SAN DIEGO — More than 70 people in a residential substance use treatment program at Veterans Village of San Diego were forced to leave Monday after only a few days of notice. State health regulators issued a temporary suspension order effective Monday, as they move to revoke the nonprofit's license.
“It is crumbling. It happened suddenly and it’s just gotten worse somehow,” said Josefina Davock, a former employee who worked as an intake coordinator at VVSD. “With that license being taken away, the veterans are no longer receiving mental health services or clinical treatment for their addictions.”
Davock told CBS 8 she quit her job at VVSD Tuesday after longstanding frustrations with the facility's management, not only for its impact on residents but for staff as well.
“This is not just near and dear to my heart. This is my community. These are my people. This is what I know. It’s part of my identity,” said Davock, a military spouse.
The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) told CBS 8 that "between January 2022 and October 2022, five deaths at VVSD were reported to DHCS, prompting investigations that uncovered multiple health and safety violations."
DHCS said it entered into a stipulated settlement agreement with VVSD in March 2023, but two additional deaths – in September 2023 and March 2024 – along with further violations “revealed VVSD’s failure to adhere to the agreement, leading to this licensing action.”
“There was a death in March that was a fentanyl overdose," recalled Davock. "This person had brought the fentanyl onto campus. There is fentanyl being sold on campus, but he brought it in externally.”
The license suspension cuts off certain resources for the Village, forcing more than 70 people enrolled in the residential Drug Medi-Cal program to leave Monday, many of them civilians. However, VVSD can still provide transitional housing and other programs to veterans experiencing homelessness.
“We’ve watched so many people die," said Davock. "As an intake coordinator, I have a commitment to these people when they come in.”
A spokesperson for Veterans Village of San Diego told CBS 8, “This decision has come as a profound shock to our team,” and that “we are deeply concerned by the State’s swift and severe decision.”
VVSD assured CBS 8 that its veteran-specific programs were “fully operational and remain unaffected by the current temporary suspension.”
According to Davock, she has witnessed veterans being neglected at the Village during her time working at the facility, and she believes the nonprofit is falling short of its mission.
“There’s been a lot of longstanding issues that haven’t been addressed," said Davock. "And for the veterans that means they feel this is almost a case of stolen valor.”
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