Our view: Expanded center would help North County neighbors overcome addictions

Thousands of our friends, neighbors and relatives struggle with alcohol and drug abuse problems. But help is hard to find in North County, especially treatment that works. One such successful program wants to expand in Oceanside, and the city and its residents ought to welcome it with open arms.

The Fellowship Center in Escondido is the only state-licensed, long-term residential recovery center for men in North County. Since 1963, the center has given hundreds of men struggling with alcohol and drug abuse a second chance. In more than four decades, the center has burnished not only a record of success at rehabilitation but also a reputation as a good neighbor.

People living near the center and Escondido police say that the neighborhood has no more, and perhaps a few less, problems than others in the city. In fact, some say the area is safer because of the nightly patrols conducted by the center's residents.

But the center's supply of space has been dwarfed by demand. The waiting list of people in North County in dire need of the Fellowship Center's services is already weeks long. The center's plan to build a new facility on Mission Boulevard in Oceanside would help more people find help.

The proposed Oceanside facility would house up to 59 men receiving treatment and counseling on a voluntary basis; the center's existing single-family home on the property houses six men. The center is resubmitting its application to Oceanside's planning department to address several concerns.

Neighbors -- especially those in the San Luis Rey mobile-home park, the 368-home River Ranch development and the Old Mission Montessori School -- don't think the center would be a good fit. We sympathize with their concerns about public safety and property values, but their fears should be dissuaded by the facts.

There are legitimate objections to be raised about residential-style rehabilitation centers. Under poor management, they can cause more crimes than they prevent and negatively affect a neighborhood. The Fellowship Center, on the other hand, offers few of those risks.

Its residents seek treatment voluntarily and are accepted only after rigorous interviews and a criminal background check. No one with a history of sexual offenses is admitted. In addition, serious addicts who need treatment involving methadone or other such drug therapy are not served at the center. Those with severe mental health disorders or who pose a threat to themselves are not accepted.

Drugs and alcohol rip holes through so many hearts, families and communities. The Fellowship Center is helping to sew them back up, with an admirable respect for its residents and its neighbors alike.

Neighbors have every right to request and receive detailed information about the Fellowship Center and its operations. But we implore the center's Oceanside neighbors to welcome a vital service and successful organization, one that helps addicts on the long journey into recovery.