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Review 3/18/2011
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The Discovery House is a sober living house that should not be operating near an elementary school. Who in their right mind would put all of these men near a school with young children? The owner and operator obviously doesn't care about the neighbors who don't want ex convicts around their children. The house is illegal and it is not licensed. These people want to claim discrimination because of disability-
Alcoholism and/or drug addiction is recognized disabilities under the law for purposes of putting up with employees who use alcohol and drugs in the workplace, i.e. being drunk or under the influence of drugs, or missing work or being late because of a hangover/binge is not however considered a reasonable accommodation and/or may subject you to immediate termination. However, treatment for alcoholism or drug addiction may be considered a reasonable accommodation for people with the disease of addiction. The key is to seek help before you are terminated for the behavior. An employer may not discriminate or harass someone because of their status as a recovering alcoholic/drug addict. I don't see these houses with ramps for wheel chairs because one has lost a leg. They are using this as a loop hole.
I attended the RNC meeting and Councilman Zine said that boarding houses/sober livings should not be operating in R-1 zoning.
The owner is operating out of greed for-profit and landlords are exploiting a series of legal loopholes in the law to make boatloads of money by turning large, single-family homes into rooming houses.
Loophole number one: classifying alcoholics and addicts in recover as "disabled." This law was intended to prevent employers from discriminating against people with a history of drugs/alcohol and was not intended to apply to housing. Since when is someone who claims to b...e in recovery disabled as it relates to housing? Certainly they don't need physical accommodation etc. Legal loophole number 2/3 is a very clever backwards catch 22: They avoid the licensing requirements that would normally apply to halfway houses by providing no treatment, while at the same time avoiding the normal zoning laws and codes that would apply to rooming houses by calling themselves "sober living" houses. And if there's no treatment and only one manager for 13 or 14 men, how can the City or residents have faith rules and safety codes will be enforced? The last thing we want is for our residential neighborhoods, already under siege and feeling unsafe as described by other commentators, afflicted with these for-profit group homes.
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Business's response - by The Discovery H.on 3/28/2013
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The Discovery House is a JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) center, which requires our treatment facility to meet the same quality control and inspection standards as a hospital. We are also licensed with the state of California and Los Angeles County, and we are licensed with both the state and federal government to conduct drug tests. Each of our certifications ensures that we provide the highest quality of care to all of our clients.
We offer a safe environment where our clients, with our counselors, work in group settings and in one-on-one counseling sessions to help individuals work through the issues that have caused his or her addiction.
The Discovery House specializes in providing individualized care to all our clients, both male and female. Our programs equip clients with the tools necessary to live a sober life and to prevent relapse after leaving our facility. This allows our clients to become positive, contributing members of society and we believe that building strong communities starts with the well-being of individuals.
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