The staff members I worked with and help me from 08 to 12 were absolutely incredible. If there’s something they couldn’t help me with they made sure to find support systems and push me to get the help. I need so much love and learning and memories there with respect and ...
About MaineStay
MaineStay in Portland, Maine, is an eight-bed residential facility for young people aged 16 to 21. Here youth who are grappling with homelessness, addiction and mental illness can receive various recovery support services. The facility is a program of The Opportunity Alliance which is a dynamic assemblage of 50 organizations that serves more than 20,000 Mainers every year, including children, teens and adults.
Support in a Homelike Environment
Addiction is a complex illness that often requires multiple forms of short and long term treatment. Clients may come to MaineStay after completing another alcohol or drug rehab program such as inpatient or residential treatment that is offered by the Opportunity Council or another provider.
This facility offers a comfortable, safe and home like environment that bridges the gap between more intensive treatment and outpatient care. Notably the Opportunity Council continues to support young people after they’ve left the MaineStay residence regardless of whether they’ve completed the treatment program.
Providing Essential Needs for All
MaineStay staff understand that when people have trouble meeting their basic practical, emotional and social needs, they are much more vulnerable to relapse and other harms. By providing housing, food, health care and community they work to enable clients to feel secure and empowered so they can focus on building a solid foundation for their future.
Additionally the Opportunity Alliance provides a broad spectrum of services to support youth in other areas of their life. For example their Detention Response Program helps guide young people who have been involved with the juvenile justice system, while their parenting education and young parent programs equip those with children with the tools needed to raise a healthy family.
Fact checked and written by:
Kate Daniel
Edited by:
Anna Spooner
Latest Reviews
Brandon Hall
Reviewed on 04/04/2024
The staff members I worked with and help me from 08 to 12 were absolutely incredible. If there’s something they couldn’t help me with they made sure to find support systems and push me to get the help. I need so much love and learning and memories there with respect and self learning and it was just amazing overall, especially in hindsight, I don’t know what changed sense but I’m sure with what I’ve been reading….It’s definitely not the same staff.
The closest thing I had to home, was at this place where I was able to grow and learn and open up and become the person I am. The love and commitment across-the-board is beyond remarkable and friendships to this day exist. If there’s something that they couldn’t achieve or help and were aware of that, they made sure to support and assist me in finding help for myself with drs and more. They help me learn basics, and supported me to go to college and not live like I was. They worked hard on communication and Trust with everyone being held accountable themselves. This place always has a special place in my heart.
Mainestay is a transitional living group home intended for young adults ages 18-25 with a mental health diagnosis and/or co-occuring substance use disorder. Mainestay is a group home with a history of client rights violations and punitive programming. With a new director the program began to move away from direct punitive programming and moved towards manipulation, gaslighting and punitive programming with the presentation of 'restorative justice'. Mainestay speaks a lot on restorative practices but misuses them and does so in a harmful and sometimes abusive matter. An example of this: two clients were being s******** abused by another client who had a known history of this behavior. when the clients bravely came forward about it, they were required sit in a circle where a clinician announced to their housemates what had happened. this was done under the pretense that the more everyone knew about the situation the less harm it would cause the victims. this situation clearly retraumatized the victims and made matters much bigger. that is just one example of the abuse of what they call 'restorative practices.' This program has a tendency to speak a lot on how all clients have choices and rights. This topic of rights is almost always immediately followed up with "you can take advantage of your rights, but there will be a conversation". that conversation is oftentimes a conversation about whether or not you belong at the program. they talk a lot about 'buying in'. and it's true. in order to survive in this program, similar to a lot of directly punitive programs, you need to do what they expect of you even if it goes against your values and what you believe. they will tell you you have a choice, but the choice will be too utilize your basic human rights or move towards homelessness. the program attempts to encourage independence, however makes this virtually impossible with the consequences residents receive when attempting to be independent. this program was intended to be a healing and safe space for young adults and at times it can be! however, the pain and suffering and often times abusive behavior from the director, state gatekeeper and clinicians moves clients away from the real healing and safety that they could be experiencing. similar to what other reviews have said, this program has a problem with staff being inadequately trained. that being said, the resident technicians they hire are almost always kind, considerate and hard working. there is real genuine love and care and compassion that comes from the lower ranked staff members they hire. those same people do the real hard work of the program. if anything good comes out of the program, it's a direct result of the hardworking lower ranked staff members. they deserve so much credit! mainestay is a very creative environment and prepandemic offered a lot of recreational activities to do. this program has pontential to promote healing and recovery, but with the current environment and leadership of the program and the state gatekeeping the treatment based off of numerical scores, it will continue to have a low success rate.
