Tay Academy 2025 East 7th Street, Long Beach, CA 90804

"Went to this place and they pretty much denied helping me because I wasn’t homeless and or on the brink of homelessness. Had no privacy during the interview, all the desks are connected so other people could hear what I was talking about, felt uncomfortable the entire time and judged. Had been there before a few years before and left because I always felt uncomfortable there, don’t know why I thought it’d be better this time."

"They're okay, they really do try their best to help you but at the same time, I've recieved a lot of yes type answers in times when no questions were being asked. I felt kinda abandoned and I was really let down by the mental health care system in place. I feel like I didnt get the help I needed but instead was given pills to calm down my symptoms. Like I understand I had to meet with them at least 50/50 so we can make progress and I've only gotten worse and just been given words of sympathy"

"I have been fortunate enough to have been a member of TAY Academy for many years. As a member I have grown both socially and physically thanks to the support of the staff of the TAY Academy. They help with everything from housing and job placement and training, to socialization skills, to therapy and medication treatment ( not mandatory ). These are done through a combination of meetings with a personal service coordinator and staff led events such as hiking, movies, outdoor activities, as well as visits to landmarks and museums, etc. The calendar of events is always packed with great ways to engage with your peers and staff in a healthy way. I notice that the more open you are about yourself, your situation, and your feelings towards these aspects of your life the larger the opportunity is to gain the necessary insight as to what you can do to impact or change those aspects. No person or even entity is perfect yet I have learned to strive to better myself and my community through utilization of services rendered by this facility and it's staff's vast knowledge of youth and resouces pertaining to their betterment. My personal service coordinator is like my mentor and advocate keeping me on the path to achieving goals that I myself set. I have learned to trust the teams judgement and reasoning as they have helped keep me alive and functioning mentally stable for many years. I look forward to potentially becoming a future staff member of an organization similar to the Transitional Age Youth Academy - Long Beach (Forté) as I believe the best way I could pay it forward would be to help better the lives of the youth of the world."