Amid an ongoing epidemic of opioid and heroin overdoses, Colorado’s largest provider of treatment for drug and alcohol abuse will close its doors early next year, the victim of long-running financial losses and low government payments.

Arapahoe House announced Friday that its last day at all of its locations will be Jan. 2. As of Friday, it will no longer accept new patients. It currently serves 5,000 people, all of whom will have to find a new treatment provider.

“It’s horrible,” Arapahoe House CEO Mike Butler said in an interview.

“We’ve been struggling with being underfunded for many, many years,” he said. “We’ve been losing a fair amount of money for many years.”

Arapahoe House has facilities in Denver, Wheat Ridge, Thornton, Westminster, Littleton, Aurora and Lakewood. A nonprofit, it has existed for 42 years.

Read the full story at The Denver Post.