I am glad to not be living there anymore. I found the people who worked there annoying. There seems to be an obsession with racism among the counselors. I wonder if they were victims. There was a counselor who threatened a resident who was just standing around. The counselor. Mental health workers seem to be abusive people who blame others. Pat told an exceptionally tall female resident that she was going to have her tied down to a stretcher.. I don’t like how the counselors say messed up stuff about residents behind their backs. My friend told me that a counselor wrote she was delusional that she has a daughter. I met her daughter. These counselors are narrow minded people. They can be verbally abusive. Paul said that I am insensitive to racial issues. All this nonsense may come from poor listening skills. The counselors basically don’t seem to care. They want a paycheck. If you have a family member who you who extremely wants to be independent, don’t get them involved with Cornerstone Montgomery. They have chips on their shoulders. They try to start arguments with I don’t know why. But it is hard to get better while the counselors are threatening residents’ boundaries and insulting them. There was this man named who stalked me at cornerstone Montgomery. He was a resident. No one cared. If someone does something bad to me, it’s in the past. I hope that no one gets hurt by the obnoxious statement about racists being above the law. I don’t call people racist except for this woman who screamed at me. That statement is hateful and the people at cornerstone Montgomery are hateful. The first time in a really long time, I called the office of my therapist and nurse practitioner who frustrated me. This woman was disrespectful. They criticize my behavior and they talk like they know everything. They don’t. Because who is going to experiment on themselves with a pill that can ruin your life? I believe that they aggravate people on purpose so that they can have a job and keep clients. If I show anger, my therapist would call that abnormal. Those are the messages I have received by paying close attention to jerks with no compassion. They make comments about stuff without listening with undivided attention. It is a waste. I got sick and almost died. Cornerstone Montgomery didn’t call an ambulance. I was driven there. Why can’t I complain about complainers?
I think that Cornerstone is helpful to work with low income mental health patients. However though they help with mental health patients and housing I have to say it could be better. There is obviously need for some mental health patients to get more services with cornerstone. Some of the housing specialists need to actually hear their clients and see if they need help. If they are too sick to live on their own that needs to be acknowledged and it isn't being acknowledged in some instances with cornerstone.
Review from Guidestar
I totally agree Cornerstone needs to be monitored or raided, to keep my identity from being exposed I can tell you that there is abuse, gas lighting, Black listing going on in this facility. They are very controlling, for instance if your a patient or employee they always ask you to write down a complaint, so that they can later use against you. This particular client was falsely imprisoned by a nurse Practioner and the CEO failed to investigate. They refused to make an appointment for her she'd had a fetal demise, and was ignor d and turned away. They did procedures and tests without consent. The client filed a formal complaint and filed a lawsuit at the Montgomery County District court. If anyone reading this, please have this place investigated by the Feds.
I am a Board member and a mental health professional. I have always been and continue to be impressed with Cornerstone's attention to and competence with respect to difficult to treat dually diagnosed patients, including those who have severe trauma histories. This is an extremely well administered organization that responds thoughtfully and effectively to the needs of our community.
Review from Guidestar
The commitment of Cornerstone's staff and management to their clients and programs is evident at every board meeting. Clients and their related communities are always discussed at meetings. In addition, Cornerstone is a highly ethical organization with a strong tone at the top.
Review from Guidestar
Cornerstone Montgomery does amazing work for individuals suffering from mental health or co-occurring substance use disorders. It truly changes lives and is a critically important support system for those who need it most.
Review from Guidestar
I work for Cornerstone Montgomery and it's the most rewarding word I've ever had. I started as a volunteer and quickly realized I wanted to be part of the team. The people we help are amazing, the employers are grateful to have such great employees and my coworkers are a group of dedicated professionals. I highly recommend joining our effort in whatever way possible.
I recently joined Cornerstone Montgomery as a Board Member. This is one of the best managed and successful non-profits I have ever been involved with. They provide much needed housing, job training and rehabilitation services for people with mental health diagnosis. The management team, including the CEO, CFO and COO are experienced professionals who do an excellent job caring for our most vulnerable citizens of Montgomery County. THANK YOU Cari, Gwen and Liza for doing such a great job!!
After looking at the reviews I am very surprised by some of the high rating. I have a relative that is involved in one of their housing and support programs. On the plus side, the program has been helpful in keeping my relative on the medication that needs to be taken and providing support during occassional relapses and their consequences. While my relative does live a somewhat independent life, the housing situation has not always been positive. While the program claims to provide room and board in exchange for taking virtually all of ones available income, the bare mininum is provided in terms of broken down and worn out furniture and carpets and board (food, toiletries, and house cleaning materials) are expected to be provide by tenants with little monthly income left by going to Humana, a food pantry. Clients are expected to find their own way to these food pantries unless they have a nice and compasionate counselor that will take them. Living allowances inadequate and I am sure below poverty level. There seems to be a high turn staff turn over in staff, ie. counselors (leaving in less than year) thus making it difficult to establish trust and close relationships between counselors and clients. In the program that my relative is in, one client died of a health condition, that worsened over weeks in front of her counselors. This is neglect.
