Royal Palms Rehab House Charged With Intimidation And Abuse
Posted by MICHAEL ST. JOHN on Jul 8, 2007 - 12:05:00 AM
HELLO AMERICA! FastRide Entertainment Productions is currently preparing a documentary on L.A. rehab houses. There have been numerous reports of abuse and inhuman treatment from those who have sought help, support and aide. The focus of the documentary is a rehab house located in downtown Los Angeles called Royal Palms. There, allegedly, former drug and alcohol addicts screen and structure a system in which an addict might be able to control his or her disease and, hopefully, feel secure enough to survive in a normal way. Unfortunately, because there is no professional staff at the Royal Palms, the place has a dark glow of being managed and run by minor mobsters. Their technique in assisting the residents includes threatening, abuse and intimidation. The staff in charge are not qualified to render any kind of professional counseling, which a resident may need in order to lead him in the direction of recovery. It seems that the main purpose of the Royal Palm staff is to maintain their respective paid positions and make sure their contributions from various community and private sources are not in danger. The men who sign into Royal Palms, as residents, face verbal abuse, ‘hood’ type language and are made to feel less than human. The staff that includes men named Juan, Albert and a guard-dog type known as Dallas, all of whom can easily pass for shady characters in a trite, extremely bad Hollywood B movie. Characters who get their kicks by abusing and destroying whatever dignity and pride a resident might have. One addict, who was recently thrown out of the house states, “At times, it was worse than the street life that many of us were forced to face each day we woke up,” “The staff yelled, swore at you, attempted to destroy whatever self respect you had left as a man or a human being. No matter what, you are never believed. Just because you were there, it was taken for granted that anything you said was a lie – you are considered trash, a nothing. You were just a body that could be claimed to keep the contributions coming from whatever source they depend on to stay business.” Several residents of Royal Palms stated that many of the rooms are filthy; the resident bedroom floors are terrible, mainly because of garbage that continues to overflow from the bad plumbing which seeps into every room of the rehab location. Cockroaches and bugs infest the kitchen. It was not unusual to spot fleas and other invading vermin crawling from the food bins. Nothing is being done about it. Food left out for hours was a common practice. There was no asserted effort to deal with sanitation issues. The staff in charge, gave the impression they didn’t care, after all they were getting paid. The job at Royal Palms represented the only power they had ever enjoyed. FastRide Productions’ Vice President, Richard Carson, stated that the documentary film project was inspired by Michael Moore who has made millions of Americans aware of political and social issues that affect their lives. The point is that there are rehab houses that do more damage to human life than anything else. The documentary will focus on the Mary Lynd Foundation that allocates funds not only for Royal Palms but for Rena B and Bimini rehabilitation houses, as well. “The film will, no doubt, be quite a social eye opener, in the Los Angeles area. It is obvious that the wrong people are in charge,” Carson noted Thank you for all the calls and messages concerning the column. I have been extremely busy working on a workshop-showcase theatre center in the Los Angeles area. It has been an extraordinary and energizing creative endeavor, one we are hoping that will open doors for those gifted persons who are ready to meet the challenge as artists
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