West Hollywood is an amalgam of diverse communities that come together making West
Hollywood a truly unique place to live. But one of the communities that is often overlooked, or perhaps taken for granted, is the recovery community, which represents the most consistently diverse groups within the City, one that brings together residents regardless of age, orientation, ethnicity and economics. The recovery community is one of the most important pillars of the sense of West Hollywood community, where residents come together and form bonds that go way beyond the need to go to meetings.
My relationship with the recovery community goes back to my association with Kathy
Watt of the Van Ness Recovery House, which is celebrating 50 years next year. When we worked together to create the City’s pioneering methamphetamine education and recovery programs that were some of the first in the nation. We had to overcome a great deal of indifference and defensiveness as there was a sense of denial within West Hollywood, both inside and outside City Hall. But people were dying due to the mixture of meth with Viagra and poppers and being silent was not an option.
I supported the City’s acquisition of the Log Cabin on Robertson Boulevard and I hope we can secure a historical designation for the structure in order to both protect it and celebrate its contribution to the City.
As the program is being expanded in the Log Cabin, we need to ensure that there is
sufficient meeting space at the Recovery Center on Robertson. These meetings have long
been an anchor for members of the community, and we need to ensure that we protect the
venues of the meetings in order to preserve support that people get from long term
participation with the same group.
But there is a shortage of meeting space throughout the City, not only for the recovery
community but for neighborhood and social groups. I want to create more meeting space
in the mid-City, such as in the currently empty ground floor of the King’s Road parking
structure and when we develop the vacant site at Crescent Heights at Santa Monica. I also
hope to be able to open meeting space at the historic structure on Laurel Avenue. At a time when local businesses feel beleaguered, meetings can help support local
businesses.
Although the City has gone through some divisive and even turbulent times, the recovery
community can serve as an anchor and a steadying influence within the greater West
Hollywood community. I just want to ensure that you realize you are appreciated.
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October 16, 2022 at 04:29PM
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OPINION - Steve Martin Pledges to Continue to Support West Hollywood Recovery Community - WEHO TIMES
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