The Wayside Youth and Family Support Network on Frederick Abbott Way in Framingham, Massachusetts is a nonprofit human service agency that offers a continuum of services including counseling, residential, and educational support services for youth and families throughout Framingham and the surrounding community.
This nonprofit agency is equipped to address a variety of mental health needs for children and their families. Through partnerships with community agencies, they also provide treatment for substance abuse struggles as well as specialized care if you’ve been a victim of domestic violence or sexual abuse. You’ll find that many of their services are offered free of charge.
Wayside Youth and Family Support Network has recently partnered with the SAFE Coalition. This is another nonprofit organization that provides services to individuals working through a substance abuse disorder.
Through this partnership, Wayside staff are trained on how to provide comprehensive substance abuse counseling, and Wayside integrates clinical care into the recovery plan of the individuals and families that need this type of care.
As part of this partnership, children will have access to sexual assault counselors free of charge as well as counseling that will address the emotional impact of a family member’s or their own struggles with substance use.
Located just over 12 minutes south is the Framingham Family Resource Center. This resource center provides a number of social support services including housing support, financial assistance for utility bills, legal help, mental health services, parenting support, and summer and sports programs that parents can enroll their children in.
Our Methodology
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.
Private insurance refers to any kind of healthcare coverage that isn't from the state or federal government. This includes individual and family plans offered by an employer or purchased from the Insurance Marketplace. Every plan will have different requirements and out of pocket costs so be sure to get the full details before you start treatment.
Self-pay involves paying for treatment out of your own pocket. You can use savings or credit, get a personal loan, or receive help from family and friends to fund your treatment. If you don't have insurance or your insurance plan doesn't cover a specific program, self-pay can help ensure you still get the care you need.
Financial aid can take many forms. Centers may have grants or scholarships available to clients who meet eligibility requirements. Programs that receive SAMHSA grants may have financial aid available for those who need treatment as well. Grants and scholarships can help you pai for treatment without having to repay.
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.
Military members, veterans, and eligible dependents have access to specific insurance programs that help them get the care they need. TRICARE and VA insurance can help you access low cost or no cost addiction and mental health treatment. Programs that accept military insurance often have targeted treatment focused on the unique challenges military members, veterans, and their families face.
Inpatient 
Outpatient Many of those suffering from addiction also suffer from mental or emotional illnesses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, or anxiety disorders. Rehab and other substance abuse facilities treating those with a dual diagnosis or co-occurring disorder administer psychiatric treatment to address the person's mental health issue in addition to drug and alcohol rehabilitation.
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.
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.
Nutrition therapy, aka medical nutrition therapy (MNT), is a way of treating physical, emotional, and medical conditions through diet. Specific dietary plans are designed by professional nutritionists or registered dietitians, and patients follow them in order to positively affect their physical and mental health.
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.
Private Setting President & CEO
Agency Medical Director
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VP
CFO
Campus Director
1 Frederick Abbott Way
Framingham, MA 01701
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I know a kid that is in here threw dcf the way they are treated and screamed at is horrible I was told by dcf they are just colleges students with no training they lie about everything possible the trea lady that is the big wig I guess is horrible taunts kids yells at them w ...
The staff at this program are extremely unprofessional. The way that they handle situations and the way that they speak to the clients is extremely unacceptable. One time, I got into a restraint there, and I got a concussion, a contusion in my back, sprained my wrist, and co ...
overall terrible experience. my daughter went here for their cbat program. she had said the staff were nice but she felt as if she received no help from them at all. she said the food was almost inedible. overall i wish i had never sent my daughter here.
