New Orleans Detox Center Expands to Meet Opioid Need

An acclaimed New Orleans detox center is tackling the opioid epidemic head-on and it’s all to honor the memory of a man who helped his son win his own battle with addiction. Four years after its founding, NOLA Detox has already helped more than 3,000 clients safely begin recovery through medically supervised withdrawal.

The center is now preparing to open a second facility in Slidell to meet the urgent need for opioid withdrawal management and early stage treatment on the Northshore.

Responding To a Public Health Emergency

St. Tammany Parish is dealing with what many call a public health emergency. The parish is second only to Jefferson Parish in its number of opioid deaths occurring in Louisiana. In 2024 alone the parish reported 400 overdoses and 115 drug-related deaths. 

Chris Copeland is the founder and COO of NOLA Detox. He remembers what his father, well-known Louisiana entrepreneur Al Copeland, said to him before he passed away from cancer.

“Man, if I had two wishes, it would be that I could cure this cancer, and that we could get you past your addictions,” Copeland recalled.

Although the senior Copeland didn’t live to see it, both of his wishes came true. Chris is now clean and sober after multiple stints in rehab and the Al Copeland Foundation was pivotal in the cure for Merkel cell carcinoma. 

Transforming the New Orleans Detox Experience

Now, Chris and another former rehab patient, Dan Foreman, are making their own dream come true. They’re helping others while changing the culture of addiction treatment. 

According to Chris, “The way people were treated. It wasn’t, it wasn’t like you were sick and you had an illness. It was like you were bad and you were weak willed, and I knew that wasn’t the case.” 

Chris and his business partner opened NOLA Detox in Algiers four years ago. The facility offers the New Orleans hospitality that Chris remembers from his youth. 

They have TVs in the bedrooms, big comfortable beds and recreational activities ranging from fun on the community waterslides to snowball fights during the city’s rare and wonderful snowfalls. They also offer menus filled with Copeland’s famous food. 

An important rite of passage in the detox program involves the clients writing down the timeline of their addiction when they enter NOLA Detox. On the last day of their treatment, they burn the papers in a symbolic gesture to let go of their pasts. Then they spend some time having fun making and eating s’mores. 

The Power of Peer Support in Early Recovery

The business partners and founders now see a need for more programs on the Northshore. They’re opening a second NOLA Detox, and it will be the first residential recovery center in Slidell. The lead counselor at the new facility will be one of their graduates, Eric Hendrix. 

Hendrix, 49, remarked, “I don’t know where my life would have gone had I not walked in the doors of NOLA Detox Center Recoveries [sic] Center. I truly, you know, feel like my life was saved at that moment.”

Eric notes that he has been clean and sober now for two years. 

“There’s something magic about the person who has walked in that walk, who has walked through that fire, now comes with clinical skills,” Hendrix notes.

Copeland added, “We take really good care of them, and the end result is they stay in treatment and when they stay in treatment they get better. The whole goal is to save lives. This is the greatest thing I could ever do.”

NOLA Detox accepts insurance from most major providers. Both NOLA Detox centers offer inpatient and outpatient treatment. 

Take the First Step Toward Safe Withdrawal

Medical detox is the safest way to begin recovery from opioids, alcohol, or other substances.

Explore Detox.com’s national directory to find qualified detox centers near you or call 800-996-6135(Sponsored) today.