L.A. Group Signs Pact to Reopen Christopher House

The directors of Christopher House, a defunct AIDS hospice in Ventura, have signed an agreement with a Los Angeles-based company to reopen the 12-bed facility, said officials familiar with the negotiations.

Under a new operating agreement with Serra Project for People Living with AIDS, Christopher House, located on Thompson Boulevard near downtown Ventura, could be open by the end of the year.

Formal announcement of the agreement will be made Monday.

The facility has been closed since May, when it was learned that the state Department of Social Services was considering revoking its license after finding numerous deficiencies in its care plan, ranging from not helping the residents brush their teeth and shower to not providing enough food for the residents.

To avoid being forced to close by the state, the directors of Ventura County’s only AIDS hospice voluntarily gave up their license.

Two people living at Christopher House at the time of its closure were relocated to hospices outside Ventura County, while others were placed in apartments in the local area and are living independently.

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The reopening is welcome news to those who provide care for people with acquired immune deficiency syndrome. “The Serra Project seems to be the real logical choice to take on Christopher House at this point,” said Doug Green, executive director of Ventura-based AIDS Care.

Since it opened in 1993, Christopher House repeatedly fell behind in its annual fund-raising efforts, said board member Trisha Davis, the sister of Christopher Dye, in whose memory the facility is named. The shortfall has been $25,000 each year, Davis said. Despite the financial problems, she defended the care provided at the facility.

Davis would not comment on the new agreement with Serra Project. Earlier she said, “The board has decided to remain silent on the issue until all aspects of the Christopher House have been dealt with.”

Representatives of Serra Project, namesake of Father Junipero Serra, founder of the California mission system, have been negotiating with the Christopher House board of directors for about two months. It was Serra’s reputation for “doing charitable work under extreme conditions” that led to his name being ascribed to an organization committed to providing residential care for people with AIDS or symptomatic HIV, said Serra Project Executive Director Skip Ciotti.

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“I’ve been doing AIDS housing for eight years, and believe me I know about doing charitable work under extreme conditions,” he said.

Serra Project operates three homes in Los Angeles County, providing housing for 32 AIDS patients: Casa de la Nuestra Senora de Los Angeles, located in the Pico/Crenshaw area of Los Angeles, opened in 1988 and is for men only; Casa Portiuncula in Long Beach, opened in 1990, for women; and Casa de La Madona y El Nino, which opened in 1992 in the Elysian Park area of Los Angeles, serving mothers and their children.

The annual budget for the three homes is $1.3 million, according to Chuck Cover, the company’s director of group homes. “We have successfully run three residential care facilities for the chronically ill, and that’s our mission to do this type of work,” Cover said.

From a financial standpoint, operating a facility of this nature in Ventura County will be unlike anything Serra Project has done in the seven years it has been in business.

“One of the apparent big differences is the county funding. Los Angeles County is very progressive in funding homes of this nature,” Ciotti said. “Our annual budget in Ventura will be $319,000 and we’re not even planning on getting anything from the county.”

The name of the facility in Ventura will likely be changed to Christopher’s Place, indicating nothing more than a change in management, Ciotti said.

Doug Green of AIDS Care said that while it is important to remember Christopher Dye, the most important thing is to get the facility back open so those who need the care have a place to go.

“Everybody in the community wants to see it open and everybody wants to support it. The only missing element is experienced management. That management is available through the Serra Project,” he said.

“When they came in and showed they had a great track record and are doing excellent work in Los Angeles, people were very supportive,” Green said.