Drug, Alcohol Clinic in Trouble
Khepera House, a 10-year-old residential drug- and alcohol-recovery program for men in Ventura, may file for bankruptcy next week unless it can raise $20,000, its director said Thursday.
On Tuesday, Executive Director Dale McFadden sent out what he called a “desperation letter” to several county supervisors, area newspapers and the Khepera board of directors, recommending that the program file for bankruptcy if $20,000 in “immediate bailout funding” is not collected by the board meeting next Tuesday.
McFadden said in his letter that the loss of Khepera’s 45-bed program “would be a serious setback to Ventura County for years to come.”
The letter follows the conviction last month of Khepera’s former executive director, Thomas E. Chaloupka, on four counts of submitting false claims to obtain county money.
Chaloupka was fired by Khepera’s board of directors seven months ago, but the program’s problems continued, McFadden said.
Khepera program manager Gregg Huffaker said the clinic is seeking private donations and county funding. The county stopped funding Khepera House about a year ago because of mismanagement, which meant a loss of $20,000 a year, he said.
“We’ll take anything,” Huffaker said. “I know that sounds desperate, but we’re looking at desperate measures.”
Anyone wishing to make a donation to the program should mail it to Khepera House, 125 W. Harrison St., Ventura 93001.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