One staff person told my relative that this is a "mental health" program not a program to take care non mental medical conditions. Like many organizations that get State and Federal funding, Cornerstone needs more oversight and monitoring. Clients in this program still need someone that advocates for them and ensure that support is adequate, staff are atisfied with their working environment and workload so they don't take it out on the clients. When my relative complained about some of the services or behavior of other clients, some of the staff said my relative didn't have to stay and could find some where else to go. I think Cornerstone needs to do more than just warehousing some of their clients, pay their staff decent salaries and provide better working conditions and workload. The Cornerstone CEO should go visit some of the clients in their housing so she can see the conditions of the furniture and filthy carpets that I am sure are unhealthy.
Cornerstone Montgomery is a great Organization that really cares about the people they serve. They also are very involved in the community and work to be good neighbors. They are responsive to clients, family members, and stakeholders. If you have the opportunity to work for them or with them you won't be sorry.
My disease is dreadful and has caused various problems over many years. I was in the Threshold Services Inc Day Program for more than 10 years and that helped me to find daily activities which I needed. Then in 2005, Cornerstone Montgomery helped me find a job where I have been ever since. I am very thankful for Cornerstone Montgomery's help over the years and their ongoing support. The staff are very nice people.
I have a relative severely affected with a long history of repeated hospitalizations. This all changed once she was enrolled into the program. The staff have been extremely professional, competent, and compassionate. They are incredible and support an individual to be as independent as possible. There is great need for financial support to provide more services to more individuals affected. It's my number one charity.
Review from Guidestar
The volunteers/employees of Cornerstone Montgomery are very pleasant people. While I'm sure many people are helped by Cornerstone Montgomery, the organization did not full consider nor has it responded well to the new neighborhood into which their "residential" facility exists. Patients often wander the neighborhood unattended, police and fire are called repeatedly to take care of emergency situations, employees and guests speed in and out of the neighborhood full of children only moderating their behavior when implored to do so. While they claim to want to get along with the neighbors, they have addressed the neighborhood concerns only slightly. This is the only group home in the neighborhood that has these problems (there are two others that are very well received by the neighbors.) This group puts it's own needs first and refuses to take into account the neighborhood into which it has moved.
Review from Guidestar
I don't just work for Cornerstone Montgomery, I am one of their major donors. As my charity of choice, I give back to the organization because I get to see my investment in action each and every day. Not a penny is wasted, and every opportunity is seized!
If you care about people, and want to be around other people who feel the same then this is your organization to support!
Our graphic design firm, Quinter Design, has been delighted to work with Cornerstone Montgomery's supported employment program. For nearly two years, we enjoyed the company and expertise of a Cornerstone client, Lisa, who provided graphic design and administrative support in a professional manner. Lisa's job coach supervised very diligently and worked with us to accommodate her needs and assure her success. Lisa has since relocated to another area, and we look forward to employing another Cornerstone client soon.
Nicole Graner 07/22/2016
Thank you for taking the time to write a review about your experiences with Cornerstone Montgomery. We appreciate your feedback and want you to know we take your concerns seriously. We are glad your family member is progressing in the program and that s/he is living as independently as possible. We understand your questions about the fee structure and wanted to review how these decisions are made in the hope that you have a better understanding of what those fees cover. Similar to other programs in the state, the fees cover more than room and board, they cover the cost of providing trained staff for support and case management as well. These fee structures are set by a state formula and not established by Cornerstone Montgomery. Depending on the intensity of the program, additional supports are provided and can include group meals. As each client’s level of independence increases, the support from staff decreases which supports a more successful transition to independent living. Staff do encourage the use of community resources such as Manna and Nourish Now and depending on each clients’ level of independence some transportation assistance is provided. The turnover rates you describe are an unfortunate trend in this line of work and we are actively working to address this as we are acutely aware of the impact of turnover on the individuals in our care. While we are unable to speak to specific cases, we can assure you that we monitor each client and take their health and safety very seriously. In fact we established health homes which are staffed by medical professionals to help manage very complex medical issues. Through a partnership with CCI Health and Wellness, we have collocated primary health and dental services in one of our sites with plans to add a second when we open our new HUB center at the end of this year. While it is true that we are primarily trained in mental health, we have an expectation that staff are familiar with many of the common somatic health issues our clients experience and we have nurses on staff as part of health homes to help manage and coordinate medical care/concerns. We cannot treat these ourselves, but we maintain close contact with primary care providers – again the level of support in the program will determine how “hands on” a staff member can be with a client – however all staff are expected to help clients coordinate medical care. If this continues to be a concern for your family member, please let us know so we can look into it. In terms of oversight and regulations, we are regulated at the local and state levels – all sites are licensed and regulated (receiving health and safety inspections at the local and state level). Cleanliness is an ongoing challenge and staff are regularly working with clients to improve these skills. Sometimes more serious assistance is needed, so if we hear or see that a residence is in bad shape we want to address it as soon as possible. Additionally, consumer advocate groups conduct regular and unscheduled site visits to talk with clients about their experiences in the program. We get that feedback and use it to adjust our programs and services when appropriate and possible. We hope this helps to address some of your concerns, if you would like to discuss any of these further, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us at: info@cornerstonemontgomery.org. Thank you.