it's kind of hard for me to even begin or end what i have to say and express about the Delancey Street Foundation and how this place is operated and run, for many people like myself and other walks of life rather it be alcohol or drug abuse, gang members, robbers or just complete screw up's this was a place we were all told about to change our lives around and to become better member of society. This place is built on the each one teach one one motto but don't give you a chance to fix or change yourself before you go about fixing someone else hence Games( where you curse each other on there shortcomings and what there doing wrong rather than focusing on Self) the main purpose that were all here behind. I entered into the DSF Foundation with an open mind ready to change and do what needed to be done to better Me, but that was not the case i worked 16 hours a day sweeping and mopping the same place over and over being told this is to see how well you can work around your peers mind you the same peers i just disrespected and called out in Games. i wore the same clothes daily, ate food that had sat out all night and was still expected to work as if there was no tomorrow, I'm not allowed to interact or contact family until i prove myself worthy enough like me being here doesn't speaks for itself. i can not speak of my past, read religious material, or even be myself for that matter. this place doesn't help in any form to rehabilitate people suffering from dependency issues it only adds to it and expects you to depend on them for everything. what other institute has alcohol severed to you by someone who has come there crying out for help with such issues. no one should have to endure the belittlement, harsh living arrangements, and disrespect that they receive from this place. The President should not be in charge of such lives no matter how destructive people once were there is no growth here only brain washing mind games played by a Psychologist who needs to be Stopped.
So DeLancey street is nothing but a gigantic cult. And the president is nothing but an opportunist. This lady will tell you how she hates money but everything that she does is so that she can be treated like a queen. These are facts I had 11 different jobs in that place in the more jobs you get the more corrupt you see it is. I worked in all different areas of that place. They could give an F about you. All that lady cares about is how much money you can make her most times people that had as many jobs me work 18 hour days six days a week sometimes seven. This lady is spending all this nonprofit money on condos in Tahoe. everything is donated that was one of my jobs. Picking up donations from all over from Brooks Brothers, the gap (picking up 80 boxes of clothes every two weeks from gap corporation). Trader Joe’s to Raleys Safeway and any other store you can think imaginable. This lady stole the program from the original guy who created it!!! he relapsed she kicked him out and he died. That’s another fact. And if you actually dig deeper she’s a psychologist who has immense power amongst all kinds of judicial people. Nancy Pelosi is her best friend. Also She does try to sway the vote by trying to require everybody to vote by the list of people that she gives them so she can. She did not name the program either. Also if you look at her symbol this is a symbol that she created she says. It was the original Greek sign for change. She told us one time when she came down from her throne why it is an open triangle that she created. She said she changed it to represent “open for change”. Now if you go in Google and type the top five declassified FBI pedophile symbols ! And lo and behold there’s her symbol. Coincidence probably not there are residents who runs the treelots for Christmas! who has her own personal houses, cars etc. but they’re supposed to be residence. The guy who runs the finance department isn’t even a CFO. All he does is go on vacation after vacation after vacation( to different countries, I might add) They have their own personal private credit union why so they don’t have to explain s**t to anybody. This is one of the most corrupt places I have ever seen this makes the hood look nice. These are fun facts this is what this lady has done basically she uses her psychological degree to sit there and pray on the bottom percent of the criminal system and their need or want to be a part of something. She use the blood sweat and tears of every person that has come through there. She does nothing but live like a queen. She finagled BofA somehow and got a $10 million loan to build the original house in Frisco off the Embarcadero. Did she pay that money back no. All she did was use Convict sweat blood and tears to repay that loan back and live like a queen and she made them help build the actual building themselves.Tthis lady has been doing nothing but raking in millions of dollars every year and not paying a cent back to anybody who helped establish that place or anything. This lady is nothing but pure evil and cult is definitely the word . Let me tell you another fun fact the 98% succession really is a complete load of crap. Every single person that I know that was there that had been there 2- 10 years , they are the most scandalous, dirtiest, backstabbing, smile in your face liars, you have ever met. They are peeling that place left and right! That’s all they’re doing is stealing from that place and she doesn’t care because she lives like a queen and as long as they’re doing her bidding she lets it happen. I wonder when the last time this lady actually had a current psychological license for her practice or whatever it is she claims that she’s doing. This whole program is nothing but a complete lie they don’t teach you s**t you getno certifications when you get out of there unless you wanna stay 5-6 years. The statistics for this place are from over 30 years ago that they try to treat as current. And even after you