Complaint Review: Spokane Dream Center

 Wanted to respond to the comment saying there was no transitional help for the Spokane dream center graduates. Since the time of the comment there has been for a couple years now help for transitional that goes beyond the program originally they are helped but there was no housing available after the program. The graduate was supposed to work on finding a job and transitioning into there own home. For the last couple years now there is transitional apartments for the graduates to get help during the transition time. There is also regular graduate get togethers and a weekly bible study support group for the graduates to attend if they choose. As far as becoming part of the congregation that’s up to the graduate as in any church setting it can be hard to make friends sometimes. I know I personally struggled myself but it had nothing to do with the program or the staff. I hope this is helpful and sometimes some people are called to serve and move and be apart of another congregation just because you complete the program doesn’t mean you have to stay at that church. This program changed my life I’m still connected even though I no longer live in the area. I highly reccomend it and talk to the leadership yourself.

 I WAS NEVER RIPPED OFF! With all due respect to the complainer I have been a proud graduate from the Spokane Dream Center Men's Discipleship program since 2012.  The program is great and it helped me get my life together and my heart right with God. My only issue with the Spokane Dream Center Church is that there is no follow up for the disciples after they leave the discipleship house. After moving out of the discipleship house and into My own apartment, I attended the Spokane Dream Center for 2 years seriously trying to become a member and doing everything that I was taught to do including the tithe, but I was never accepted into the congregation no matter what I did. So I have prayed and I felt that I needed to move forward. To this day I am still doing good and now attend another church.

We write concerning a posting on your website, ripoffreport.com, specifically the posting by  one Terry from Fairfield, WA on December 23, 2014.

As the attorney for the organization concerned, I want to draw your attention to the false information that is included in this posting that has no basis in fact. We request that you take down the report or give this response the same prominence you gave the initial report posted on December 23, 2014 by Terry from Fairfield, Washington, without any charge to us.

First, the posting on your website, ripoffreport.com was not written by a person who has firsthand knowledge of the facts. Second, many of the issues regarding policy raised by Terry from Fairfield, WA are addressed in the Requirements and Procedures for the program referenced and the nonprofit Discipleship House rules. The Requirements and Procedures are covered when a woman initially inquires about the program as well as during the initial intake procedure. The House Rules are thoroughly covered when a woman decides to enter the discipleship program so she knows what to expect and most of all that it is her choice to remain. This is a voluntary program.

I will address the facts as they are laid out in her initial posting. Let us move on to the first statement:

1. “The Discipleship Program encouraged her to sign her rights to her child over to another couple in the church.”

FALSE. The woman referenced in the article as ‘her’ or ‘my niece’, when she voluntarily entered the discipleship program decided that she did not want her child to live with her mother (the child’s grandmother) for several reasons including that she was a ‘drinker’. Her child who was, and still is, 11 years old, did not want to go and live with her grandmother.

The child and mother had been attending our church for several years prior to the woman entering the discipleship program. The couple where she is currently residing has been attending the church since December of 2012. But in May 2014, the couple and the child and mother were introduced at a barbecue hosted by another couple from the church. Subsequently, the child and mother started attending a ‘home group’ (Bible study group) at the couple’s house for two to three months prior to the mother entering the discipleship program.

The couple, where the child is staying, is certified by the state of Washington as foster parents. They agreed to have the child stay with them at no charge so that the child’s mother could enter the discipleship program.

On Friday, August 15, 2014, the mother entered the discipleship program and on Sunday, August 17, 2014, the grandmother called the police about the couple having her grandchild living with them and claimed that the child had been living with the couple for two months, which is false, as it had been only two days, and there are records to substantiate this. The police contacted CPS (Child Protective Services) and See Vue (CPS worker) after reviewing the situation agreed that this home was a good place for the child to be.

The mother was not encouraged to sign over her rights to her child at any time. In fact, CPS took over the oversight of the child after the grandmother contacted the police. Subsequently, weekly supervised visits with the mother were arranged, with the church bearing all the transportation expenses and the staff time to get her to and from these visits.

2. “They then removed her from her Section 8 housing so she lost part of her financial support system.”

