Redondo to San Pedro

I sailed from Redondo Harbor to Cabrillo Marina inside the LA/Long Beach breakwater yesterday. There was little wind until I got inside the breakwater then it blew hard. It took all day to cover the sixteen or so miles with a drifter and genoa poled out part way and the drifter and main part way. My home group here in San Pedro will be the Harbor Group in the Veterans Building at the corner of Mesa and 9th. It is run by Beacon House and has a lot of both veterans and newcomers. They meet at 8am every weekday. I spent the new year time at AA marathons at the VAMC WLA property and was impressed by the LA groups that went there to carry the message! I’m grateful to have a family wherever I go!  I will sail to Catalina Island on the first wind after Sunday, when I will attend Arlington West Santa Monica.  Being at the sea end of Cabrillo Marina just inside the north end of the great breakwater allows me to be in a sea breeze most days as giant ships pass with their deep horns.   The marina is clean and well kept but it is  a long hike to the morning meeting,  much further than my Santa Barbara harbor group or the Marina del Rey Better Way to Start Your Day group.

 
While I’m here I am working with Long Beach VFP on ideas for us to work together as a region.    We are considering something like Coffee Strong at Fort Lewis for San Diego area if all chapters would pitch in to support.   We are also working on plans for the VAMC WLA property.  a stand down at VAMC WLA is an excellent idea.  I was on the readjustment team at the Santa Barbara Vet Center as alcoholism counselor.  I took the vets on patrol to AA groups and other rehab efforts.  Its important to know what comprises the 12-20,000 homeless veterans in Los Angeles County mentioned in previous emails.  My experience would lead me to think that almost all of them are in the throes of substance abuse that is chronic and the reason for the homelessness,  not the result of it.      The principle at the Vet Center,  and my reason for being on the team was that you could not do anything until the veteran got a handle on his substance abuse so that he came to therapy or housing clean and sober.  Even when vets indicated that they were willing to try to clean up and get sober,  most did not do so well enough to benefit from counseling or housing.  A real willingness to do what is necessary for long term recovery is rare in the homeless population and housing them prior to them making that committment leads to a real nightmare.  That is why New Directions has such a rigorous program.  I think a small minority of the homeless vets may have PTSD but they will not benefit from treatment until they sober up if they are self medicating.  This was my function at the Vet Center,  I took vets that presented for help intoxicated and tried to help them sober up.  If they were successful they were seen by a readjustment counselor,  placed in  a group or sent for long term treatment at Menlo Park etc.