leave (if you do leave on good terms) as soon as you speak one thing that they don’t like to hear you’re banned from it forever. That means you can’t go to their restaurant nothing if you speak out against them. This lady is nothing but pure evil she’s a lying POS and she is definitely living up to her heritage her fake heritage. She’s raking in all this money while giving people pennies for what she calls WAM, walking around money. You have to be there 18 months to get $17 a month and if you take that into account, the base pay from all the jobs one would (I’m talking about actual current pay rates for said jobs like screening room projectionist,auto body, mechanic, catering department head event coordinators for weddings and such). She pays almost next to nothing in overhead. There are people who bring in thousands of dollars every month as donations as well! MIMI SILBERT is nothing but a gigantic scam! John maher is the REAL FOUNDER. SHE USED THE OPPORTUNITY To get close to him to steal his program. The 98% succession rate, is crap!!!! I’ve seen hundreds of people leave in the two years and change that I was there! She likes to dangle the carrot in front of peoples faces, that’s how she gets people to stay longer she tells you that you’re gonna do something or give you something that you want! And tells you just wait another year and see if it happens this is probably one of the most corrupt people in this country and everybody should know what kind of person she really is she’s a complete narcissist. She’s such a narcissist and so full of herself that she must think she lives on sovereign land. Because if the cop show up or a fire alarm goes off at their not even allowed to enter the gate !!! and require the cops to stay outside or the fire department until she personally lets them in! there’s something wrong with that! this lady wants to be treated like a God!!! She is nothing but a 5 foot POS who does nothing but try to manipulate everybody just to steal money and property and everything else and have everybody treat her like a queen you don’t even get to talk or see her unless you’ve been there like six years that lady isn’t doing anything for anybody All she’s doing is having a bunch of servants clean her mansion feed her and make her money while she does nothing! it’s an absolute cult and that lady should be investigated by some real judicial people and her best friend Nancy Pelosi is the one who keeps covering for her. Cause we all know how evil that fake POS is too!! If you really think about it how could a psychologist who never really did anything be so damn powerful and she’s not even a practicing psychologist the last time or licence was updated. If that place were to get investigated they probably get busted for racketeering money laundering All kinds of way out charges. These are facts these are things that I witnessed myself I can’t nobody tell me otherwise and I hate to say this if you’re one of those guys that gives us place a five star rating that you obviously didn’t have any of the “know”that you think you did!!!!!! You’re only upon in her game and you guys thought you were special and that was her intended purpose she used you. Yeah once you actually open your eyes and she was going on there she bans all religions, self-help books, praying anything that shows anything outside of what she’s trying to make you do is completely ridiculed and banned
My name is issiah and I was fortunate enough to be a resident of delancey st from 2008-2010. Delancey street saved my life. I went to delancey street to avoid going to prison, basically to beat time as a lesser of evils. Unbeknownst to me, I was not only beating the initial prison sentence but also avoid a lifetime of prison sentences. I was a lifelong criminal starting at age 15, I was accepted by Delancey at age 32 as a convicted felon who spent more time in jail then out. I always wanted a better life, just didn't know any different. Not as a 3 year graduate, although I fulfilled my 2 year agreement, I took all the tools, knowledge, and wisdom that I acquired from Delancey street and used them in my daily life. I showed up there as a beaten down 3rd Generation alcoholic drug addict who had lost everything again, family included. Since my departure from Delancey street in 2010 : regained my license, which was not easy with 4 dui's and 2 hit and run charges, I got married in 2012, got a great career as a glazier, purchased a home and recently bought a brand new 2018 Silverado ! There's no looking back to sulk in my fails, only to reflect upon then vs now. Thank you Dr. Mimi Silbert for allowing me to reside in your glorious mansion at 600 embarcadero ! Muah ! Delancey street is an undeclared Angel of the hopeless. Delancey saved my life. I'm truly blessed to have been a part of it
Delancey street does not ever, and I mean not EVER scratch the surface of the root causes of addiction. I spent three and a have years there. I was adored and given things I never had before. Until recently I would have harmed anyone that ever spoke out against the president or the moving company or any aspect of this incredible and unstoppable force. I was adored and given the keys to the kingdom. Nothing seemed more important. I was given a woman, a class 1 (now class A) license, responsibilities and stature I had never dreamed possible. My entering Delancey St. In 1986 kept me out of going to prison for a third and final time. You can imagine my dedication to the Queen and her Queendom. When I turned over my bible the day they let me in the guy doing my intake interview said "...even God can't help you now".
Any opportunity to achieve a continuing spiritual awakening was swept away from my live until last August when I came within an inch of killing myself with alcohol.
We're it not for AA and a absolutely wonderful old convict taking me step by step and line by line and even word for word through the AS big book I would be dead. Or worse.
