A family member attended Clear Haven Center Christmas 2009 in the good faith of dealing with an addiction. A very nice lady named Dianne received the calls, answered questions and was very encouraging to the process. She let us know that there is a 5% discount if the program is paid for in full by certified check. My family paid for flights to Montreal to see my family member off properly and made to sign a slew of papers upon arrival. Even so, we trusted that he would be able to get the best help possible here. He entered detox for 5 days, and was moved into the program at Clear Haven.
My brother was on day 10 of a 90 day program when at 9:30am EST theC Center announced that they were closing and everyone had to be out by 10am. Quebec police were on hand to ensure there was no problems. ALL the clients, consisting mostly of addicts recovering from opiates, cocaine, and oxycotin (prescription drugs) were put out into the Quebec winter and handed cash money if there was any left by the family for their monthly allowance. It's a very irresponsible thing to do as a rehabilitation center: to hand a recovering addict their left over meds and cash money then drop them off in Montreal. Most of the clients were also from out of town, many from the US, and not fortunate enough to have money in a monthly allowance.
My brother described a patient that had just entered and was being weaned off Methadone. He was in very bad shape when they kicked him out of the Center into the cold. Some clients were only days away from graduating from the program and receiving their certificates (necessary for court in some cases) and others had only just entered the center.
My family lost $19965 due to the sudden closure, not including flights that were bought by the family to take my brother to the center. I was advised that we would probably never see our money again from another rehab center in Quebec that knew the owner. I found out through the Quebec police that they will be declaring bankruptcy.in this situation, information is usually posted on the website.instead, the website has been suddenly taken down. No warning was given to the clients and / or the families, even to give everyone a chance to purchase flights or find alternate solutions.
It's pretty disgusting to take advantage of recovering addicts and their families at this most fragile time. The money taken and not refunded by Clear Haven Center at this time, now makes it almost impossible for the family to pay for treatment at another facility. This is not to even touch on the mental and emotional well being of recovering addicts, that now loose trust in seeking help for their drug abuse.
We looked at the next possible center so that my brother could continue his therapy as seamlessly as possible... And found Narconon. We almost sent him there, but upon further research, found out they are a front for the Church of Scientology and are pretty much a cult. I'm surprised there is no Canadian standard of rehab centers which are licensed to administer drug and psychological therapy. Are rehabilitation centers required to be license?
I don't know what legal action can be taken to a business that now no longer answers any answer, faxes or emails (when before Dianne was ALWAYS available) If you are a lawyer and can help in this matter, please contact me!!!
I would also like the families that have also fallen victim to this sudden closure to band together and pursue a law suit against this.
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