Legacy Village Wellness and Recovery Center in Nipomo has officially closed.
This closure will likely impact many veterans in the community who are searching for recovery locally on the Central Coast.
“It’s sad to see it empty. It’s surreal to walk around and seeing no activity at all,” said Dennis Farmer, Legacy Village Wellness and Recovery Center Founder and Chief Executive Officer.
For nearly three years, the Legacy Village Wellness and Recovery Center has assisted veterans on the Central Coast who were faced with alcohol and drug addiction.
But as of Monday, October 16, operations have come to an end. According to the center’s founder, it’s due to a lack of referrals from the Veterans Affairs Department in Los Angeles.
“When we finally made the decision on Monday to close the doors there were at least eight veterans who wanted to come into Legacy Village and to my knowledge, as of yesterday none of them have been placed,” Farmer said. “They’re all in various stages of the waiting that the V.A. is making these individuals go through.”
The facility formerly housed 12 clients at a time and specialized in the treatment of addiction, substance abuse, PTSD, anxiety, depression, anger, or other similar conditions.
San Luis Obispo County Veterans Services Officer Morgan Boyd says that the recovery center has affected many veterans in our community.
“It’s extremely important to have local residential treatment for our veterans, you know, many of them are homeless, justice-involved, they have substance abuse disorders,” Boyd said. “They are the ones that are the most at risk of not being with us anymore and it's my job as our Veterans Services Officer in the community to create healthy veteran communities and when we lose a valuable resource like that it really will impact the veterans and their families in this community.”
Representative Salud Carbajal (D-24th District) said Thursday that he expressed concerns about the closure of Legacy Village directly to the head of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Carbajal said he is aware that the drive to the domiciliary in Los Angeles is more than four hours and that this could create barriers for most veterans locally.
In a press release, Carbajal stated, “We owe it to our veterans to provide accessible and quality care. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than one in ten veterans are diagnosed with SUD and substance abuse is known to increase the chances of an attempted suicide. It is critical we make it easier for veterans to access SUD treatment, including at residential centers.”
While Legacy Village Wellness and Recovery Center currently remains closed, the San Luis Obispo County Veterans Services Office says it is available to help accommodate any resources local veterans may need.
