By late 2023, leaders\u00a0at\u00a0Father Joe\u2019s Villages,\u00a0a longtime\u00a0homeless service provider,\u00a0considered\u00a0what they could do.\u00a0They\u2019d\u00a0seen my Voice of San Diego stories<\/a>\u00a0featuring\u00a0testimonies\u00a0and numbers\u00a0that\u00a0matched\u00a0their\u00a0own\u00a0staff members\u2019\u00a0heart-wrenching\u00a0firsthand experiences.\u00a0They had a downtown building.\u00a0They\u2019d\u00a0need to raise money\u00a0\u2013 and\u00a0take many leaps of faith\u00a0\u2013 but\u00a0maybe they\u00a0could\u00a0do it.\u00a0<\/p>\n By early 2024, Father Joe\u2019s Chief Strategy Officer Josh Bohannan said his team was committed: \u201cNobody\u2019s building it so we\u2019re just\u00a0gonna\u00a0do it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In September,\u00a0Father Joe\u2019s opened a 44-bed detox facility\u00a0at\u00a0its East Village campus.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n This is a story about what it took to make that happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2022, the county\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0nearly\u00a01,200\u00a0overdose\u00a0deaths.\u00a0As\u00a0the\u00a0fentanyl crisis raged on,\u00a0homeless\u00a0San Diegans\u00a0were\u00a0hit disproportionately hard<\/a>.\u00a0Staff at Father Joe\u2019s and other homeless-serving organizations\u00a0constantly\u00a0revived\u00a0people\u00a0with\u202fthe\u00a0drug naloxone.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Yet\u00a0people\u00a0who\u00a0wanted help\u00a0to start\u00a0their\u00a0recovery\u00a0rarely got\u00a0a bed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u00a0weren\u2019t\u00a0enough. Providers\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0deliver\u00a0openings\u00a0quickly enough.\u00a0And people struggling\u00a0with addiction\u00a0often\u00a0felt\u00a0like they had to keep using\u00a0drugs while they waited \u2013 the physical consequences of abruptly stopping\u00a0opioid or methamphetamine use\u00a0can\u00a0be\u00a0severe.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Excruciating weeks-long waits\u00a0weren\u2019t\u00a0unusual for people with Medi-Cal insurance who\u00a0kept trying to\u00a0get a bed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n I started documenting\u00a0San Diego\u2019s\u00a0detox shortage in\u00a0early 2023<\/a>. In late October 2023, I wrote about three providers\u00a0desperately trying to open more detox beds<\/a>\u00a0and facing significant roadblocks.\u00a0<\/p>\n Exhibit A: McAlister Institute,\u00a0seemingly buoyed\u00a0by\u00a0a $12 million commitment from the city and the county,\u00a0had decided against 44\u00a0locations.\u00a0They just\u00a0wouldn\u2019t\u00a0work.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are dying on the streets while we are doing everything we can, and it still doesn\u2019t feel like enough,\u201d\u00a0McAlister\u2019s leader, Marisa\u00a0Varond,\u00a0told me at the time<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bohannan of\u00a0Father Joe\u2019s said his team started exploring\u00a0what it could do.\u00a0Unlike McAlister, Father Joe\u2019s\u00a0owned downtown buildings. It had a campus that included a\u00a0federally qualified\u00a0health center.\u00a0Right next\u00a0to that health center was a\u00a0city-contracted shelter.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Could Father Joe\u2019s\u00a0provide detox beds?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDoing this is a financial jump.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a leap of faith,\u201d Bohannan said.\u00a0\u201cThe\u00a0(Voice)\u00a0stories helped build conviction in us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Bohannan said his team spent about six months internally\u00a0evaluating the idea while publicly beating the drum on the need for\u00a0more\u00a0resources for\u00a0people\u00a0struggling with addiction.\u00a0They knew it would be risky.\u00a0They\u2019d\u00a0have to dip into reserves and raise money.\u00a0They\u2019d\u00a0have to get\u00a0a state license,\u00a0hire\u00a0staff\u00a0and\u00a0get support and approval to serve Medi-Cal patients\u00a0\u2013 and ideally,\u00a0get city code changes to\u00a0deliver beds quickly.