FALSE. When the mother entered the discipleship program, she was renting a two-bedroom apartment under Section 8 housing. Because the child was living with her, she qualified for a two-bedroom apartment. The mother continued to pay the rent on her apartment at the same time she was in the discipleship program and also had a large unpaid Avista bill that she was paying off as well as well as other debt. The mother continued to pay the rent on this apartment every month while she was in the discipleship program.

The mother’s lease was due to expire toward the end of December. The CPS worker, See Vue, notified the landlord that the child was no longer in the mother’s custody. So according to the policy of the apartment building where she lived, the mother would no longer qualify for a two-bedroom apartment since the child was not living with her.

When she (the mother) left the discipleship program, she returned to live in her apartment where she had been living prior to her entry into the discipleship program, August 15, 2014.  The most current information we have heard is that the woman is moving into a different apartment in another apartment building near her mother (the child’s grandmother).

3. “She gave money to them but I don't know how much.”

FALSE, she did not pay program fees. During the time the woman was in the program, she paid NO program fees. The program staff encouraged her to use her money to pay her outstanding bills and debt, as well as keeping her rent current, so that when she graduated from the program she would have no debt. Church members as well as participants are encouraged to tithe (it is encouraged in the Bible) but it is up to each individual whether or not they choose to tithe. In this case, the woman did tithe from her income approximately $400 over a three month period. When she left the program, the woman left with approximately $1,200 or more of cash in her possession and two months worth of food stamps on her food card. Also upon leaving the program, she was given all the receipts from her purchases including rent and storage payment, a pet deposit for her mother, Avista bill, tithe payments, etc. The discipleship program policy is that if a woman has an income, financial means, she pays 30% of her income to help defray the costs of the program. But in this case, because of the large amount of debt she had, she paid NO program fees during her entire stay. The staff encouraged her to pay her bills and any other funds spent were for discretionary items by the mother.

4. “After entering the program she was taken off all of her psychotropic medications in favor of being healed by Jesus.”

FALSE.When a person makes an inquiry about coming into the discipleship program with the initial phone call, they are told it is a faith-based, one-year discipleship program and that no drugs/alcohol/smoking are allowed. Another question that is asked is whether they are taking medications because we do not have the trained staff to monitor anti-psychotic medications. It is expected that the potential disciple would be detoxed before coming into the program.

In this particular situation, when the woman entered the program, she had some prescription bottles with her that included psychotropic medication. The woman informed the staff when she entered the program that she had not been taking her prescribed medication instead she had been using illegal drugs. It was ‘her’ choice to enter the program, she voluntarily decided to stay, we can’t and don’t ‘make’ them stay if they don’t want to be there. The woman decided not to take her prescribed medication during her time there and had not been taking before entering the discipleship program, according to what the woman told staff members. When the woman left the program, she did not take her medication with her.

5. “This was followed by isolation of all family, no phone calls, no visits, (unless you went to church to see her and then you couldn't sit with her).”

FALSE. It is standard operating procedure (SOP) in any treatment program to have an initial 30-day blackout period. Many addicts suffer more in the hand of “enablers”- Moms, Dads, uncles, grandparent’s et al., who provide money, drugs and alcohol that feed the addiction. If such contacts are not immediately severed, recovery is difficult. We follow the same procedure for program participants to get settled in to the schedule and expectations of the program. After the 30-day period, the privileges are relaxed as the prior enabling environment would have been sufficiently nipped and participants strong enough to refuse any overtures or pressures to use any illicit drug. In this case, her mom (the child’s grandmother) came to church and sat with her during the service. Also, three days a week there was CPS-supervised visits with her child with the church staff providing transportation at the church’s expense; there was no charge to the mother for this service. So according to the ‘facts’, she was not isolated, in fact, family interaction was encouraged between the mother and her child, and the woman and her own mother (the child’s grandmother).

6. “She was isolated with "quiet time" and "verbal fasts".”

FALSE. When there are behavioral issues by a participant, for example, refusal to follow basic instructions and being verbally argumentative, and language that is offensive or destructive to herself or others, the Discipleship staff may use ‘quiet time’ to give the participant some time to calm down, but she is not ‘isolated.’

