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April Fools!
By Hope Rising
April 1,2025 (Rancho San Diego) – Today, the County of San Diego made a surprising announcement it has acquired the former Cottonwood Golf Course site in Rancho San Diego from the developer who planned a sand mining operation on the site.
Thanks to a generous grant provided by the nonprofit Metamorphosis Institute, the site will instead be transformed into the Metamorphosis Center, an upscale facility to empower unhoused individuals to transform their lives.
Far beyond conventional homeless shelters and rehab programs, the Metamorphosis Center will provide individuals with services to completely transform themselves—much like caterpillars emerging from cocoons are transformed into beautiful butterflies. Each resident will be provided with complete makeovers including hair styling, facials, manicures, pedicures, cosmetic makeovers, counseling, and a new wardrobe chosen with help of a personal shopper.
“We believe in the intrinsic internal healing power of each individual to overcome past adversities and attain successful transformations, with help from our team of professionals dedicated to maximizing each individual’s maximum potential through a holistic approach,” says Bonnie Belle, executive director of the Metamorphosis Institute.
County spokesperson May Work praised Supervisors for approving the project. “For the first time, San Diego County’s unincorporated area will have a full-service homeless facility that we believe will become a national model that can be replicated elsewhere. We applaud the Metamorphosis Institute for its funding, foresight and compassion in creating a truly unique approach to transforming the lives of unhoused people.”
Yoga and meditation classes will offer help to reduce the stress from living on the streets. The facility will also include a pool, spa, sauna, gym, acupuncturist, medi-spa, massage therapist, chiropractor, detox services, library with computer access, pickleball courts, nature trails, and live entertainment each Saturday night to boost mind, body and spirit..
Medical services, personal fitness coaches, mental health professionals, nutritionists and wellness experts will all be on hand to help maximize health and wellness for each resident. Applicants will also be provided job training, including for careers as beauticians, aestheticians, and fitness instructors through college-accredited courses offered onsite. The center’s chef will offer a menu of healthy and delicious meals made with organic ingredients.
Accommodations will maximize comfort and privacy for each individual or couple, with luxury hotel-grade down comforters and pillows in each room, cheerful furnishings and artwork created by local artists, along with framed inspirational quotes. The accommodations will also welcome families and couples, with same-sex couples housed in the facility’s Rainbow Wing. Two pets per person are welcome at the haven, which will also include a spacious dog park with agility course and a cat coffeeshop/café for those seeking to adopt a furry friend.
The goal is to offer residents home and services for up to a year while they obtain employment and permanent housing, though one building on the site will be reserved for permanent care of residents too disabled to support themselves.
To protect the community, sex offenders and violent offenders will not be accepted at the facility, and rehab services will be required for those with serious drug addictions.
ECM spoke with homeless camp residents along the riverbank nearby to ask their opinions about the innovative plan.
Ben Campin, a stooped-over senior in tattered clothes and sporting a chest-length grey beard, said he lost his job and home five years ago after injuring his back. He’s been homeless ever since and admits he resorted to street drugs to deal with chronic pain. “I’d gladly kick the habit to get access to medical care, a massage, and a comfortable bed,” he said.
Bonnie Belle, her face weathered beyond her youthful years since moving onto the streets after being a victim of domestic violence, ran her fingers through a tangled mat of hair. Hearing of the Metamorphosis opportunity, her eyes widened and she beamed a bright smile. “A full makeover sounds like a dream come true!” she exclaimed, “My feet would love a pedicure,” she added, wiggling tanned, blistered toes in battered sandals. “With new clothes and shoes, I could finally feel confidant looking for a job—and maybe even get a date!”
The proposed Cottonwood sand mine project on the site of a former golf course drew opposition from thousands of residents concerned over noise, traffic, pollution, and negative impacts on the Sweetwater River as well as the adjacent federal wildlife preserve.
The County, meanwhile, has drawn protests from residents in Spring Valley and Lemon Grove, many of whom opposed plans to place tiny homes for the homeless there.
The new plan is viewed as a win-win for the community, as well as the county and the homeless people the Metamorphosis facility will serve.
In an exclusive interview today with ECM, Stop Cottonwood spokesperson Barry Chance said, “We are digging this news. While no solution is perfect, our community would much rather have a homeless facility next door, especially one aspiring to truly transform lives of people in need, rather than a sand mine that would have serious pollution, noise and traffic impacts on our community.”
Happy April Fool’s Day!
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