By Jason Islas
Lookout Staff

February 14, 2012 -- Residents of Sunset Park packed a community meeting Monday night to oppose the recent relocation of a non-profit center that provides HIV education and treatment for the under-served.

Common Ground has moved south on Lincoln Avenue from near Pico Boulevard to the former site of the Skin Paradise massage parlor on Cedar Street, a move many neighboring residents fear will bring crime to the area. Most of the more than 60 residents at the meeting at the Olympic High School auditorium opposed the move.

“We all believe in what Common Ground is doing,” said one Sunset Park resident. “It's just a question of where.”

Another resident called the non-profit “a magnet for undesirables.”

Common Ground, said Executive Director Lisa Fisher, is providing mental health care, medical care and case management to “counter the realities of isolation, trauma and poverty.”

Fisher said Common Ground would not be offering a needle exchange at the new location, something residents were adamant about. At the old location, clients could dispose of their needles, which residents claim encouraged many drug addicts to frequent the facility.

Many residents Monday night said they'd directly experienced crime at the agency's old location and that the non-profit's clientele had harassed them, engaged in drug deals or been publicly intoxicated.

When they complained to Common Ground staff, their complaints went unanswered, residents said.

Sharon Lowery, who runs Smart Start Developmental Learning Center, one of three daycare facilities near the new Common Ground site, says she's concerned that the non-profit's clientele will pose a safety risk for the children at her school.

Fisher, however, said that Common Ground is committed to being a good neighbor and, along with other members of the non-profit's board, presented a draft Good Neighbor Agreement at Monday's meeting. The agreement outlines some of the steps the agency will take to address residents' concerns.

But some questioned whether such an agreement could have any real enforcement mechanism.

Julie Rusk, the City's Human Services manager, explained that if an organization like Common Ground fails to make a good faith effort to follow its Good Neighbor Agreement, the City can decide to stop issuing the grant – in this case, about $94,000 a year.

Some of the measures in the agreement include installing a camera in the adjacent alleyway.

The draft also points out that Common Ground will work closely with Santa Monica Police Resource Officers to “promote safety and security for all participants.”

Officer Artis Williams, the Sunset Park Resource Officer, said that between October 2008 and February 2012, there have been 26 phone calls made to police concerning disturbances directly related to Common Ground.

He reminded residents that if they should ever feel threatened or have any public safety concerns, they should immediately call the police. Officers would not only respond to the call, the report also would help them monitor and document crime in the area.

Mayor Richard Bloom, who attended Monday's meeting along with Council member Terry O'Day, called the meeting “a good opportunity to begin to clear the air,” but added that there will have to be further discussions.

O'Day is optimistic that more talk will be mutually beneficial. “I heard a willingness on all sides to do the work to address these issues,” he said.

Bloom added, “I will stay engaged with this issue. Let's continue to have this dialogue.”