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Father Joe\u2019s\u00a0campus\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0provide\u00a0residential treatment\u00a0with its existing zoning permit, meaning it would need to embark on what could be a\u00a0years-long process to update\u00a0it.\u00a0The team feared it\u00a0could snarl the mission to quickly open beds.\u00a0<\/p>\n In late 2023, Father Joe\u2019s\u00a0CEO Deacon Jim Vargas and lobbyist Ben Haddad\u00a0met with San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo, whose brother\u00a0Alex\u00a0died in a 2014 opioid overdose.\u00a0Could he\u00a0help?\u00a0Campillo was in.\u00a0<\/p>\n Campillo recalled: \u201cThey said,\u00a0\u2018What we need your help with is\u00a0detox beds,\u2019 and when I explained this to\u00a0all of\u00a0my constituents\u00a0through\u00a0forums and\u00a0in town halls, the number of people who knew someone in their family\u00a0who\u00a0needed a detox bed would really boggle your mind.\u00a0So\u00a0what they put in front of me,\u00a0and what was confirmed by my constituents,\u00a0just led me and my team to work even harder.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n By\u00a02024,\u00a0Father Joe\u2019s\u00a0started\u00a0taking\u00a0some\u00a0financial jumps. They budgeted\u00a0to hire an architect and\u00a0investigated\u00a0whether\u00a0their\u00a0Paul Mirabile Center shelter that had for years\u00a0sheltered\u00a0up to\u00a0350 people\u00a0a\u00a0night\u00a0could\u00a0become\u00a0a detox facility. They also started\u00a0asking\u00a0Varond\u00a0and others\u00a0for\u00a0guidance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n By mid-year,\u00a0they\u00a0decided<\/a>\u00a0they\u00a0could\u00a0proceed.\u00a0Father Joe\u2019s\u00a0could supply up to 45 detox beds on one floor of the Paul Mirabile Center and at least\u00a0250 shelter beds in a new sober and recovery shelter for homeless San Diegans\u00a0on another floor.\u00a0That decision also meant letting\u00a0the San Diego Housing Commission know\u00a0Father Joe\u2019s\u00a0would\u00a0need to end its city shelter contract\u00a0at the end of the year,\u00a0which\u00a0also meant\u00a0shutting\u00a0off a revenue source.\u00a0<\/p>\n In early July, the City Council\u00a0approved\u00a0crucial\u00a0city code changes<\/a>\u00a0that meant\u00a0the city could quickly process Father Joe\u2019s permits. The\u00a0nonprofit\u00a0wouldn\u2019t\u00a0have to wait\u00a0additional\u00a0months to start the building process.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n After the Council vote, Father Joe\u2019s\u00a0kicked up fundraising.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bohannan said longtime donors Scott and Carol Manning\u00a0wrote\u00a0an initial\u00a0$75,000 check. Within a few months, Father Joe\u2019s had raised $1.5 million\u00a0to build the detox facility.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Construction started in\u00a0late 2024. First, Father\u00a0Joe\u2019s\u00a0needed to renovate the third floor of\u00a0the\u00a0Paul Mirabile Center to accommodate both men and women\u00a0at\u00a0the\u00a0new\u00a0sober shelter.\u00a0Then, in March, homeless women who had been staying on the second floor moved to the third floor, allowing construction to start on the detox facility.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bohannan said multiple contractors worked at the same time to\u00a0build 11 rooms,\u00a0bathrooms\u00a0and\u00a0other detox spaces.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n After\u00a0the\u00a0city\u00a0fire marshal signed off on the facility in July, Father Joe\u2019s was ready to apply for a\u00a0state license to open the facility.\u00a0The nonprofit\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0turn in the\u00a0state\u00a0application until\u00a0after the fire marshal\u2019s visit.\u00a0<\/p>\n While they waited for all of this,\u00a0Father Joe\u2019s leadership\u00a0hired\u00a0a medical director\u00a0and three staff\u00a0for the program\u00a0so\u00a0they could train and prepare\u00a0for a hopefully near-term opening. They also\u00a0wrote up policies and procedures.\u00a0They\u2019d\u00a0need those things to get the state license\u00a0\u2013 and to shoulder the costs\u00a0while they waited.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Once the application was in,\u00a0Father Joe\u2019s\u00a0waited\u00a0for\u00a0a visit from a state evaluator, who ended up coming in early September.