Complaint Review: St. Jude Retreat House - Amsterdam New York

St. Jude Retreats is notorious for lying to people about the quality of their facilities, the qualifications of their staff, the nature of their program, and their highly inflated success rate.

But when people get suckered you blame them, the victims, instead of the exploiters at St. Jude?!

This "report" is almost exactly the same as the (only) complaint on the Better Business Bureau site about this institution.  As someone who has not been here, but has been to rehab, has a significant other who has been to rehab, and knows quite a bit about the industry, I have several doubts about the complaint itself (for example, when a pt is kicked out of a rehab program, the program has NO obligation to take them anywhere at all!  That your son was taken to a hotel that was not up to your standards is actually better than what many places would have done for him.  Further, I really find it hard to believe that your son was innocent in the situation, while I have no proof of that, I do know that 90% or more of the addicts I know who have said similar things in similar situations have been lying. IN fact, myself and most of the recovering addicts I know have told similar lies themselves). 

However, what I find more troubling is that the company filed a response letter, in great detail, as to why they did what they did and what they were offering.  Per their letter, three seperate pateitns approached the administration with the exact same accusation about your son before his dismissal, and more expressed their relief that he was gone after the fact since per them he was trying to sell them drugs.  They state the hotel is a solid national chain; I have no evidence to support or deny this (though again, my belief is it shouldn't matter; when an addict is kicked out of treatment for breaking the rules they most often are offered nothing but a phone to call a cab. Whether or not he was guilty, that was the situation he was in and they went above and beyond the standard by taking him anywhere at all).  In their letter they also stated that if your son could prove his sobriety and convince them of his motivation to recover, they would take him back to treatment and credit him the 10,000 for continued treatment. 

Beyond all of that, per them, your son was a legally competent adult and signed a legal contract at the beginning fo treatment stating that any use of drugs would result in dismissal with no refund.  (And at the age of 28, which they state he was, he was no innocent young thing being coerced, he was far old enough to understand such things). 

I have no way of knowing whether their side of the story is true...BUT...per the BBB they received NO response from you after the company gave their side of the story and offered to provide the remainder of the treatment you paid for.  While I can understand that if you were truly wronged by these people, you wouldn't WANT the rest of the treatment, I don't understand at all why you wouldn't reply and correct them if indeed what they were saying was inaccurate.  You gave an emotional rant supported by nothing other than the say-so of your son who by your own confession is a drug addict with a history of relapsing after treatment--as one of "those people" myself, I KNOW that they are more often than not, NOT truthful, particularly with parents/family, particularly when that family has paid for their treatment that they failed, and particularly when they are using and are caught and face consequences.  With no reply from you, not only did the BBB "resolve" the complaint, therefore seriously decreasing it's credibility in the eyes of consumers researching treatment facilities, but also the facility got the last word and I have to say their account was pretty reasonable and plausible.  If you are truly concerned with warning others, I would think you would at least respond to what they are saying, and keep the BBB complaint open.

In all honesty, between this site and the BBB site, you really sound like a parent blind to their child's faults, angry that someone has held your son accountable for his actions and probably angry at your son for wasting your money.  That is not meant to be an attack, just an honest opinion on how your statements come off.  Again, I think you would be much more believable if you actually bothered to pay attention to the facility's spin on things and address their comments head-on.  Until that happens, I don't find you credible.  It amazes me how many people sign contracts, only to complain when push comes to shove and they are actually enforced.

Sorry to hear that you lost the cash. But when he checked in the second time, did he (or you) sign any paperwork that went over the refund policy? Many facilities have a policy that if the client leaves prematurely against the advice of staff or as non-compliant, there is no refund of the fees paid. If there is a signature on such a document, then you probably have no legal recourse, because you were made aware of that policy in advance.

As an industry professional myself (no, I don't work for them, nor do I have any vested interest in them whatsoever), I seriously doubt this facility is involved in the scam you refer to. Perhaps, but I doubt it. More likely, your son a broke cardinal rule(s) that resulted in his expulsion and there were no other alternatives to stay available to him. Addicts do that sometimes! Most facilities throw them out as a last resort, after trying everything to retain them. Also, you said this is the second time your son has been there, so likely the staff (or at least the management) were familiar with him and this factored into their decision. Finally, the fact they gave him a ride to a motel in a neighboring town is not that dramatic. There was probably access to needed services there. Some facilities don't even do that, they just ask the person to leave with no further accommodation. It's important to not buffer the consequences of behavior, if he in fact put himself in the position of being asked to leave. One of the misconceptions of addiction is that addicts can't help their behavior. Perhaps, but it is very important that they be held accountable for it. It's part of getting and being sober. Since the program likely only takes adults, I 'll assume he is one and he can take care minimal care of himself. If not, I doubt they would have dropped him off. As an active addict, how many times has he put himself in situations much dangerous?

You might check out some support for enabling behavior, it sounds as though your son's behavior is affecting you. Of course, I say this not knowing the details of the case. Whatever I've said that doesn't apply, let it fly! Good luck to you.