Rehab Score
Our Methodology
Scoring is assigned by a proprietary system which helps surface key metrics that determine quality. The 10-point scale factors in categories such as operations, customer satisfaction, and trust metrics. Read Full Methodology
4.6 / 10
Accepted Insurance
Other Forms of Payment
Medicaid is a state based program that helps lower-income individuals and families pay for healthcare. Medicaid covers addiction treatment so those enrolled can use their coverage to pay for rehab. When a program accepts Medicaid the client often pays very little or nothing out of their own pocket.
Medicare is a federal program that provides health insurance for those 65 and older. It also serves people under 65 with chronic and disabling health challenges. To use Medicare for addiction treatment you need to find a program that accepts Medicare and is in network with your plan. Out of pocket costs and preauthorization requirements vary, so always check with your provider.
Addiction Treatments
Levels of Care
Outpatient Programs (OP) are for those seeking mental rehab or drug rehab, but who also stay at home every night. The main difference between outpatient treatment (OP) and intensive outpatient treatment (IOP) lies in the amount of hours the patient spends at the facility. Most of the time an outpatient program is designed for someone who has completed an inpatient stay and is looking to continue their growth in recovery. Outpatient is not meant to be the starting point, it is commonly referred to as aftercare.
Residential treatment programs are those that offer housing and meals in addition to substance abuse treatment. Rehab facilities that offer residential treatment allow patients to focus solely on recovery, in an environment totally separate from their lives. Some rehab centers specialize in short-term residential treatment (a few days to a week or two), while others solely provide treatment on a long-term basis (several weeks to months). Some offer both, and tailor treatment to the patient's individual requirements.
Completing a drug or alcohol rehab program shouldn't spell the end of substance abuse treatment. Aftercare involves making a sustainable plan for recovery, including ongoing support. This can include sober living arrangements like halfway houses, career counseling, and setting a patient up with community programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA).
Treatments
Mental health rehabs focus on helping individuals recover from mental illnesses like bipolar disorder, clinical depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and more. Mental health professionals at these facilities are trained to understand and treat mental health issues, both in individual and group settings.
Programs
Adult rehab programs include therapies tailored to each client's specific needs, goals, and recovery progress. They are tailored to the specific challenges adult clients may face, including family and work pressures and commitments. From inpatient and residential treatment to various levels of outpatient services, there are many options available. Some facilities also help adults work through co-occurring conditions, like anxiety, that can accompany addiction.
Young adulthood can be an exciting, yet difficult, time of transition. Individuals in their late teens to mid-20s face unique stressors related to school, jobs, families, and social circles, which can lead to a rise in substance use. Rehab centers with dedicated young adult programs will include activities and amenities that cater to this age group, with an emphasis on specialized counseling, peer socialization, and ongoing aftercare.
Clinical Services
Whether a marriage or other committed relationship, an intimate partnership is one of the most important aspects of a person's life. Drug and alcohol addiction affects both members of a couple in deep and meaningful ways, as does rehab and recovery. Couples therapy and other couples-focused treatment programs are significant parts of exploring triggers of addiction, as well as learning how to build healthy patterns to support ongoing sobriety.
Research clearly demonstrates that recovery is far more successful and sustainable when loved ones like family members participate in rehab and substance abuse treatment. Genetic factors may be at play when it comes to drug and alcohol addiction, as well as mental health issues. Family dynamics often play a critical role in addiction triggers, and if properly educated, family members can be a strong source of support when it comes to rehabilitation.
Group therapy is any therapeutic work that happens in a group (not one-on-one). There are a number of different group therapy modalities, including support groups, experiential therapy, psycho-education, and more. Group therapy involves treatment as well as processing interaction between group members.
In individual therapy, a patient meets one-on-one with a trained psychologist or counselor. Therapy is a pivotal part of effective substance abuse treatment, as it often covers root causes of addiction, including challenges faced by the patient in their social, family, and work/school life.
Trauma therapy addresses traumatic incidents from a client's past that are likely affecting their present-day experience. Trauma is often one of the primary triggers and potential causes of addiction, and can stem from child sexual abuse, domestic violence, having a parent with a mental illness, losing one or both parents at a young age, teenage or adult sexual assault, or any number of other factors. The purpose of trauma therapy is to allow a patient to process trauma and move through and past it, with the help of trained and compassionate mental health professionals.
Staff
Joe Everett
President & CEO
Ashley Goulet
Vice President of Operations
Sally Maxwell
COO
Dawn Ouellette
CFO
Contact Information
165 Cumberland Avenue
Portland, ME 04101
Get Help Now - 207-805-9392
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