Daytop New Jersey

I was sent to Daytop in 1998 by my mother. I had just graduated from high school with honors and was on my way to University. My mom was and still is deeply mentally ill. Yes, I drank and smoked weed, but the other kids at daytop were IV heroin addicts and felons at 13-17years old! The staff would get 3 inches from my face and literally SCREAM at me. I tried to tell them about the abuse I had suffered at home but they laughed, called me a liar and said I needed to”drop my guiit” ( code for persecuting a CHILD for anything they did wrong). I left that facility with scars that have never really healed. I hear they are shutting down. Good. I wouldn’t send a rabid dog there, much less a child.

There is no supervision over the teenagers. The staff does not watch the children, they are left alone. My loved one went in to get better and has gotten worse from being here.

Daytop, in my opinion, was a waste of time only because (like most teenagers there) had no choice but to go. At the time I was placed in daytop, I was not ready to go. Your stay there is what you make it. If you are honest with yourself and others you will get the help you need out of Daytop. I can honestly say it has helped me over come some battles in life such as ways to cope and relationships with family members. Addiction wise, I was unable to seek the help in such ways. Food was great, we were usually able to chose what we wanted for meals and sometimes help the chefs cook. The School helped me get back on track with my grades and overall some staff were just amazing. Daytop was a huge part of my life that I will never forget. Thankyou all!

Daytop is a great program that saved my life. Without Daytop, I would not have realized how bad my addiction was and I would not have learned the coping skills to manage it. The food wasn't great, but it wasn't bad. Some of the kids who are there do not want to be there so they can make it hard to focus on what you need to do but if you do then Daytop can help you

I really wish I could some how warm every single person about this place. This was basically like a fake rehab that everyone was in. We learned absolutely nothing about addiction. There was many times I had to beg to get out of the house to go to a NA or AA meeting, but sometimes there just wasn’t enough staff. Children ran away almost every day & the weekends were probably the worst. There is absolutely nothing to do making you really want to use drugs your entire stay here. The kids out of school would mainly sit in what people callled a basement all day long and wait for the kids in school to get out of school to just do the same exact thing. You would get written up for “J walking” which is walking anywhere without staff, but with there being nothing to do... kids went absolutely crazy. You barely ever get a phone call unless you beg. The food was a step up from prision food. There was many nights I would go to bed hungry. One time for a snack we got 2 graham crackers each. Some staff members were awesome (the ones who tried their best to get us out and doing things). Other than that I would definitely send your child to another place that will actually teach them about addiction and not just keep them caged like animals!