My fear of speaking out against the president or the moving company or any aspect of this incredible and unstoppable force has been removed. My soul has been restored .
It is hard for me to imagine what sort of interesting life the President is living and even more iimportant what in the he'll is she thinking? She is a Doctor. How can she be so blinded to those ten thousand lives she has sent adrift? Where are the tens of millions of dollars that the "residents" earn for the program? Where is the success and how is it quantified?
I can speak on this with some dignity now. The result was my beloved little partner overdosing on pills in 2012, also a beloved graduate, my best friend reduced to a Sat state of addiction and returning to prison not once but twice now, every single solitary one of the people that I know that have left there are either dead or living without a soul.
A psychologist runs this circus and has done so for decades without any consideration whatsoever to the problems she should recognize so very easily.
If I said I pray for her soul to be restored I would be lying. There has to be a soul there to begin with.
Any survivors of the graduate pool please don't give up. There is hope. There is AA and NA...dont be discouraged and please do not give up. I am fighting for my beloved Deirdre and Kert and countless others who have fallen because of the big lie about Delancey street.
And a final note to the Queen..
You should be ashamed of yourself and what you have created.
Steve Wischemann
Delancey Street saves lives, costs the taxpayer exactly $0, costs the resident exactly $0, and teaches valuable job skills in addition to selflessness, community, integrity. OF COURSE IT ISN'T EASY! Of course it sucks to not speak to family for a while (the other reports here are overblown. It is about 30 days before you can write, a few months before calls and about a year until visiting). And let me be clear: If a perspective resident is on the fence, thinking "it WOULD be nice to get free rehab, but I don't know about the two year stay, or not seeing my family for a while" then Delancey Street is NOT FOR THEM. It is designed for people with absolutely no other option. Unless you have medical needs (Delancey has no staff, no doctors, no psychologist, no nurses) then the only requirement for entry is a sincere desire to change. For my money, this is hands down the most work my donation money can possibly do. My time as a resident began as the most difficult period of my life, and ended as the most rewarding, amazing, fulfilling, enlightening and downright fun two years. I entered as a homeless heroine addict and exited as a successful admin, which led to my current executive position. There is literally no other path that could have led me to this point.
A NOTE**I feel that virtually every negative review here is a complaint against the policy that Delancey Street forces residents to temporary sever ties from loved ones. I can't help but think that 90% of these posters were toxic to their drug addicted loved ones anyway, but don't know how/why. You can be the most loving, supportive parent, and still be engaging in enabling or controlling behavior that perpetuates the addicts selfish behavior.
No question : For those facing lengthy prison terms Delancey Street Foundation 's 2 year minimum residential isolating committment is almost...almost a "no brainer" .... there does exist a 16- month "black-out" period w/ no..absolutely NO FAMILY CONTACT.... With that said, it is a decision that needs to be seriously weighed... cuz it is no kicked-back easy residential rehab that one might have pictured... Delancey Street Foundation is not without it's critics and the" self- supported non- government funded" saw one continually reads is baloney considering DSF collects it's residents General Relief Food Stamps eligibility( they qualify for as being "indigent" while a resident at the so-called not- government funded facility) . That's alot of Cheerios at the end of a 2-year stay. There is much help people find at DSF; lifechangeing help; and the pendulum swing the OPPOSITE DIRECTION where some people are quite damaged and it was a not-so -good fit" for their rehabilitation needs. But isn't that life ? Some even whisper the word "cult' in connection to DSF, due to certain methods and approaches DSF utilizes. Overall take the decision to go to DSF as the perhaps the most serious-type of decision; do NOT go if u can't handle not talking to your children for 16 SOLID MONTHS- this is a non-negotiable DSF policy .... and don't go if you think u gonna maybe bounce out because if one is court ordered to DSF... it is nearly unheard-of to not experience the "other place" if u are a splittee outta DSF... Independant thinker? Stay -far- far- far- away from the "hard bench '... find another place ... take Delancey Street Foundation of ur list if you can't handle being on your feet 18 hours a day.
I should have been dead already. I had been arrested on five different occasions for drunken driving. I was drinking a liter of bourbon a day and I knew I was doing it to kill myself slowly. I spent three years in Delancey Street, and during the course of my stay I was helped in rebuilding myself, brick by brick. I was able to look at my reflection in the bathroom mirror only after being there a few months. But I did it. I was imbued with a sense of confidence and self dignity that I had never posessed even in the years prior to my drinking getting out of control. All this happened because a group of people who hardly knew me took the time to keep me on track, and also gave me the motivation to improve myself in all ways. I just found out last week that I passed my certification test for structural welding. And I was reminded of just how far I have come in a relatively short timespan, and how many people had a hand in me getting to where I am. I'm not rich, but I am blessed. Thank you Mimi, Charlotte, Stephanie, Abe, and everyone else who didn't give up on me. I will continue to live my life in a way that will honor your continued commitment to helping people renew themselves.
