Family paths Reviews

I called this line to talk about problems with my teenage child, who's been going through severe depression and a period of not speaking for months. This has gone on so long, and of many things that I've tried, books I've read, numbers I've called, nothing has helped. My child is still in the same situation. We are both suffering a lot.

I talked to someone at Family Paths who at least listened, though she didn't have any concrete ideas or solutions. That was maybe a little helpful, at least to be able to talk. Some weeks or months later I called again and spoke to someone else, and the same thing happened. It's possible that I called a third time (can't remember), but this is over the course of maybe 12 months or more.

About a month and a half or more went by, and still no solution. So I called again.
This time, I got someone named Olga on the line. I 'd never spoken to her before.

I started to explain the problem to her.
Suddenly she cut me off. "Is your son planning to move out?" she asked abruptly.
"No. Do you know how expensive it is to rent around here? He's a teenager. He doesn't have that much money. Why're you asking?" "Because", she said, "you're a frequent caller, and you just go on and on about the same problem, over and over again!"

OMG. This is the way they treat the people who call needing help with a crisis/problem? I couldn't believe she was treating me like this.

I said "Frequent caller? The last time I called was a month and a half ago or probably more. I never talked to you before Olga. What do you, count the times we call and put a limit on them?"

Then she asked, "What's the goal of your call?" The goal of my call? Well obviously, it would be good to find some solutions to this problem. Talking can be a way to do that, if you talk to the right person. But this is obviously not the right person! She doesn't even want to hear you. I said something like, "Well, look, this is causing me lots of frustration and stress. People need to talk about their problems. It even causes insomnia, and that could cause an accident and I could kill people or myself. I need someone to talk to. Isn't that the point of your line?"

She said something about "needing to keep the line open for people to call in". I said, "I AM a person calling in. I need to talk about this problem." She said something about me calling in too much, and not having time to talk to me since they needed the line open. I'm a person with a serious problem, trying to get some help, and she is refusing me. She had a rude, nasty attitude to boot. She said, "I have to keep this line open for other callers" (I wonder how many people call in per day--she had a live person right there, but had to cut me off "just in case" someone else were to call in). "You can have five minutes to talk." OMG!

I said, "If you are going to be that rude to me I don't wish to talk to you" and hung up.

That's it for this organization. They are unprofessional, uncaring, judgmental, and just plain Nasty. I just couldn't believe what she was saying to me.

Also, it is strange and creepy she knew I'd called before, and what I'd talked about, even though she'd never spoken to me. It looks like they record the calls, without telling you (no one ever told me I was being taped) and then play them to the other counselors. It is ILLEGAL to record callers without telling them you're doing so, and on a line that deals with personal, sensitive information like this, it's outrageous.

Don't they train these people to have any sensitivity at all? I guess not. They can just pick up the phone and be as rude as they like to you.

I love this place. They are always there when you need them

Family Paths is one of the best non-profit organizations in the Bay Area. It is inclusive and diverse with a great mission. The upper management is very approachable and supportive.