Amity Foundation of California - Vista, California

Naha J.

This place has a beautiful setting & outdoor environment however the “inside” is the major problem. Administration/Management is petty, unprofessional, geared by emotions & I can go on & on! If you or your loved one is a “lifer” GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!!! This place is mentally, emotionally & physically triggering to even the MOST PATIENT PEOPLE!!! This is NOT THE PLACE! The management here plays with people’s emotions, they dangle livelihood & threats of “calling PO” due to them being in the wrong & lifers actually fighting for what they are entitled to. Admin has a motto of stating blatantly “sometimes we say no to see your reaction & how you take it”.

Admin is a small group of people who forgot where they came from! Forgot the struggle & now have “a small amount of power” that they use to their advantage.

My initial written complaint was to the facility itself, that’s WAS A BIG MISTAKE!!!! They took it out on my husband; retaliating against him! I have since filed several & MAJOR COMPLAINTS against this nonprofit & I will continue doing so until they learn to treat people the WAY THEY ADVERTISE THEY DO! This nonprofit foundation receives funding & donations to treat people poorly, hide drug & alcohol use, & misuse your resource to people who actually need it. I am sure none of their stakeholders are aware of the truth!

If you believe my review to be something it is not besides 100% honest reply to my review & I’ll send you my husband’s contact info for his 1st hand experience! This place is ran like prison, judgmental like prison, favoritism towards people who allow staff to gain; let alone the drugs, alcohol & everything else swept under the rug to “keep a positive image”! TRUST ME WHEN I SAY THIS IS NOT THE PLACE FOR YOUR LOVED ONE COMING OUT OF PRISON AFTER SPENDING SO MANY YEARS!!!!

audrey W.

I was impressed with how kind everyone was .The staff as well as the employees. It was very serene, and quiet. The grounds were very beautiful. I saw many different kinds of plants that I have never see before . I am impressed with my Son’s progress, especially how fast he picked up with using the cell phone which he had never used before! He is being eased back into society very well with their help and guidance. I am truly grateful to them. I highly recommend this facility. You will not be disappointed.

robert J.

Upon entering the establishment everything & everyone seems okay. You’re happy to be free after serving decades behind a wall. The enjoyment will be short lived because most individuals who come to aAmity are expecting to start looking for a job, Iike me, or start working immediately after you are released, including spending time with family & loved ones. That’s not gonna happen! You won’t be allowed to go to work or look for a job for sixty days, while you’re forced to sit in groups from 9:30a.m until 2:30 or 3:00 p.m. .
These groups don’t teach you anything whatsoever nor does the faculty cause no one there is certified to do so. You’re dealing with ex drug addicts, alcoholics & a few ex lifers who have lost their way, who act like correctional officers. Lifers who are recovering addicts will be triggered to using again because of the high drug usage at Amity that goes unreported. The constant verbal disrespect & being told to treat the place as if you were still in prison is something that will trigger you back into be a violent person. There’s no help there & the administration is only out for the money in which they make off of you. When it comes to spending time with your family, reconnecting with your loved ones, that’s not important or something that the administration is empathetic towards nor understanding of. There’s this picture painted as if this is a living community you are to be involved with; but what type of community rejects a person from spending time with his loved ones? While they make a “community “ member sleep in a tent outside in the cold, in the middle of winter when it’s raining? Visits are once every other week while in prison you can get them, Friday Saturday & Sunday. Every other week you’re allowed to go spend time with your family, girl or whoever, that’s if the administration doesn’t feel like saying “no just to see what type of response they’ll get from you”. Holidays, you’re forced to spend them at the ranch, not out with your family whom you worked hard to get to.
It’s a beautiful place but the people who run are evil, non-understanding, not empathetic & not the place for lifers who are ready to begin a life. It’s ran as if you are still in prison. Frustrating, triggering & non compassionate towards individuals who spent decades behind a wall is what you receive at Amity. And don’t try to file a complaint cause you can’t due to the CCPOA like process they run. Nothing in their hand book is true plus it vague, & outdated. If you do file a complaint administration will tag team against you, like CO’s do, & attempt to force you to leave. If you rightfully disagree with administration, meaning Rhonda Hall, she immediately jumps on the phone calling your PO to create conflict & threaten your livelihood. Rhonda Hall is the director of Amity, Rhonda is only on your side if you either entertain her flirtatious ways or have sex with her as is one of the lifers there. Then & only then will you be allowed to do as you please without being questioned. I was just recently at Amity (11/2023 to 03/13/24), as a Lifer & this is a first hand experience at Amity Vista Ranch. I’m extremely happy to be out of there! If you are a lifer don’t put yourself through this mental torture

Richard G.

I spent 90 days on this beautiful property and learned more about myself than I can express with words; The atmosphere is clearly the end result of strategy and love , the caliber of their effectiveness is a result of the employees of Amity . I couldn't of prayed for more and am forever grateful to the staff for making a good situation absolutely amazing. Truly the best group of people I will ever meet ,they are my
Family

Mike A.

My son ended up at Amity in Vista as a last chance or back to prison again. I was sure he would run, again. On the 3rd day, he called me and said he liked it. He was going to start some schooling and he was going to stay. I was impressed with the few staff I met and the peaceful environment. It’s still too soon to know how this story will end, but Amity has given me hope where I only had despair. Thank you!

Antonio P.

I am an allumni from 1997. And I have been out of prison sense then. Amity was an integral part of me not going back to prison, before that i was in a cycle of in and out , over and over. Then i enrolled in Amity at Donovan prison. The groups and support was a way of venting out in a safe environment. I thank God, and i thank all the staff at Amity.

Jose D.

Being here i realized that recovery or individual progress has much more to do with the person then it does with a 12 step program. The people here of authentic and of high caliber ; with genuine input and feed back and my only hope is that i can reciprocate the same.

John H.

I went to this place in 2004 when I paroled out of solidad..
I've been out and working at the same job ever since..I owe alot to the program.
You have to be honest with yourself and put the work in..
If you do that it will work for you..