PICO-UNION : Getting to the Root of Alcohol Recovery

Dolores Reece, executive director of Green Islands in the City Inc., believes that the best way to protect the environment is for each person to care for a little piece of it right outside his or her doorstep.

That philosophy is embraced at the Alcoholism Center for Women, where kicking a chemical dependency begins with learning how to cope with problems in one’s immediate environment.

So it was a fruitful day all around when members of the environmental group and participants in the recovery program recently planted seven 24-inch lemon and Brazilian pepper trees in the front yard of the center at 1147 S. Alvarado St.

This was the second phase of Green Islands in the City’s project at the center; in the first phase, 63 rose bushes were planted around the grounds and an auto-drip irrigation system was installed.

“There are so many neglected neighborhoods, but instead of criticizing, we can be part of the solution,” said Reece, a retired social service worker and graduate of a TreePeople’s citizen forester course. Since 1991, the group has planted trees at several schools, traffic islands and in two Mid-City neighborhoods.

Roberta Kornegay-Davis, director of the center’s programs, said the new trees give participants in the program “a chance to take care of something outside themselves. They have to participate in their own recovery, and this is one way they can learn how to do things for themselves.”

The center has facilities for 20 residents. In the past 18 years, it has served more than 6,000 residents and outpatients.

Green Islands in the City Inc. information: (213) 939-3296.