I'm writing this review in hopes that someone who is thinking about sending their child here does not. A year before I became an adult my father got custody of me, he was an alcoholic. We could not have a reasonable conversation. I stayed in my room and stayed away from him. I was considered unruly because I wouldn't talk to him and got sent to Eastway. I was a normal teenager whom got straight A's in school, never gotten into any trouble, my father and I only had communication issues which got dragged out into something more. To sum up my experience at Eastway- Terrible, Odd, and crooked.
1. I had a set list of goals that did not apply to me ie: Learn to find appropriate coping mechanisms besides using marijuana, learn to cope besides physical aggression, etc etc. I'd like to add before I continue that I never to this day have smoked marijuana or never used physical aggression to solve any issues . I was forced to work on these goals as well as many of other goals that didn't apply to me before I could leave. It took me 9 months to figure out how to accomplish goals that did not apply.
2. This place is a madhouse, the kids who were there and actually wanted help couldn't get it because of others pulling fire alarms in the middle of the night, getting restrained during groups, running away, trying to kill their selfs always some distraction not to mention I've seen a lot of people feed into the terrible negativity.
3. This place made me feel I was trapped in a box, the staff are racists, staff would let kids smoke cigarettes and see other people on home visits who they weren't suppose to, had favorite, etc. As a 'patient' if you tried to report this it's pretty much my word against theirs. And since I was a ""troubled child"" I was apparently a liar as well as everyone else.
I've seen some really terrible things in this place from staff and children, and this is only half of it. I hope you would think twice before sending your children there. It's a terrible place all around.
more