Womankind Addiction Service

My experience of this place was the following:
I was on the list for treatment for few months, and doing the weekly check ins. During both the intake and check ins, with two different coordinators I advised them I would be tapering from my medication and also coordinated with the pharmacy they work with to have my doctor fax in the taper script I was still on, which was all done and all was good to go for admission. The admission process was ok, I checked in on the Saturday of a long weekend which wasn’t the best for orienting to the place. There also was no orientation, proper instructions of what would be happening over the next 4-6 weeks. I finally had to ask the next day what exactly was going to be happening in this program and the woman who admitted me said she forget to get me the binder and I finally had some clue of what would be going on. There are also homeless people staying in the place, which was counterproductive as all I heard during my 3 days stay was what a terrible place this was…. So already put me in an uncomfortable and uninspired attitude. The first day of the actual learning material was ok but I cannot judge that as it was my only day of treatment. The next day, when supervising staff were back from the long weekend, I was told not to go back to the class after I left in the morning due to crying and such and didn’t want to disturb the class so said I would come back after. I didn’t go back and waited to be told that they had a meeting and some kind of mistake was made with allowing me to have prescribed medication …. I had checked in several times about this before coming. They said they had to discharge me and said this was an error on their end and they’d be looking into it. Frankly I don’t believe a word they said.
Luckily I heard from another treatment place and had the initial assessment with them which was on an entirely next level.knowledgeable and thorough assessment.the counsellor said what happened was highly shaming as it seemed as if I did something wrong having to pack up and leave. Ironically, the first module on my first day was about shame and they proceeded to publicly shame me the next day for their own huge error or other motives.
Aside from this they also do not tell you about the shelter beds on the same floor until your intake which I find highly shady. Wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone. Incompetent and potentially more mentally damaging. They also only let you walk circles around their building which i find crazy as going for longer walks was my only healthy coping mechanism. Hope you find a better place than this, it’s no place for people who are already at bottom.

The staff are there to help you deal with your everyday issues and past traumas through the treatment program. So all day, everyday, we focused on changing up our routines, dealing with withdrawals, refocusing our thoughs, meditation, etc, then we have the evenings back in our dorm where we share the floor with people there for shelter who had no restrictions for going outside. The problem here, is that some were coming back high, and that made it a complete contrast to the "cleansing" we did all day. I understand that funding may be an issue, but for this progam to work ideally, they need to keep those in the treatment program separate from others. The worst point for me was when we started finding paraphanalia in the bathroom, the living area, etc. I just didnt feel safe there anymore and ended up leaving the program after 4 weeks. I was close to many of the staff and they truly want to see us succeed and I highly commend them for that.but until the treatment program is segregated, this will not help. For me anyhow.

Although the material is good and is based on somewhat on trauma theory and how addictions correlate to it, the facility itself is mismanaged and less than adequate for a healthy recovery. I understand fully the lack of resources especially during Covid, however it is beyond comprehension that the centre puts you on a floor with the homeless clientele who are experiencing their own trauma without counselling that further can and does trigger the sole reason you are there! Further, The lack of healthy foods and opportunities to excercise is poor. The food was hospital grade and terrible at best. There were no healthy snacks. There are few resources and almost no private saves for you to go to reflect on your own Some staff were great but a number in my opinion are on a power trip. They treat you with disrespect and at times in my opinion can be downright rude. Don’t expect to be treated with respect here. Furthermore it was not clean and the lack of healthy food and punishment for outside food was depressing. If you experience any kind of trauma or depression, expect to be treated in a way that will exacerbate this. Literally was removed after expressing a concern for being exposed to 5 clients whom had tested positive for Covid while I tested negative. They didn’t care if you had no one to pick you up. Treated like a child. Lost all respect for this place. Would not recommend

Very little outside time, very controlling, focus is on holistic health and recovery however it is very difficult to exercise, staff are constantly irritable and deny the most simple privileges. Breakfast is provided however it consists of bread, fruit and cereal only. There are no snacks for the evening unless you would like any of the above breakfast items. Women that are in treatment are provided rooms on the same floor as women that are homeless and need shelter. It makes recovery very difficult as the women that are not in treatment have no structured day, and often stay in they’re pyjamas do not look for jobs or housing and nap. There is also a detox floor where women can come to detox for a maximum of 5 days, depending on the amount of women on that floor there’s often not enough on the buffet for lunch or dinner as the kitchen services both floors. And once something is gone on the buffet they do not replenish it. No outside food or drink is permitted in the building so after 5pm there is no snack until bedtime at 10, unless you want bread or cereal, so it is extremely difficult to maintain a healthy diet. Overall the program is mismanaged as they have women in 2 stages of addiction or homelessness mixed all together and it is almost impossible to focus 100 percent on treatment as this can be very distracting and counter productive.

Womankind is a decent place to get clean. You have to have a strong determination to stay clean when you get passes to go out. You can use your phone to keep your life going outside of treatment just not during class of coarse. Some staff is nicer than others. But bring lots to do to keep busy and avoid other peoples drama. That will help a lot in making it a positive experience for you. Its all about how u make the best out if it.

I still have nightmares about this place after many years most degrading humiliating experience ever had.

I cannot express enough appreciation for services like Womankind. These woman that are employed here offer compassion and catered care that goes well beyond their job description. I have the utmost respect for them, many of which have past experiences that make them further relatable to you during your most vulnerable state. It isn't easy to admit when you need help. They make it easy for you to understand what your next steps will be and help you develop safe coping skills and strategies to further your opportunities to be more successful in your recovery. I'm just beyond grateful. Thank you ladies, so, so much.

Not really sure how I feel about this treatment facility. I do agree with some reviews that having candy is considered a bad thing.worse than being an addict. I get the need for rules however that is not what most addicts need. The counselors were good however there was little chance for one on one in-depth sessions. Once a week checking in with your assigned couselour is not enough. Spending some real time with a psychologist or a CBT expert is needed. Attending class, not being late etc.seemed more important than dealing with underlying issues. Punishment was subjective for the so called offences. Addicts are not children. They do not need to be punished. They do that everday to themselves. Yes rules are important however spending more time and energy on rule enforcement and not getting to underlying issues does not work. I paticipated, I followed the rules and when I left I felt hopeful. What I realized after I left is that I spent my time trying to be the best addictions patient. Any government funded facility needs to have at least a psychologist treating patients. Being a counsellor and leading classes with an addictions certificate or a social worker designation is fine. We all have a lot to learn and can learn from each other. Running an addiction centre without access to individual counselling by a certified professional seems counter intuitive. If an addict can not even see a psychologist while in treatment the hard individual work cannot happen.
Just my thoughts.

They were rude to me and I got discharged early in the morning as a girl I know from London that is mandated to be there by court order got back to treatment after using.so it depends on who they like. I was withdrawing from crystal and they just told me to leave and I don't like this girl who awesome girls that were in detox told me she got special treatment and how they got screwed. I would not recommend this place at all!

Terrible place. Just go to a proper hospital for detox then go to a treatment program if needed.