The staff there swore at my daughter while I was on the phone wouldn't let her call me or my mom and when they did she had 2 minutes and they'd be rushing her off the phone she also went in with a star light and they kept that on her lol when asked the manager said he didnt have it my daughter reported the rooms was dirty shes been to plenty of Inpaitent this is the only one I discharged her from ever because I felt she was being mistreated and they did not help at all they need to do better
Wayside is prison that violates the rights of innocent kids. Rooms have no doors, windows are covered so you can't even see the the outdoors, making you feel even more imprisoned. The rooms are filthy, the mattresses are just box springs covered in a loud tarp (I'm not even joking), with ZERO cushioning. I kid you not, the the thin carpeted floor was more comfortable than the mattresses, so much so that's where I ended up sleeping, because the beds were THAT hard. That is, when I could sleep. When I was there, a staff member would talk on the phone all night right outside my door, and scold you (or worse, discipline you) if you asked her to be quiet for even just 10 minutes so you could fall asleep. She'd say she "needed to talk to stay awake". Perhaps she had never heard of coffee, or maybe work the day shift instead. Ironically, for a "therapeutic program", I saw a therapist LESS at Wayside than I did before I went in. I used to see a therapist weekly, but at wayside I was only allowed to see them biweekly. But often they were so busy I ended up only seeing them every 3 weeks, but I didn't mind because the therapists were horrible at best, gaslighters at worst. I had 3 therapists while I was there, turnover is huge, one actively would invalidate my abuse and trauma, and would ask leading questions to try and bait me into saying things I didn't believe. The second did nothing but nod, the third would at least talk to me like a human, but even she was a 3/5 at best. And you can't change your therapist if you get one you don't mesh with, so you're out of luck if you get one of the hundreds of bad ones. You're also only given a 10 minute phonecall a day, in the evening, so not even a family member can offer you much support, and you can't speak to family members who can't talk past 8, when they let you do phone calls. Because I had no one to talk to, I would write in a diary to keep my sanity, The rules I was always told for diary privacy was that staff are only allowed to read your journals if you are on suicide watch, and even then, they are only allowed to skim them for suicide-related things. I was NEVER put on suicide watch my entire time at Wayside. Well, since the staff are never held accountable and like asserting their power over the powerless struggling children, a staff member decided to not only read my diary, but to TELL OTHER KIDS WHAT I WROTE, and not just that, but to GANG UP WITH THE KIDS AND BULLY ME ABOUT THE THINGS I WROTE. This event has left me permanently traumatized and extremely anxious about my privacy, and has given me extreme trust issues I still struggle with to this day. When I reported this event to the head of the program, literally nothing happened. not even verbal assurance like "this is unacceptable", just a casual "eh we'll look into it". The staff who did this to me received ZERO repercussions for violating my right to privacy or for LITERALLY BULLYING A CHILD. And this wasn't even the first time the staff member had bullied me, she constantly pick on me about my clothing choices too, but the diary thing took the cake for me. I was also bullied by other staff, but not to this degree. Wayside also did not care about my health. I came from a hospital where I was found to be severely malnourished, and had been taking vitamins daily to recover. When I got moved to Wayside I wasn't allowed to take my vitamins for over 45 days because of how unorganized and negligent they are. I don't write this for wayside, since they truly don't care what patients and former patients think. They have DCF in their pockets and therefore an endless stream of taxpayer money, so they really couldn't care less about what we have to say. Unfortunately, there are a small number of wayside patients whose parents are actually considering willingly putting their kid here. This review is for them, to let them know that their money would be wasted. An easy way to think about it is, would you send your kid to juvie to get them help? If no, then wayside won't help them.
Horrible Place. Never send your kids here.
When I had wayside youth and family as a kid I thought the staff at wayside residential were very kind, friendly, intelligent and supportive listener of family. I loved that wayside youth and family gave me in home therapy and in home behavioral services for me and my family I loved that! I loved that my dad mum and brothers always help me out taught me life lessons and hard truths. I loved how I had the support from wayside from a far and they were good at hearing me and my family out but mostly ME they were very good listener and try to help me as much as possible. I would highly recommend wayside youth and family and tempo young adult resource center to the ALL MY YOUNG FRIENDS AND YOUTH WHO NEED HELP AND SUPPORT WITH ANYTHING.
This place stole from me, they stole time with my family, stole food, stole my computer (the staff!!) on weekends while some kids get visitors or passes to leave the others are forced to stay in there room until 11:30 only then are we alowed to eat and go downstairs… every rule was different with each staff leading to chaos and more confusion then ever, i remember right before an inspector came they finally gave all the girls new pillows and sheets and they even took my books to put on display so it looked like the kids had access to a library, after I left all of my belongings were rummaged through all of my possessions were just up for grabs, and most time its up to 3 girls per room with no curtains. I had roomates exposing themselves to eachother and wayside never cared to look into anything, the staff acted like they were kids too and often participated in drama between the girls I specifically remember one staff arguing with a patient and stating “I can wait to put that one in a restraint.” They claim theyre a behavioral program but that just means kids with any sort of mental issues in foster care will be placed there, if your depressed thats the last place you wish to be its not a psychward its so much closer to being considered juvie, for the first 4 months I was there i wasent even able to attend my school because they couldn’t find transportation… on days that it snowed kids in Massachusetts probably prayed to get school cancelled while I prayed it would stay open just for mento get away from wayside for a couple hours, if you want your child to feel completely abandoned, bullied and robbed send them here!
Went here as a teen. All of the abuse allegations and rumors are true. Please don’t send your child here. I know not everyone who has went here has had an awful experience but, please don’t take the risk with your child. Please please don’t.
The Director, Verona, and the staff were very supportive of my family situation and needs. Verona always made herself available to address any questions or concerns I had, even after hours. All encompassing services were available to clients. If you took advantage of these services, set goals could be met. Wayside also coordinated and participated in all necessary meetings with outside agencies. I am appreciative of all the support provided by Verona and staff, as well as the effort they expended in encouraging the importance of self achievement.
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