My name is John Jacobs and,if I was'nt a husband, father and grandfather I would never have left Delancy Street. Because of Delancy Street I am all of the above but better than that, Delancy Street taught me to give a damm...not only about my life but "your's Too"! Since I left Delancy Street I have received my degree from USF and worked at the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic. I have been clean since 1990 and, today I work at the same parole office that, I used to report too. Delancy Street gave me a new life and,a new attitude! For me, Delancy is not just a place but, a way of life that needs to be practiced in every town, village and ghetto in the country or.....the world for that matter. Delancy Street through tough love, taught me to love myself by being honest to myself and others. I also was blessed by the family environment that is Delancy Street. I would like to take time to thank all of the Delancy Street family (the abe's, the terrie's, the charlottes, the dick's and, the ray's, my peers)that helped me change my dippers and fed me until, I was able to feed and change myself! But, more than that, " thank you MIMI for Dugal's input and for, having faith in me. Delancy Street Foundation is not a program..."IT's A WAY OF LIFE'!
I went to Delancey Street in 1994. I was sentenced there instead of 7 yrs. 8 mos. in prison. I stayed for 4 1/2 years. Delancey Street was the best thing that ever happened to me. 3 of my family members have gone there since and we all been given second chances at living a clean life. Since graduating, I have received a Real Estate license and also work for the County of San Mateo for the Director of Alcohol and Other Drug Services. Delancey Street taught me how to live life and give back to the community. I do not think I would be the person I am today if it weren't for Delancey Street. I would do it all again. If I didn't have children I would have to stay toi give back to them for all they gave me.
How can I ever write the appropriate words to express my gratitude towards Delancey Street and all that it stands for? If the world could follow the likes of Delancey Street all the problems could be solved.I came to Delancey Street in 1994 with all of my bridges burned. My family and friends finished with me. All they believed in now was that I was either going to die or spend the rest of my life in prison. Delancey Street saw something different. The residents that were there at the time had been down my road once before and knew that if they believed in me one last time I could be someone..someone they,my family and myself could be proud of. Fifteen years later I have become a mommy, wife, college graduate and the best of all a decent human being who cares about others, myself and the world I live in. Thank you, Delancey Street..thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you have given me. You are a part of me, forever.
hi my name is Robert e Smith i went into delancey street in 1998 i stayed 7 years.I want every one to no they saved my life, i had no where to go no hope of making it, anywhere. with no real job skills. I spent over 14 years an in out of prison.I would all ways go back to the some spot.because i new nothing else, i was on my way back to prison for the 5th time. i went in front of judge bane he is a big believer in helping people. he told me he was feed up with my coming back to his court. he told to get a hold of delancey street for a interview. he said i would probably spend the rest of my life in prison if i did not change. Delancey street came to my rescue told the judge they would take me. after getting there delancey street started working on me they where showing me and telling things about myself i could not see. after seeing these things i new i needed to change them. so i stayed 7 years now i help run moovers inc a company that would not be here without Delancey street we employ around 15 people that are from delancey street included the owener. delancey street is still a big part of my life, they,re still there for me and they allwas will be whenever i need some one to talk to or lean on i call delancey street
Before Delancey Street, I was a broke down drug addict and a burden to society. My family life was a mess. I had nowhere to go and nothing to offer anyone or anything. I had visited Delancey Street and knew in my heart, this was the only place that could give me the help and guidance I so desperately needed. It is strict, structured, and you are not addressed as “poor you, you are a drug addict”. I had been through NA/AA, and working the “steps” were no help. I could get away with way too much by telling them what they wanted to hear and then go out and get loaded immediately after the meetings. I needed to restructure my life with habits like working and social skills. That is what you acquire at Delancey Street. You are also taught to be a decent person, making the right decisions based on a set of basic values that when applied to your life’s situations, will carry you through. I graduated 2+ years ago and am now a productive taxpaying citizen. I have a very rewarding life and my family has been restored. I have formed relationships with people that are more than friendships, they’re family. I owe all I am today to Delancey Street for giving me the opportunity, support, and courage to change my life. Thank you D street family!
