This has been a wonderful, spiritual opportunity!

I have been struggling with alcoholism for many years and have been treated at more facilities than I care to admit...unsuccessfully. Michael's House is different. From day one I was treated with dignity and respect. They truly care. I felt supported throughout my stay, I feel supported through after care. I know I will always have their support on my sober journey moving forward. Thanks Michael's House Family!!!!

This beautiful, hope-filled place taught me how to live free from the tyranny I dealt with as a child into my young adulthood. DBT classes opened my eyes to a new way of thinking, which in turn helped me to transform my scars into symbols of survival. I am so grateful to this place and the people there who truly believe that we all deserve the right to be given the tools necessary to live an addiction-free life. Sincerely, Paul Gillispie (Whitmore)

Michael’s House changed my life in matter of weeks. I did things that I never have thought I could and hearing from family members as much of a glow they see within me. I know at times I struggled tremendously with doubting myself but knowing the strong support system I had with the team members kept me afloat. Striving to do better and not giving up was something I look forward to everyday that I experienced with Micheal’s House. They gave me the push I have been needing my whole life and I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to be apart of there program as I continue onto my journey of sobriety. I want to give a special thank you to Mark for the long talks and walks that help boost my self worth and confidence, Ms. Candace for all of the wisdom and advice and guidance to keep me going, Ms. Dee for listening and loving me when I felt like giving up, Thomas for finding a place for me to go when it was time for me to transition, the nurses Brandy and Destiny for always having my back no matter what was happening you guys were my angels…I absolutely love you guys and you will forever hold a place in my heart. Thank you Jackie, Lonnie, Deb, Diana and to everyone I forgot to mention you know you are in my prayers and I love you…See you all soon.

First off I came back here for a reason, I initially came to Michael’s House in April on 22. Obviously I didn’t listen to their recommendations and tried it my way. This time around I was lucky they even took me being that I was on 200mg of methadone. But they had the knowledge and means to detox me safely! I was scared but the whole staff At inpatient to IOP to TLC was exemplary in their approach to help me. I could not have done it with out them, thank you to everyone that helped me on my journey, to many names to name!! I will forever hold Michael’s house deep in my heart! I love this place like home! William!!

The counselors and providers were loving, supportive, and knowledgeable throughout my stay. They made my detox and withdrawal experience more comfortable and safe than I could have imagined. Michael’s House genuinely feels like a community setting in which it is possible to embrace change. And the food was healthy and delicious.

Michael's house lost my medication.They lost a headset that I had brought with me.There was one person who was very rude. And after I complained about my lost headset/ medication. They called me two weeks later and said they found the headset. It's been over a month. I've been waiting to receive the headset in the mail.But it never came. I guess they decided to keep it and didn't bother looking for the medication. If you ask me, I would say, never go there. They on more than several occasions decided it to go swim in the pool instead of proper education. Yeah on addiction. Their schedule seems to be way short of helpfulness... The medication was 3 month supply, and it belonged to me. Now, I've had to go over a month with no medication. I was better off not going to this place.

If you are serious about getting sober, Michael’s house is NOT where you would want to be. The support you will be receiving will be minimal. Groups/classes are run by resident counselors who lack the necessary training, knowledge and experience. Most of them resort to just reading from a handout, and half of them don’t even know the material they are teaching, as they keep mispronouncing key words, and get easily flustered or repeat the same words on the handout verbatim when asked for further explanation. I have witnessed instances when a client would share a profound or emotionally-charged experience, and it would be brushed off and ignored. Some resident counselors use group sessions as their own therapy sessions, and will go on talking about their private lives for 50 minutes unless interrupted (for example, the twice-weekly LGBTQ+ group led by Rick). The one licensed therapist who was great at her job, Theresa, gave notice and left the program, so I can only imagine how the quality of group sessions and programming will continue to deteriorate. The program topics are laid out in such a disorganized manner, which lends itself to multiple redundancies. For example, you will end up taking art therapy sessions where similar activities or sometimes the same activity is repeated on consecutive days. There were several days where the schedule was not followed at all. You will be taking a lot of “impromptu” classes like choosing your favorite sober song, during which songs of your choosing are blasted continuously for 50 minutes, or watching a sober movie that has nothing whatsoever to do with sobriety. You will be given a handbook with a lot of rules, but you can be rest assured that none of these rules will be enforced. Fraternizing is not allowed, but staff will be quick to turn a blind eye to ongoing romantic and other relationships. Meanwhile, given that clients come from varying backgrounds with a wide range of identities, life experiences, and ideologies, nothing is done to facilitate group cohesiveness. One client was allowed to lie down on three chairs with his pillow and sleep during every single session for the whole month that the person was there, which was a huge distraction, not to mention a complete eyesore. Yet a client who was still detoxing with active symptoms and on sedative medications was forced to attend sessions, because apparently insurance wouldn’t otherwise cover for her stay. Talking of insurance, I was falsely informed that my insurance was out-of-network, and had I not spoken up, I would be owing them thousands of dollars right now. On my last day there, I was basically kicked out and forced to leave the facility by 7:10am, before breakfast was served, with an unfounded excuse that my insurance wouldn’t cover for my stay that day, when in fact my insurance had preauthorized my stay to include my last day. At the end of the day, Michael’s House is yet another treatment facility that operates under the guise of caring for the vulnerable, when in fact it is driven by profit and numbers. On a positive note, I have to thank Thomas, the patient care coordinator, who was supportive and helpful in finding a different treatment facility that would better support my needs. I have to give props to the kitchen staff for making excellent meals day in and day out, and for the nursing staff who showed care. I also very much appreciated the opportunity to participate in yoga, equine therapy, and walks in the park with Mark.