My Nonprofit Reviews

Most of the following reviews are either 5 stars or 1 star with good reason. The 5 star reviews are written by successful graduates. The one star reviews are written by people who washed-out of the program due to problems of their own making. In fact, 2 graduates of RVC who read through these reviews, know many of the individuals who wrote them and said those individuals failed to work the program and were responsible for the their own failures.
My son was an addict for 8 years before he went to Recovery Ventures (RVC). He had already been through 6 other rehab programs. Most were short-term, 30-120 days programs. However, one of those programs was a therapeutic community program like RVC; he was at the latter,very large program twice for a total of 35 months. RVC is much smaller in size and that small size means each resident's attitudes & behaviors are common knowledge. Residents cannot feel like they are lost in the crowd. Similarly, any transgressions are noted immediately.
Many of the complaints written by the following people who gave RVC one star reflect an ignorance of what comprises a therapeutic community. If they had done their homework before entering, they would have known that therapeutic communities are characterized by:
1. Very long work days (there is NO fee for the program and the work done by residents pays for their clothing, food, shelter, and transportation to work sites. Also, if residents are exhausted, they have less time to think about alcohol or drugs.)
2. Very strict rules that may seem arbitrary (the whole point is to teach addicts to follow life rules that may make little sense to them, just as rules in society may make little sense to many of us.)
3. Chores at the site itself (teaching addicts important life skills such as caring about where they live & assuming responsibility to keep their residences clean & orderly.)
4. All vestiges of their previous lives are stripped away at the beginning (Yes, applicants are asked to bring new clothing but those items are donated to the general clothing supply; residents must select from clothing donated by other residents or outside organizations.)
5. "Therapy" is peer-based not provided by a licensed therapist.
6. AA & Nar-Anom meetings are not required. Not all addicts respond well to the AA approach
7. Residents must work through a step-by-step plan with more freedom and off-site internships only allowed after the resident successfully accomplishes prior steps.
8. Residents graduate with work skills and experience in their fields from their internships.
My son has been clean for over 3 years and is happily working 40 hours a week at a job he learned at RVC.
I heartily recommend RVC to all addicts who are truly committed to cleaning up their acts and becoming healthy, happy members of society.