I appreciate this program simply because the owners heart is I the right place and she goes far and above to do for those in need (including Brandy Brown, who was homeless) the program helped me tremendously.It is staff like Brandy Brown that don't deserve the help. Brandy came to the program, along with her husband. The owner took them in FOR FREE!! They were to help out around the home they lived in but instead they were the ones doing illegal things such as marijuana, stealing from Walmart and even went as far as, having a client that had a disability to return the stolen items in return for cash/gift cards. When the owner found out she immediately let them go! It is hard to find folks who have a heart to do what the owner does, so until you know the whole truth don't believe everything you read on here, especially the part about her stealing identitys and being under investigation. I checked with the owner yesterday and told her what I read here, it broke her heart and she even went as far as calling the authorities to see if there was a pending investigation and for what. Of course, there wasn't. These folks on here are BIG MAD because the owner won't put up with their behaviors, stealing lying and illegal ways while she is goin out of her way to help them.
I am a former staff of Transitions and like Mr Sunshine said some of these young adults (they are not kids most of them are at least 20 yrs old) do have mental issues, but it is nothing that cannot be handled by staff members at transitions. The owner/founder of this organization is a great person and she has a family of her own as well (with school age children not teens). Could you imagine having your family at home and still taking time out of your day to help these young adults who have no one and making them part of your family as well?? I bet most people couldnt even imagine doing that let alone making it a reality! Cut her some slack she does a great job. And like mr sunshine said "you only see whats on the surface" You do not know these people and its a shame you wont even give them the benefit of the doubt. I may no longer work there, but i do live 2 doors down and they have just as much respect for me as they did when i was employed there. Yes some of them are rough around the edges when they first come to transitions, but you would be to if you were coming to a brand new city in a house full of strangers right? A lot of these young adults have really big hearts and will do just about anything they are asked/told to do. All you have to do is give them a chance to show you. If they feel they are being threatened, they are going to retaliate whether it be foul language, arguing, etc. but that does not make them any different from anyone else. I have also lived on mackwood road 12 years and its not that much of a difference having them there. Ive experienced people coming and trying to run me over on the road when walking to the bus stop and stopping and trying to jump me walking home from school! So how is that any worse than the transitions clients being there? its not! Yes, maybe in the beginning there were clients who just did not follow the rules and that is why they have consequences and were kicked out or they shaped up and got themselves together. Mrs Miller is the right person for this job, trust me i know first hand. If anyone can do it she can. And as far as them getting jobs, going to school, volunteering, etc they have to learn to do these things by themselves or else they never will its called TOUGH LOVE i know you all have heard of or experienced it. And no she does not put her hands on her clients and abuse them. And she surely does not take their money. Everyone who lives there pays a fee, and they know about this fee upon moving in. Most of them do not have free control of their money so she has to budget out their money for them so they will have enough to last each week. Whats left stays in their accounts so that they have a little extra in case they need something extra or the group goes for their monthly night out where they may go bowling, movies, out to eat, to the mall, etc. The transitions house does have a staff member at each facility, but let me make something clear...this is NOT a group home or halfway house so the staff is not up 24 hrs a day they have to sleep sometime too and if the clients sneak out after curfew that is not their fault. The clients know the rules and what is expected of them and some people just do not follow rules all the time, but that goes for everyone. You remember how cool you thought it was to break rules when you were young right? Okay so dont judge them for making mistakes. And even when they do not follow rules theyre are consequences and they are inforced. And she is not the only person running this place. There is a board of directors most of them are figures of the community and they have a say in what goes on as well. Making mistakes is how you learn and how you grow as a person. And like i said earlier, Thelma does have her own family so she cannot be there 24/7 to babysit them. And thats not what the program is for anyways! It is here to help them learn how to be successful young adults. And as far as i see it, Mrs Miller can do whatever she wants to on that property because she OWNS it. She does not rent, she owns this property so if she wants to make the world a better place leave her alone and let her do what she is doing. All of you who think you know one thing about this organization do not know anything for sure because you would have had to interact with them in some kind of way to know exactly what these young adults go thru on a daily basis, maybe then you would have some kind of understanding and see how good your life is compared to what they deal with. What she is doing is a good thing, she has even been to the state board in Raleigh and they told her NOT TO CHANGE A THING. Yes thats right. They said she is doing everything just fine and to keep up the good work! Just try to be a little more understanding to what these people do and the struggles they deal with on a day to day basis. Its not as easy as it looks.!
I live next door to this agency. My husband and I can not sit on our back porch without hearing loud fighting, cursing and yelling. The director was extrememly rude to us today. She told my husband that he has anger issues because he used the word "damn" when talking to her. When we asked her if she would like to come home to this behavior every day she beat around the bush until finally answering, "No." These individuals have no respect for the people of our street. They constantly walk up and down the road yelling, cursing and smoking one cigarette after another. There are police and ambulances at this house at least once a month. After we moved into our house, my husband and I, caught on of the tenante throwing bags of garbage in the woods (on our property) from their drive way. We have called the police twice and were told, "You have to understand that it is a half way house." While this may be the case, there is NO EXCUSE for the lack of respect and supervision. The current situation is intolerable to those who live on Mackwood Rd.