medication-Aided Treatment clinic, located at 4455 E. 12th Ave., sees roughly six patients a week during its Wednesday hours, from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The nonprofit launched the low-barrier program as opioid overdose deaths climb again across Denver and Colorado, even as fatal overdoses have been falling nationally.
Denverite first told the story of the clinic’s opening through Nicole, a Denver woman identified only by her first name because of concerns about how her recovery might affect future employment. She started using heroin at 19 while trying to help her boyfriend quit, and continued using heroin and later fentanyl for nearly 15 years. Nicole attempted suicide in 2021, and her hospitalization afterward at Centennial Peaks connected her to WellPower.
Before finding the clinic, Nicole had bought Suboxone on the street while traveling away from home and had endured long lines at a methadone clinic just to get treatment locally. She has said the medications eliminated her urge to use almost immediately once she started, and that people have to want to change their lives for treatment to actually work.
Peer Support, Test Strips and a Harm-Reduction Approach
The Medication Aided Treatment clinic pairs patients with peer specialists, nurses and pharmacists, and it employs a nonjudgmental, harm-reduction approach rather than demanding abstinence up front. Jud Felder has said people do not have to quit all substance use before seeking help there. The clinic also hands out fentanyl test strips and naloxone nasal spray, along with instruction on how to use naloxone during an overdose, and can be reached directly at 303-504-7700…