Councilmember Raul Campillo joined Father Joe’s Villages Wednesday in announcing the creation of a new detox facility that will provide up to 45 beds for low-income and unhoused patients.
The new beds will be a major step in creating access for treatment during the region’s fentanyl epidemic. Currently, only two MediCal-eligible detox beds are located in the city of San Diego, and neither serves unhoused patients.
According to Deacon Jim Vargas, president and CEO of Father Joe’s Villages, 375 people living on the streets lost their lives to a drug overdose last year.
The new facility was aided by an update in June to the city of San Diego’s Land Development Code. The update has streamlined the permitting process for building behavioral health facilities from years to months.
“I decided that the traditional position of the city of San Diego that says health and human services is some other branch-of-governance problem was just not going to sit well with me,” said Campillo who championed the policy change.
“So last year, I called on my colleagues to declare a behavioral health crisis in San Diego and directed staff to explore ways that they could lower barriers for construction permitting for behavioral-health facilities in San Diego.”
Marisa Varond, executive director of the McAlister Institute, a substance-abuse treatment provider for the county, also confirmed the barrier the Land Development Code has been in creating accessible resources.
“It has been nearly impossible to find a seller who was willing to wait 10 to 12 months if not longer,” said Varond on the search for new sites.
“I’m proud to say that San Diego is leading on this. We call on other cities to change their permitting rules so that they can have this across the county,” said Campillo.
According to Vargas, construction on the new facility will start immediately on the St. Vincent de Paul site and open its doors in early 2025. It will replace the current Paul Mirabile shelter.
To be able to construct the facility, Father Joe’s is calling on community donors to provide $1.5 million in financing.
Those interested in learning more about the site or donating can click this link.
