DRUG REHAB HOUSE AWAITS CLIENTS

Now Approved by the State, Facility Seeks Referrals While City Tries
to Have a Say in Licensing Process.

HILLSIDE DISTRICT -- Almost two months since being licensed as a drug
and alcohol rehabilitation house, Pride and Serenity is still without
clients.

"We're getting in contact with different doctors in the community in
order to get different referrals to the facility," chief executive
officer Bob Ridenour said of the six-bed, $7,500 per month residential
rehab home.

It is not uncommon for it to take this amount of time for a facility
to establish its reputation, and secure the confidence of referring
agencies, said Laurie Snyder, executive director of the Grandview
Foundation Inc., which operates 10 Pasadena treatment facilities. The
lack of clients doesn't mean that neighborhood opposition has died
down on the 400 block of Grinnell Drive. Residents have voiced concern
about the house's proximity to a school and about having a business in
the neighborhood.

Local officials' hands are tied because the state controls the
licensing process, but their efforts to intervene could yield policy
changes. "We are undergoing a review of the licensure process," said
Dan Reeves, chief of staff for Assemblyman Dario Frommer
(D-Burbank).

When Frommer met with Kathryn Jett, director of the state's Department
of Alcohol and Drug Programs, she "readily agreed that there is a
whole host of problems related to licensing," Reeves said, adding that
the office has a "very strict policing department."

Councilwoman Marsha Ramos has been talking with officials from other
cities, and was scheduled to present a report to the City Council Tuesday.

"It's just bad law any time a city has absolutely no power to regulate
a neighborhood," Ramos said.

The councilwoman also has considered the prospect of several
facilities cropping up on a single block.

"If you don't listen to us, we're going to put our house out to
lease," Ramos said residents have warned her.

Representatives from the city and state will meet with residents to
answer questions about policy and enforcement at an as yet unscheduled
date later this month.

As part of its community outreach, Pride and Serenity offers tours of
the facility. For more information, call 566-7399.