More than 200 people living near a proposed addiction treatment center in San Pedro protested at the site Sunday afternoon, arguing that the facility \u2014 which would share property with or displace a nursing home \u2014 is not a good fit for the neighborhood. <\/p>\n
Some residents are hopeful Tuesday evening’s town hall meeting will shed more light on the project, which they say was unexpected. <\/p>\n
Nonprofit Fred Brown’s Recovery Services wants to acquire the five-acre property at 2100 Western Ave. and convert it into a 122-bed inpatient recovery facility that will serve “veterans, justice-involved people, homeless people and people with co-occurring conditions,” Fred Brown said in a two-page information notice sent to area residents. The facility will serve approximately 1,000 people on an outpatient basis.<\/p>\n
Protesters say there are other options for recovery treatment in San Pedro but few affordable senior care centers.<\/p>\n
(Carlin Stiehl\/For The Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n
Protesters carried signs and banners, some of which read, “Future home of 1,000 non-local addicts” and “No Skid Row in San Pedro.”<\/p>\n
Several residents, including Ivana Poste, said a similar but smaller and short-term treatment center on the property, which was not managed by Fred Brown, has made their neighborhood feel less safe in recent months.<\/p>\n
“It felt like there was a little bit of a realization of what could happen,” said Poste, a 36-year-old occupational therapist. Her husband’s car was broken into, and she saw people walking around the quiet neighborhood who she believed were doing drugs. <\/p>\n
Poste supports recovery but said it would be difficult to manage a large-scale treatment facility on that property. “They’re hurting us and we’re hurting them, because this is a community that helps each other,” he said. <\/p>\n
Others said there are several alternative residential treatment facilities in San Pedro but almost no other low-cost senior care homes. “San Pedro has done a lot,” said Maryanne Pesic, 72. \u201cWe need this like we need holes in the head.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement to The Times, Fred Brown said he “appreciates the community’s engagement on this important matter and respects their right to express their views. We are committed to ensuring this is a respectful, transparent conversation based on accurate information, and we look forward to continued dialogue.” <\/p>\n
While the controversy is concentrated in one neighborhood, similar battles are likely to occur elsewhere as nonprofit groups seek to expand services to treat mental health issues, addiction and homelessness.<\/p>\n
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<\/picture>\nThe five-acre property on Western Avenue, which houses a retirement home, formerly called Serenity Senior Village, was previously home to a nursing home run by the nuns of the Little Sisters of the Poor. The property has changed hands twice in the last five years.<\/p>\n
(Carlin Stiehl\/For The Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n
Behind conflict between neighbors and treatment centers is a growing gap between supply and demand in all types of housing, UCLA public health professor Randall Kuhn<\/a> Said in an interview. <\/p>\n “Every community needs to accept facilities at some point, but on the other hand, we are a democracy,” he said. Kuhn said neither the city nor the county have acquiesced to communities like San Pedro or given them any reasonable expectation of how to deal with the crisis. <\/p>\n The project is still in its early stages, but has been pre-approved for more than $73 million in grant funding under California’s Proposition 1, a $6.4 billion bond measure approved by voters in 2024 to improve mental health and addiction treatment. State records show.<\/a> Fred Brown said in a statement to The Times that the project’s budget and other costs are subject to change.<\/p>\n The land was for decades owned by the Little Sisters of the Poor, a group of Roman Catholic nuns who cared for the elderly. According to him, the nuns withdrew from the property in 2024 website<\/a>. <\/p>\n Richard Scandeliato, president of San Pedro’s South Shores Community Association, said the property is close to a church with a daycare and several schools. <\/p>\n Residents don’t object to sober behavior, he said, but he doesn’t think it should happen at this location. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you bringing to the community?\u201d he asked. <\/p>\n
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