Click photo to enlarge

SANTA CRUZ — A flier distributed this week on the Westside warned neighbors about a house on the 100 block of Getchell Street that recently opened to people recovering from drug and alcohol abuse.

Participants in a program called Clear Mind Healthy Planet meet at the house weekly, and homeowner Steve Lindsay recently renovated it with friends and opened it to others in recovery.

It is unclear who sent the flier, but its statements overlapped with an email sent to the Sentinel this week from resident Rose Goldbloom.

Goldbloom said she had lived near the house for more than 15 years and the home’s new residents and visitors now put the neighborhood at risk.

“All sorts of skinny, nervous, gaunt, cigarette-smoking characters have been parading around a two- to three-block radius of the house on a daily basis,” she wrote.

“This house has always been a problem, but was usually contained,” she wrote. “Now it’s a free-for-all for drug addicts to come and hang out for as long as they want under the guise of a wellness center.”

Other skeptics also have pointed out that Genie O’Malley holds no advanced degrees nor has formal training in drug rehabilitation, which she acknowledges. Many other social service agencies in the county also have worked with people recovering alcoholics, and some of their leaders told O’Malley she is unqualified.

Clear Mind essentially focuses on a facilitated breathing technique, group therapy sessions and

an overall message of positivity and wellness. It also helps convicted criminals find jobs and put their lives back on track after years of trouble.

O’Malley said Friday that the house has morphed from a drug house to a place of healing. She said the flier was off base.

“It’s borderline slander. It’s only Steve Lindsay living with a group of friends in their home,” O’Malley said. “If neighbors think there are no drug houses in that neighborhood, I can show them where they are.”

The flier alleged that car break-ins have risen in the neighborhood since the house was opened to recovering addicts.

The flier listed Take Back Santa Cruz as a group to contact if there are problems — along with the City Council, Planning Department and county judges.

There was speculation that Take Back distributed the flier, but board member Heather Babcock said her group was not involved.

Its leaders did not have enough information about the situation to take a position, Babcock said.

Santa Cruz police said they knew about the home’s new use, but they had not noticed a big uptick in crime related to it.

Police map reported crimes on the website on CrimeMapping.com.

Within about three blocks of the home in May, there were three reported thefts, a concealed weapon charge and a driving under the influence charge, according to the site.

In June, there were three thefts, two drug or alcohol violations, a burglary and a vandalism incident, according to the site.

It is not clear whether people associated with the house were involved in any of those crimes, police said.

Lt. Larry Richard declined to comment on the Getchell house, but he said police have experience with sober-living houses in other neighborhoods.

“When you have that many people there that are recovering addicts, there is a potential as part of their recovery for relapse. When they relapse, they go back to what they know before, which is thefts,” Richard said.

Neither Clear Mind Healthy Planet nor the homeowner have applied to make the home an official sober living environment.

Deputy Chief Steve Clark said that police typically sign off on sober-living environment applications when they are submitted to city planners.

“We look for certifications of the staff and rules of conduct,” Clark said. “We look for facilities with people who are appropriately credentialed and licensed.”

Overall neighborhood impacts from parking to “behavioral issues” are also weighed, Clark said.

When the flier surfaced this week, many participants and supporters of Clear Mind Healthy Planet came to its defense.

Penny Tenorio, whose son, Tyler, was killed in an unsolved gang shooting in 2009, lives a few blocks from the Clear Mind house with her husband, Troy.

Penny said the group helped Troy recover from a bout of drug and alcohol abuse after their son’s murder.

“They meditate and they go down the beach and they eat together. It’s like a big family,” Penny Tenorio said.

“I’m behind it 100 percent and so is my husband,” she said of Clear Mind Healthy Planet.

“I don’t want to see them close it down or have people harass them.”