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c(CEO\u00a0Vargas)\u00a0had the faith to make this happen and these projects need faith because there are so many moments these things can fall apart from the permitting process to the licensing process to the staffing and the investment of funds you don\u2019t have, that you\u2019re pulling from reserves for,\u201d Bohannan said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Vargas and his team held on.\u00a0<\/p>\n Father Joe\u2019s learned in mid-September that the state license was in the mail.\u00a0The team hustled to hire more staff.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe very quickly turned around and said to the community,\u00a0hey,\u00a0we\u2019re opening in a few days,\u201d Bohannan said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Father Joe\u2019s detox opened Sept. 23.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n From\u00a0the facility\u2019s opening through\u00a0November, 88 people\u00a0entered the program that\u00a0can\u00a0last up to\u00a014 days, said\u00a0Megan Partch,\u00a0Father Joe\u2019s chief health officer.\u00a0<\/p>\n Partch said several clients who graduated from Father Joe\u2019s detox program\u00a0later sent the nonprofit\u00a0handwritten thank you notes. One client\u00a0still\u00a0calls the team weekly to say they\u00a0remain\u00a0in recovery.\u00a0One man returned a month after he graduated\u00a0to\u00a0share that\u00a0he\u2019d\u00a0reach\u00a030 days\u00a0of sobriety and teared up when\u00a0staff handed him a\u00a0certificate to celebrate.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of happy tears through this process,\u201d Partch said.\u00a0\u201cThese people who have gone without for so long finally have something and they have hope and\u00a0the future looks different than it would have.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Amber Lucky,\u00a0a case manager at homeless-serving nonprofit\u00a0PATH, has helped\u00a0a few clients\u00a0get into the program\u00a0since it opened.\u00a0<\/p>\n Two successfully completed detox and have since proudly moved onto outpatient treatment programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Lucky\u00a0joined\u00a0a homeless senior,\u00a0who had\u00a0a\u00a0beloved\u00a0cat\u00a0but also\u00a0a longtime methamphetamine addiction,\u00a0for her\u00a0Father Joe\u2019s detox intake appointment.\u00a0Lucky shared details on the program after\u00a0the woman\u00a0opened up\u00a0about her addiction.\u00a0Lucky\u00a0swiftly got\u00a0the woman and her cat\u00a0into Father Joe\u2019s detox.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, it\u2019s a godsend,\u201d Lucky said.\u00a0\u201cWhen our clients are ready for that, just to have that resource in our toolbox is invaluable.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n But for now, Father Joe\u2019s\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0fill\u00a0all\u00a0its 44 beds\u00a0\u2013 and\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0not because there\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0demand.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bohannan and Partch said the program\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0hire the people needed\u00a0to provide needed support for all its beds until it hits a couple more hoped-for milestones.\u00a0<\/p>\n Father Joe\u2019s is waiting\u00a0for\u00a0state certification to bill patients\u2019 Medi-Cal insurance, meaning donors are now footing the bill for detox\u00a0services.\u00a0<\/p>\n The nonprofit also\u00a0hopes\u00a0to soon\u00a0clinch a county contract<\/a>\u00a0that would allow it to hire more staff\u00a0and fill all its beds.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n If the county proceeds, that contract\u00a0for 44 beds\u00a0could potentially\u00a0leave the\u00a0region\u00a0with double the number of detox beds for people with Medi-Cal insurance\u00a0than it had just a couple\u00a0years\u00a0ago.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/vito-di-stefano-12-16-25-5-1024x684.jpg\")
Beds for patients of Father Joe\u2019s Villages Detox Program located in the Paul Mirabile Center building in downtown San Diego, on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. \/ Vito Di Stefano for Voice of San Diego<\/p>\n