I went to Delancey Street as my very last attempt at changing my life. At 35 years of age I had been in prison 5 times, in and out of County Jail a dozen and in 4 treatment programs. I had been going to 12 step programs since I was 19 years of age. I really didn't know if I could change my life. I went knowing I was going to need to stay longer than the mininum 2 years..after all I did not get the way I was in 2 short years. I ended up staying 7 years and in so many ways it was the best 7 years of my life. Because of the skills and the self confidence I was taught while a resident I was able to graduate and obtain a very well paying job in the field of corporate finance. Even with multiple layoffs in this fragile economy I have been retained due to excellent job performance. I owe anything good in my life..especially life itself ..to Delancey street.
I was a resident in Delancey Street for 12 years and the acceptance, love, and support was at times overwhelming. I was addicted to crack and had destroyed everything in my life, and had lost all hope of being able to live a clean and decent life. The interview was personal and revealing and showed who out of my own mouth became..it was the 1st time I had to be honest about myself. The people who interviewed me were not social workers or somebody I could con with the poor me story...they too had been down the same road and could call the bull.I was treated like I was part of a family..and my only admission was to take direction, help others, and don't be afraid to believe in yourself. I knew anything was possible when I learned that the beautiful facility was built by former ex-cons and society's throw aways. I worked hard and gave back to a community that excepted who I was and all the not so nice things I had done to myself and others and was doing it without crack...I started to even like myself again and eventually saw this person I use to know the days of BC (before crack) come back. Thank god there is a place like Delancey Street that will help you get your life back, not glamorize your using, not charge you a dime, teach you job skills, and teach you to become a decent, caring, job having, an asset to your community, tax paying, and all around successful human being. And like anything it doesn't fit everyone but after years of seeing "experts" in the field, AA and NA meetings talking about using and eventually after talking about it so much...after the meeting I would go get loaded....from talking about it so much...hummm just a thought. Thanks to Delancey Street for giving this crack head a reason to live.
As a graduate of Delancey St. in 1988 I truly question how well this so-called program works. See, I was back smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol just one single week after graduating from there. I was a supposedly a somewhat successful resident for 4 long years too! I did everything they told me and did it well. I was not the only one either that immediately went back to drugs and alcohol. Of the 8 or so other residents that graduated around the same time as I did back in 1986, 6 were at least smoking pot and drinking shortly after graduation. One is back in prison for 20 years. Most of the comments on this page suggest high praise for the organization as a whole, but I ask what the long term results are? Have any studies been done on the thousands of graduates at all? Are any records kept on the graduates at all? If not, then why? How are they doing after 1, 3, 5, 10 years later. Does anyone really know? I bet not! All we hear about are the few success stories. The one doctor, the one politician (the founder’s brother), the fireman. Okay now, that’s 3 successful graduates out of 10,000 plus graduates. This is not a success story at all! I contend that all Delancey Street Foundation does is keep criminals out of jail temporarily. Although, I have never been sentence to prison, I have been arrested for DWI/DUI twice since graduating and am constantly struggling with sobriety. Delancey St. never addressed my alcoholism and drug abuse ever, although I was sentence to Delancey St. with over 20 drug charges! As a resident we were forbidden to talk about drugs or alcohol even in the group therapy sessions. All the commenter’s to this thread, all they’ve seen is the nice buildings, the residents working hard at their jobs for almost free, a clean and nicely structured environment, and past felons off the streets learning new trades like basket weaving and furniture moving.
This is my 4th year here at Delancey Street. You only have to stay for two, but you're allowed to stay for longer--I'm actually even applying to stay for two more. I was on my way back to prison for three strikes and a gang coordinator asked, if he could get me some help, would I take it. And I didn't expect it, I didn't have it coming--I spent most of my adult like in jail. I spend one year in a prison program called Choices, and that got me into Delancey Street. Before I got here I just existed, I wasn't really living. Delancey Street opened my eyes to a new way of life. Delancey Street is incredible because they leave all of the segregation out. In prison they split you up--Hispanic, black, white, and in Delancey Street you're just here. They give you the chance to just be yourself. Now, instead of destroying lives, I help make them better. *This review was collected by GreatNonprofits staff and entered on behalf of the reviewer
I’ve lived most of my life in and out of prison form the age of 17 to now. I came to Delancey Street I was just sick and tired of always being in and out of prison, not having any loved ones, the gang life. I never had a job, because I was always in and out of prison. My experience coming here was that I knew that it was going to be tough, because I was going to have to figure out how to relive my life because I’d always been in the system. I learned how not to hate, not to judge someone based on the color of their skin, their gang membership, or what I could take from them. It was hard and it was a struggle, but it was the best thing I’ve done in my entire life. I’m one of the heads of the construction crews here, and I teach the guys how to paint and do projects. I’m also one of the interviewers who comes here and talks the people who want to be in the program. *This review was collected by GreatNonprofits staff and entered on behalf of the reviewer