When speech is argumentative and inflammatory, it affects the whole household, and a person may be asked to refrain from speaking, (‘verbal fast’) but is allowed to ask basic questions when needed. The intention is not to be a punishment but rather to assist a person in controlling their verbal outbursts.

In this situation, the woman was not isolated; in fact, even during her ‘verbal fast’ she was included in community activities and snacks, and encouraged to participate with others at the discipleship house. The staff was working with her to change her perspective about herself and replace the negative self-talk, with a positive outlook, and also community involvement in the household rather than her tendency toward self-isolation.

7. “Her mother warned them not to take her off her medications because she could not live normally without them. In spite of the warnings they went forward with their belief that Jesus would heal her. The result could be anticipated.”

Please see the response to #4. We have no apology for believing in Jesus. We are a faith based program and not a secular treatment program. We do not hide this fact in any of our communication. It is conspicuously posted on our website. Many graduates of our program are available all of the country, they can testify about the program. Again this program is completely voluntary. If ‘she’ decided to stop taking her prescription medication, it was not at the insistence of the discipleship staff. We are not a secular detox program. According to ‘her’ own admission, she was ‘off her meds’ prior to coming into the program and hadn’t been taking them for some time. Even when she left the discipleship program, the woman did not ask for her medication because she had not been taking it even prior to entering the program.

8. “My niece had enough presence of mind to walk away from the treatment center to a week inpatient mental treatment.”  

There were actual two attempts at leaving the discipleship program in December 2014. The first time was Wednesday, December 3, 2014 after she had received her check and the woman wanted to walk away. She packed her bag to leave and called a cab that morning, sometime after 9 am. She arrived at the couple’s house where the child was staying around 9:45 am and was incoherent at that time. (Note: When the CPS worker, found out about her leaving the discipleship program, he gave her a drug test.) By 11:00 am, the woman had called the Director of the program and asked if she could return to the discipleship program. The Director agreed to take her back, and the woman re-entered the program later that same day.

The second attempt, and the final departure from the discipleship program, was December 9, 2014, after her CPS-supervised visit with her child. During the course of the visit, the woman said she was ill and needed to go to the hospital. An ambulance was called to take her to the Hospital, and the only staff that was present was asked to remove herself from the area when the ambulance arrived. The Discipleship Director was contacted by the hospital staff, and subsequently, the woman was only given antibiotics for her illness but no other medication. She was not suicidal and was not given any of her previously prescribed medications. The woman returned to her apartment and did not re-enter the discipleship program.

At the end of that week, she was admitted to a mental health hospital. The woman was discharged in less than a week and during that time did not have any CPS-supervised visits with her child.   

9. “She is home now staying with her mother. She is not stable and it will be a long time until she is stabilized medically.”

            FALSE. The doctor at the hospital did not find her to be suicidal and she was discharged from mental health facility in less than a week. Medical professionals appear to have concluded that she was ‘stabilized medically’ or else she would still be at a mental health facility. This is a diagnosis that could only be substantiated by a medical or mental health professional, not by a layman.

10. Then to isolate a mentally ill person further by subjecting them to verbal fasts and quiet time (sometimes all night long) is not what my niece needed at all.

FALSE. The housing accommodations are such that each person has a roommate. In reference to the ‘sometimes all night long’, nighttime is normally when people are expected to be sleeping rather than awake, and even if she was awake, her roommate would have been in the room sleeping as well. If there was a specific need and she needed help, basic questions could be asked.  Consequently, she was not isolated and alone all night as stated above. And as was stated in #6 she was actually encouraged to be a part of the community rather than isolated.

11. “There is no physician on site!”

TRUE. If medical services are needed, the staff will make every effort to get the participants connected to a physician or emergency medical treatment as soon as possible. Since this is not a secular detox program, there is not a physician on site. We do not advertise the program as a secular medical facility.

As you can see in this outline refuting the statements made by “Terry of Fairfield, Washington”, her appraisal of the situation is inaccurate and harmful to out organization since it is contrary to the truth.

We request that you take down the report or give this response the same prominence you gave the initial report posted on December 23, 2014 by Terry from Fairfield, Washington, without any charge to us.