Second Chance Hayward Recovery Center

I voluntarily started going to 2^nd Chance starting last Jan. (2015) for alcohol/​drug abuse and depression. Upon reaching the office window, I felt put at ease immediately. I was given an orientation which took minutes and attended my first meeting. The meetings are conducted by ex-​addicts/​alcoholics in recovery who have gone to school to get a formal education in chemical dependency and mental health issues. State mandated regulations keep the groups to a maximum of 12 people so everyone gets personal attention. Addicts helping addicts is VERY powerful but, personally I’m not a big fan of 12-​step because of «no cross-​talk». This place actually encourages cross talk. I quit drinking in Feb., had a relapse or 2 and have been sober 170 days as of this writing.
I credit 2^nd Chance (including their clients) for my sobriety. The love one feels when they enter this place is amazing. The fact that I am not only sober but turned my life around is nothing short of ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. My g/​f and I have the best relationship we’ve ever had. My 28 and 30 yr. old daughter’s and ex-​wife invited me up to Medford Or. because of my sobriety and have invited me back for Thanksgiving. (No longer being an addict/​drunk, I could afford to actually buy the airline tickets last week)
In short, 2^nd Chance not only helped me get sober, they helped me to look inward and figure out some things out about myself. I give them credit for not only saving my life but making me a better person and will be eternally grateful to them.

This place is a joke. I have been accused by my ex of using drugs so I decided to do voluntary drug testing. This place is supposed to work for you and part of their services that you pay them for is to confirm with the court your testing with them. THEY WILL NOT DO MORE THEN JUST GIVE YOU A PIECE OF PAPER THAT YOU COULD’VE TYPED UP YOURSELF. If the court has any questions for them, you are totally out of luck. DO NOT GO TO THIS CRAPPY PLACE. There is a wonderful place in Hayward that is top notch and will go to any lengths to help you, it is called Terra Firma on Mission blvd.. AGAIN, DO NOT GO TO SECOND CHANCE.

This is the place that I go to to finish my Court-​ordered 52-​weeks of Domestic non-​Violence classes. These are ridiculous that I have to take them to begin with, but since that is a long story that has no part of this review, I will leave that out.
The recovery center is full of people. Way too many people, IMHO. Second Chance, Inc. just downsized, so they closed a few of their locations and consolidated them into other centers, and this makes for a very cramped, almost claustrophobic feeling being inside. Since I am not Court-​ordered to take their outpatient drug recovery program, I only attend the Abstinence Support Groups because I feel like it. They used to be decent and give a place for people to connect and check in with one another. The format has changed since they reconsolidated, and I don’t like the new format and their dismissal of check-​ins now.
It also depends on your counselor. I think I have one of THE BEST counselors there, Tommy B., because he goes the distance to actually advocate for me and help me out when I need it when it comes to dealing with my Probation Officer or whatever. He’s helped sign me up for the cheapest rate I’ve ever seen for these classes, which is what draws me to this Center to begin with: their pricing.
Most DV (or DnV) 52-​week classes are $ 20 a WEEK, or on a sliding scale can be anywhere from $ 10-​$ 30 a WEEK, which is a LOT OF MONEY. But they have (I am not sure if they still offer this program, but they did when I enrolled in May 2009) a payment plan for those on a fixed income and can’t afford that kind of cheese to pay the rats. I only pay $ 10 a MONTH for my classes, which is awesome. No other place in the ENTIRE REGION that I contacted which is Court-​Accredited has that low of a price, which is why I moved to the City of Hayward just so I can be close to their Hayward Center.
I don’t think the instructor who runs the DnV class has much training or knows what she is doing. She basically sits and doesn’t have much structure or format to any of the classes, so if the number of females in my class gets low, it gets really boring. But when the number gets really high, then I feel like I don’t get to ever express what I need to talk about then either. So you just can’t win there. Plus we have no real work, and they are very unforgiving of any absences that should be considered «excused» — which they say they do have (excused absences, that is).
There is no homework or real work at all. It’s a big boring 2 hours of time that feels like I’ve been going to forever and will never finish. I am so tired of this class. I just really think they could do a much better job and really teach us something in the class, like how to control our anger and how to find out why we are so angry and why we get into abusive relationships to begin with. The instructor just doesn’t go that deep. She seems to weekly pick one person to pick on, or really just talk over and be dismissive of. I don’t like it.
So it’s a good program price-​wise, and the counseling is great, but it’s a program that has recently changed, and not for the better. And their Court classes, eh. I don’t know if the men’s classes are better or different, but in the womens’ class, we use the mens’ text book, written for men, as if they are the same: men and women — in the approach of treating domestic violence. Which is NOT true. But, they could certainly do a LOT better.
And their website? Holy crap is it ugly and hard to navigate.
But they do offer support inside if you have a good counselor who cares about you like mine. Like I get free bus passes and once I got a $ 50 grocery gift card for food when I was out of money. They do go to Court to speak to the Judge on a client’s behalf or give a recommendation or good reference, which is great, because Second Chance has a GREAT reputation with the local Court system in Alameda County.
In summary, it’s a lot of bad and a lot of good mixed together, and really, it’s up to you to make the best of it. And they have added some good additional classes, such as a Dual-​Diagnosis Group which meets weekly and gives a certificate of completion at the end, among others. And that is helpful. But enough, you get the idea.