Council OKs ‘recovery’ center despite leaders’ concerns
Mental health site to have apartments, clinic, offer substance abuse treatment
A center with apartments and services for those without homes and others has been approved by the Hemet City Council, despite concerns voiced by council members.
“As a conservative person I would vote no, but as a godly man, we gotta start helping our brothers and sisters, so I’m going to vote yes,” Hemet City Councilman Joe Males said before the 4-1 vote in March.
Councilwoman Linda Krupa voted no.
The facility, known as a health recovery village, still needs approval from the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.
Proposed by Riverside County, the center would include apartments with 90 beds, a residential substance-use treatment center,
a children’s mental health urgent care — which would
be the first such center in the county — a clinic, recreation rooms and an animal kennel.
The location would be 12.1 acres of vacant land in northeast Hemet at the corner of West Menlo Avenue and North State Street.
“We intend this to be a beautiful project,” Director of Riverside University Health Services Behavioral Health Dr. Matthew Chang said, according to a video of a March Hemet City Council meeting. “Some folks have an idea of a stereotypical mental health institution: cold, drab, imposing — sort of ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s
Nest’ type of stuff. That is certainly not at all our intent here.”
But some City Council members expressed concerns.
Males asked at the meeting if there would be sex offenders at the proposed facility, whether police could force homeless people to go to the facility and if the complex would result in more calls to police on top of those they already receive about homeless people.
No, there would not be sex offenders at the facility
and police could not force anyone to the facility, Chang and Hemet Police Chief Eddie Pust said.
Several council members were concerned that the facility could be used by nonHemet residents and wondered whether there would be room for Hemet residents who need the resources.
Chang said the county’s data show that residents of a city mainly use facilities in that city.
For example, in Riverside, about 70% of those who use the county-run Arlington Recovery Community and Sobering Center are city residents. The other 30% come from surrounding cities such as Corona, Hemet, Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley and Perris.
Krupa raised issues about the location, as did Males, who suggested the proposed complex be moved closer to the mountains.
Mayor Pro Tem Karlee Meyer said homeless people already stay at the vacant lot and often start fires.
“This community has genuine distrust and skepticism when working with the county, and I know behavioral health has made many, many, many positive strides in the past couple of years,” Krupa said. “Very appreciative of that, but I’m not prepared to say yes to this at all. This is a community decision, not just a council decision.”
Councilman Russ Brown said data shows that homeless people who have been asked if they would voluntarily seek help would not do so.
A study by CityNet, an organization that works to reduce homelessness, concluded otherwise.
CityNet started its 19-month contract with Hemet in October for outreach and emergency housing for the homeless. It surveyed 217 unsheltered people in the city.
The organization’s findings include:
• 80% are living on the street.
• 25% reported being homeless for less than a year.
• 72% are considered chronically homeless — meaning they have been without a home for at least a year.
• 91% sleep primarily in Hemet.
• 48% said their last permanent residence was in Hemet.
• 71% were interested in case-management services.
The proposed complex would be funded by state grants.
There is no estimated cost, said Robert Youssef, a spokesperson for Riverside University Health System Behavioral Health.
Funding would be awarded in May or June and construction would be done by December 2026, said Melissa Noon, administrative services manager with the county’s behavioral health department.
The recovery village would be open to anyone in Hemet, Youssef said.
The community health center, mental health urgent care services and sobering center services would be accessible to walk-ins or by referral from a community agency.
Residents of the complex would need a referral from community access centers, which are accessible throughout the county and offer services such as laboratory services, children’s health, pharmacy, COVID-19 testing and behavioral health.
Since the March council meeting, there have been no changes to the proposed location or overall plan, Youssef said.