San Pedro seniors protest plan to turn care home into addiction recovery campus

Plans to convert a San Pedro senior care facility into a substance abuse treatment campus have drawn protests from elderly residents and divided elected officials, ABC7 Los Angeles reported Friday.

The proposed Serenity Recovery campus, backed by voter-approved Proposition 1 funds, would displace current residents of Ocean View Assisted Living and create one of the region's largest licensed addiction treatment facilities — raising urgent questions about how Southern California balances elder care with growing behavioral health demand.

Fred Brown Recovery Services plans to transform the six-acre property in San Pedro — formerly operated by the Little Sisters of the Poor — into the Serenity Recovery campus. According to ABC7, the facility would include 106 residential beds, 16 veteran peer respite beds and capacity for roughly 175 to 200 outpatient visits each day.

Current residents say they have not received formal notice of any relocation plans. Lorraine Keeling, 96, described her distress in an interview with ABC7. "All at once, it feels like the rug's being pulled out from underneath us. And at 96, I'm not too willing to move," she said. Fellow resident Octavia Zaccaro described the meaning the facility holds for her. "When I finally got in after a bad accident I thought I was so lucky to be allowed in. I grew up I Palos Verdes, so I grew up in the area," Zaccaro told ABC7.

Fred Brown Recovery Services defended the project in a statement to Eyewitness News. "We respect the community's right to express concerns and remain committed to providing clear information and engaging transparently as the process moves forward," a company spokesperson said.

The proposal has split local elected officials. L.A. City Councilman Tim McOsker voiced firm opposition. "I can say this applicant is incapable of providing the service described in the application, and this site is inappropriate for the described operations," McOsker said. L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn offered an equally direct defense. "As county supervisor, I've supported facilities like this across L.A. County. What kind of hypocrite would I be if I supported them everywhere else but opposed one near my own home?" Hahn said.

The conversion is financed through Proposition 1, a statewide voter-approved behavioral health measure that channels billions of dollars toward licensed treatment beds. Operators say access will be controlled, with no walk-in admissions. The facility is not expected to be fully operational until 2030.

The Little Sisters of the Poor sold the six-acre San Pedro property to fund behavioral health services. Residents at Ocean View Assisted Living have not yet received a formal timeline for any required relocation.