House of Hope

I was There 3 Times . They Helped Me and Kept me Safe! I’ll never Forget The People And Experiences. But my primary issues were Beyond. What they can do. In a few months. It was A Trip!!!! Hoh lol!

While some staff was amazing, (Ms D, the nurse, WOW) (One counselor, shared with clients & families, his story, time, experience and guidance) (One staff member was tough on clients, but you could see and feel the love & dedication. I think her name was Ms Margie?), admins were dismissive & nonresponsive to family members. Had to start emailing and following up on all to advocate. SPECIAL NOTE: They hired a secretary while we were there who.was mean, rude, dismissive... she was the worst front desk person. She would refuse money for clients, speak to family horribly, and new none of the policies, so she made up her own, which were generally not in favor of clients rights, comfort or mental health.
We chose this place on recommendations from lawyer, judge, counselors, & research on their website, but found many of the promised items were not being followed thru on. Weekly family sessions NEVER happened. Visitations started 4months in on 6month program, but were disorganized, with no food allowed. For children visiting a parent or family member, very hard. When milestones were achieved, the clients may or may not recieve the new lanyard of status which means they may or may not recieve the benefits, rewards associated with making the progress. This is not good for addicts or people trying to mintin mentl health stbility.There was a mold issue, which was remedied, however over the course, they moved property and 6 months after discharge, they still refuse to respond or return blankets, clothes, court documents. Over all, those who were good, were great. And if someone wants to be well, they will work the program and get well. This facility does it part, though they could do better.

House of Hope is a great program if you're looking to change, If you're looking to dodge prison then it's not the program you want to go to. It will help you learn about who you are, why you are having such a hard time staying away from drugs and alcohol,, and teach you the way to lve a happy, drug free life.

This place has many issues. First and for most the place is run down. But the biggest issue is the operation manager. Marcus Strong has singled out my love one and is currently making his stay hell. Sanctions are given for petty reason which is making him regress in his recovery. He is not able to go and look for work because sanctions have been unecesaraly put on him which has also affected me from visiting him and giving him my support in order to recover. Using that he is a DOC client as a upper hand in doing so. This is not productive to his recovery and is causing him emotional harm which causing him to regret taking this as an option. Which is sad because this is what he needed. I am disappointed that this is what it has come to and would hope that with this review there would be some improvements.

BULLDOZE THIS GULAG DOWN. IT NEARLY KILLED ME a decade ago. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION. IT HELPS NO ONE. As for anyone who gets well : They did it all by themselves and such successful individuals are pawning off the credit to an undeserving party. Whether that is House of Hope or A.A. or any other 12 Step Clone group. All the 5 star reviews are written by current, or former Staff members, or clients looking to win points with the Staff (They probably just don't want to return to Jail and will say ANY NONSENSE to make sure of that). Nora Volkow it Leon Trotsky's great grand daughter. I personally find this bizarre and disturbing. Then again, Frank Buchman loved Hitler. And without him Bill Wilson would have no Blueprint for his fraudulent cult religion. I had to watch videos featuring Ms. Nora Volkow in House of Hope. I still recall the painful Russian accent I heard while Detoxing to the point of nearly having Grand Mal Seizures and no one at all gave a damn. These Didactic, biased , Junk Science teaching videos that substituted for a real live staff member much of the time, they were and are made mostly by HAZELDEN.(Now bought out by BettyFord) Volkow is another Guru, a member of the Addictionology Priest Class, along with guys like Terrence Gorski, another Charlatan. As for this specific location and the staff members: NEPOTISM plus FRAUD explains why it is staffed the way it is. Many of the Clients had no clear addiction/chemical abuse issues, because they were at H.O.H. as part of Florida State Statute 916 (Nicknamed "Nine -Sixteens") It is a Official way of saying these people are such good liars or so out of touch with reality thanks to extreme mental issues, coupled with obscene ignorance of objective reality, that the 9-16 clients( about 1 in 3 of the total population a decade ago) were deemed INCOMPENTENT TO STAND TRIAL.They had to attend groups in which they learned what a "Judge" is, and so on. Most were faking ignorance or incoherent stupidity, but that didn't mean that they were not Criminally Dangerous. They threatened me..The rest got charged with mostly Minor Drug Offenses-these are victimless crime..there is no such thing as a victimless crime except in our modern Legal System. No one beside me was diectly harmed by my own actions leading up to my coerced stay at HOH. Because I wasn't bothering anyone else, and such little desire to bother anyone else that I went on a Suicidal Nihilistic Downward Spiral. While forced to be locked up in rehab where NOTHING, (Except AA & NA Nonsense) is taught. We were also taught that we were all horrible people (by other addicts+ alcoholics, hoping to recruit as many of us into a 12 Step Program as possible.) The head Admistrator there was Gerri Peppitone. She looked like Humpty Dumpty and talked like a Prison Warden. Frank Berardi was a bigtime AA advocate and a loser who Golfed for fun. That's his Recovery.. Please get hit by lightening on the Fairway, Frank. The other component of Berardi's Job was deciding who needed to go back to jail. I had cops raid my room because my bunkie went to the Beach for a few hours earlier in the week. That's how insanely strict this nonsense control grid/Police State really is. I recall even after my two months of unnecessarily horrible detoxing from benzos plus opiates, all AT THE SAME TIME, Left me puking and shaking and wigging out and collapsing uncontrollably for 2 months. Every time I went to the hospital, ALL my valuables were stolen: its 100% prison mentality. Psychiatrist Frances Caratinni falsely accused me of being stoned during an outpatient visit, thus terminating the already poor med mgmt that she had begun with me. She was a real-life Nurse Ratched (From "One Flew Over The Cukoo's Nest"). Even looked similar. She gave me a nasty cocktail that gave me Serotonin Syndrome or something very close to it, and it made detoxing that much more complicated when a SSRI CAUSES: Headaches, anxiety, depersonalization/derealization, disorientation, Diarrheah, etc.
Im out of characters to write any further.

Stepping Stones saved my life. After 38 years of drug abuse and several arrests followed by other drug programs (drug court and IRT), none of which worked for me, this program worked! Today after nearly 7 years, I returned to Stepping Stones as a former client, to inquire if my counselor was still there. She is and I felt a need to express my gratitude for helping me become the person I've been meant to be. Thank-You Stepping Stones for giving me the tools and support and understanding of myself to live a productive and exciting life again. And thank-you Judge Beach for not giving up on me! UPDATE: It is now 5 years later and I am now 12 years gratefully clean! Thank-you again to Stepping Stones and Judge Beach (may she RIP).

The quality of services at House of Hope is renown by judges, State agencies and families all over Florida. The staff goes through the same tough employment requirements as State employees. House of Hope goes through extensive audits from the Department of Corrections, the management entity for the Department of Children and Families and external auditors several times a year, every year.
The clients at House of Hope receive the best possible care and it can count its success stories in the thousands.

There will be no better place to look for help.