My experience at Harmony Oaks has been deeply disturbing, and I feel the need to share the truth…read morebecause the public image this facility tries to project is completely inaccurate.
During my 64 days in treatment, I was moved an average of every 12 days. That kind of instability makes it impossible to focus on recovery or feel safe. I reported multiple times that my roommate was misusing substances, but nothing was done until she ended up on a ventilator. Controlled substances also went missing from the safe, with no explanation given. The response was "maybe they were sent to be destroyed," but that is not protocol, and it left me with no trust in how medications are handled.
Clients are regularly used as free labor instead of the facility properly managing operations. I personally put about 400 miles on my truck, made dump runs, and even fixed plumbing that saved the facility hundreds of dollars--all while being charged rent and while insurance was being billed. Instead of addressing unsafe or unsanitary conditions, clients are pushed to do the work. That is exploitation, not treatment.
Staff frequently violate HIPAA laws by openly sharing information about other clients that I should never have been privy to. If they're speaking so freely about others, there's no reason to believe my own private information isn't being shared as well. The integrity of this establishment has completely diminished.
They are also short staffed because therapists are quitting under the weight of unmanageable caseloads. When I signed up, substance abuse and mental health clients were separated--but now, due to the lack of staff, all cases are blended together. This has only worsened everyone's mental health.
The housing director in particular is unprofessional. She sent me and other female clients multiple pictures of her engagement photos, talked about her 4.5k engagement ring, and openly made housing a social environment centered around her personal life instead of the clients' recovery. With her and her husband both working for the company, it raises real questions about where the rent and insurance money is going, especially when clients are living in deplorable housing conditions.
There are also ongoing issues of clients engaging in sexual relationships within housing--something that has been ignored instead of addressed, creating unsafe and unhealthy dynamics. I was threatened multiple times by other clients and instead of being protected, I was threatened with being moved when I had done nothing wrong.
Seeing staff post on Facebook about how they "won't be a punching bag" while clients are literally treated as punching bags--pushed around, unheard, exploited, and disrespected--only adds insult to injury. The reality behind the scenes is nothing like the image they try to promote.
Harmony Oaks needs to be held accountable for their practices. Clients come here at their most vulnerable, paying rent and insurance with the hope of getting help. Instead, they are met with instability, unsafe conditions, privacy violations, and a lack of true therapeutic support. This place does far more harm than good.