Pathways half way house Rochester, MN, Womens program

Good morning sports fans! Just woke up myself, haven't got out of bed yet. Keep my computer near my bed; not much room in here but plenty. I'd tell you where I am but that would compromise my real identity. Not sure why I'm leery about doing that but for now I'll just keep it as is. Pathways women's program, don't know a whole lot about it besides the fact that it's right across the parking lot from the men's program. The smoking areas for both houses face each other across the parking lot. One of the rules there is that you can not talk to the women clients and the women clients can't talk to the men clients (residents). If you do you will be discharged, no exceptions. While I was there one of the younger guys there got narced on for talking to one of the girls at an AA meeting and they both ended up being discharged (kicked out). When they kick you out they give you like two hours to get your stuff and leave or they'll call the police to haul your ass out. Nice folks, huh? Assholes! You have to go to three AA meeting a week and there are several within walking distance of the houses and you always run into women from the other house but don't even say hello to them or you're out. Seems like there's always some kiss ass in the group that'll go running to the staff to get some brownie points. First night I was in Pathways one of the guys there tried to hang himself! That was OK, not against the rules I mean. He got a trip to the Mayo psych ward for a few days and then readmitted to The Pathways to hell. Anyway, just thought I'd mention the womens program and the fact that they're in the same boat. Cheers!

Pathways MI/CD, 613 2nd St. SW., Rochester, MN 55902

A little more on Pathways and then I'm gonna let it go. After the first 72 hour hold they put on you then you are no longer allowed to stay in the house after 9am. You have to leave and "go look for a job". I guess that's OK if you're looking for a job but in my case I was looking for help with my addiction problem, if I wanted a job I'd have one. Part of the whole problem with my stay there was my social worker from Dakota county. This guy knew I was looking for help in overcoming my addiction problem, I wasn't looking for a homeless shelter which is what Pathways is. Let me say that one more time, Pathways in Rochester is nothing more than a homeless shelter. They claim to be an MI / CD treatment facility but after they misled me on that, reality sets in after you've committed yourself to the program. If you're actually looking for help don't look for it there. I have a hard time believing my social worker from Dakota County didn't know what a dump Pathways is since he's been in the business a long time. His name was Duane and he sure is good at pretending to have your best interests in mind as he manages your case. He'll claim he has no idea the place is what it is and act just as surprised as you are. If you are from Dakota county and you end up with a guy named Duane as a case manager just make sure you do your homework and be careful. I'll never forget this experience, it was a nightmare. So, anyway, you have to be out of the house by 9am every morning during the week. If you go to downtown Rochester and see a bunch of homeless people wandering around with nowhere to go, chances are they are MI/CD residents of Pathways. It's probably not so bad in the summer but I was there in mid winter and it wasn't any fun getting booted out on the street every morning regardless of the weather conditions. Most of the guys living there end up hanging out at the public library just to stay warm. You can start wandering back to the house around 3pm. This place is charging the county big money for your stay there and they're supposed to provide you with three meals, so when you leave in the morning you get to take a bagged peanut butter and jelly sandwich with you for your lunch, while the staff cooks themselves up a good hot lunch at the counties expense and take most of the food home with them; part of the reason no residents are allowed to eat lunch at the house. It's all food provided by the counties for you and I. Just one of their many scams or perks. The community of Rochester is under the impression that Pathways is providing a good humanitarian service for the community. I just wanna say that I'd much rather be in Jail than Pathways. The one thing that's particularly hard to accept about the place is that once you've committed yourself to their program and end up dependent on the system, Pathways keeps you in line by constantly threatening to discharge you if you don't pretend to love the place and a word to the wise....never say anything negative about the way they run the program (if you can even call it a program). I'm willing to provide more info if anyone is interested just post a question but that's all I'm going to volunteer for now. Everyone have a good day and read up on Zen.

Pathways half way house Rochester, MN

Alright, here's what to expect if you are unfortunate enough to end up in Pathways. First off they search all your personal belongings which isn't unusual only in my case they did it while I wasn't present to watch. Oh well, no big deal, I had nothing to hide anyway. No cell phones allowed, no cell phone chargers allowed. While I was there a guy got caught with a cell phone charger and was immediately discharged, no phone, just a charger. First 72 hours you're confined to the house and that's pretty standard, no TV until 4:30 or so, can't remember the exact time. All the beds are on the second and third floors and you can't be anywhere upstairs after 9am which is when they do their ongoing searches of your personal belongings and check that you've made your bed and your area is neatly arranged. They have a little handout outlining the house rules but they are loosely written and you become aware of them by violation. You know how most of the time you just kinda skim over the rules so you have an idea of what's expected and let it go at that? Don't do that at Pathways; study the rules, abide by them to the extreme and don't be shocked when they come up with new interpretations of the rules everyday just to play with your head. If you end up there you'll see what I mean, the place is a real mind fuck. The humiliating part is the staff. The staff consists of a bunch of low level part timers who's other jobs are like shelf stockers at K-mart or burger flippers at some fast food place. These kids are the ones enforcing the rules and handing out warnings for violations, don't forget to take your hat off when you walk in the house or you'll have some dorky punk ass kid reprimand you for having it on in the house. Better to take it off before you walk in. They have rules there that defy any semblance of logic and the kids to enforce them too. I'll have more stuff on Pathways later, right now I gotta go, stay tuned.

Pathways in Rochester

Just happened to be thinking about this blog yesterday and thought it might be a good idea to post some useful info on here. A couple of relapses back I was brought to the ER at Fairview Riverside (good place) and ended up in the psych ward. I was deeply depressed and was entertaining suicidal ideations. Well, I ended up getting six ECT's (electro convulsive treatment) and was kept in their locked ward for around 10 weeks. I've gotta say I found Fairview Riverside which is part of the University of MN's medical campus, a pretty good place. They have a Chemical Dependency Treatment facility on site but this time around I wasn't admitted because of the suicidal ideation part. Their CD treatment facility is called Lodging Plus and it is also a good place. Lodging plus wouldn't take me so I was sent to a treatment place in Hudson, WI called Burkwood. Burkwood is licensed as an MICD (mental illness/chemical dependency) treatment facility, it's not bad but it is a private for profit facility and could be a lot better. Spent 28 days there and then they sent me down to Rochester to Pathways, what a nightmare Pathways is. If I were you and you ever find yourself having the option of going to Pathways, run and hide. Pathways is a for profit half way house and it's run like a jail/homeless shelter. Terrible place with unprofessional counselors and a staff mostly consisting of part time kids who are given total authority over the clients, nightmare. I was supposed to be there for 90 days and left after about 40. Just couldn't take it any longer and I've been known to handle some rough roads. Just do yourself a favor and avoid the place like the plague if you can. I can give more details if anyone is interested and I might anyway. Right now I have to go get my morning Meds.