Personal Enrichment Through Mental Health Services (PEMHS), Pinellas Park FL

LARGO STRONG went above and beyond for me and my daughter (Desmond) every step of the way he helped me through every obstacle there was. And amazing person from helping out with the little things to the big things I never went alone with anything I was going through truly an amazing employee! Thank you so much for everything!

I had the pleasure to work with Yamalee & her Supervisor Delores as well, when yamalee was out & they both were very kind & attentive. I received help from this organization to help keep my family in our house, right before Christmas! It truly was a blessing & we will forever be grateful! Thank you!

FAMILY NAVIGATOR have been very helpful with anything I asked for and I appreciate the help.my case manager was amazing and she everything to meet my needs.thank you from me and my family

Absolutely the worst behaved and unprofessional people you can imagine. I saw it as an option to pick up a prescription from GoodRx and the people here made me feel like an idiot on the phone when I called about it. They said it was a facility for mental health crises and and how dare I want to pick up my medication from there. Why is this place an option on GoodRx then?

Let me describe the PEHMS experience. I was taken there against my will after having a mental health crisis. I arrived at 8 pm. I was confined in an empty white room until 2 am. There were apparently no beds in any other facility within 2 counties. The staff are dishonest. I was told that my minimum 24 hour hold would not start until I was signed into the facility. This is not true. They just wanted me to be out of their intake area. The 24-hour hold starts when the Psychiatrist sees you around 8 am. Be prepared, he is very rude and will make you feel worse. The only person that talked to me on my first day was a student on observation, and she was more helpful than anyone at the facility. She was not an employee. I was not seen by a therapist for two days. I did not eat or drink for two days. The staff did not seem to care. When I finally intuited that I may be placed on consecutive holds, I decided to drink. I was allowed only one cup of Kool aid despite being dehydrated and starving, and because I drank one then, I was not allowed one later. The food was vile. It was often difficult to tell what was being served. There are no alternative options. If you have dietary restrictions, you go hungry. The chairs in the common area are extremely uncomfortable. If you have any physical disabilities, you will not be accommodated. No cushions are allowed in the common area past 7 am. If you are trans or nonbinary, you will not be accommodated. You will sleep on the common area floor if a room full of older men makes you uncomfortable. The staff may let you outside for thirty minutes a day, but only if they remember. Entertainment is limited to watching random movies on the single cable TV, attempting to solve puzzles that are missing half of the pieces, and playing Uno. While I was there in October 2022, no visitors were allowed. The only phone was the one used by the nurse station, and you were only allowed to use it for a short period of time between 8 am and 8 pm. Time will crawl by while you are there, and it will make whatever you are suffering from worse. The bathrooms were disgusting. I don't recall anybody daring to use the showers. I was finally discharged after 3 psychiatrist visits, but it took until 2 pm for the paperwork to be processed. When my friend picked me up, they said I looked like I had been dragged out of hell. I had to lie to get out and receive actual help, and the only thing the facility gave me was time to think of a more foolproof suicide plan and back pain. It was like being in prison with a massive and bill to boot. Facilities like this one should not exist.

This place is horrible. Tell me how my minor son was there for three days and I was only called once when he first got there! No one explained anything to me, no one called before discharging him to the juvi. Social workers need to call the parents before discharge! They obviously don’t care about these kids.

I had the opportunity to work with Yamalee who was very professional, attentive, and proficient. She displayed empathy and provided resources during a dark and stressful time. I will be forever humble and grateful for what the service did to assist my family and I. This agency was an absolute Godsend. I pray that one day I’ll be able to pay the same blessings forward that Yamalee and this organization provided to me.

This is one of the worst crisis units you can imagine. During my stay, they were fixing one of the buildings. They were forcing people (in a crisis) to sit outside all day, sometimes in the rain. I was experiencing chronic pain during this stay: the staff mocked me and refused to let me see a medical professional. One female staff member mocked my back issue and pretended to walk around with a limp, while laughing. Absolutely abusive staff. Should be shut down. Zero stars, keep your children away from these people!

Worst place ever. They force drugs down your throat before you get released and they treat you like a prisoner. One time I took a drug they forced on me and I immediately collapsed to the floor, eventually throwing up everything like crazy. I have absolutely no idea what kind of poison they put in there to kill me, but I am very certain it was not an allergic reaction. This place is evil and needs to get shut down. No joke, they censored my review from the public

I was wrongfully put through the baker act, and kept there despite it was clear there was nothing wrong with me. The reason behind this is because they want to keep insurance and charge your family money. This place is corrupt, and run by devils.

I liked the one tech Jenna, she was nice and made me feel welcome.

Met some friendly fellow patients, off the top of my head Chuck (he was really good at drawing) & Amber.

I enjoyed some of my time there, unfortunately I was prescribed an anti-psychotic medication that didn't end up working out but the follow up care I'm receiving at suncoast center has been helping. <3

DO NOT SAY ANYTHING THAT WILL SEND YOU HERE! I got a diesese from this place after spending 2.5 days here. The food is alright. That bathrooms will make you get sick.

The people at PEHMS were there for my family and I when no one else could offer help. I am very thankful to Jerry Bray for all of his hard working revolving mine and my family’s situation. I am forever grateful to Jerry and the PEHMS foundation for what they have done for not only my family but the community as well.

I HATEEED THIS PLACE came here when I was 16 & im now 20. They gave me the “ booty shot” because I refused to take the medicine they prescribed me. Literally isn’t that against the law? I had visitors coming to see me & I couldn’t see them because they put me to sleep. Unwillingly.when I woke up the next day I had an allergic reaction to the butt shot my tongue kept sticking out wouldn’t go back in & my teeth kept clicking. & I told them and they knew it was from the shot immediately so the nurse gave me a shot of Benadryl it worked but I’m still upset they did me like that. I hate pehms & I would definitely sue if I could! Free everybody out of there

This is not a mental health facility; it's a correctional department. Most staff have no skills in engaging with mental ill individuals; instead, they yell, subdue, and medicate with force as a first resort. Before departing, I participated in several 'takedowns, ' some with seriously mixed feelings, and I am no stranger to restraints. All in all, this institution is fraught with internal issues.

To begin, the culture and environment are hindered by a toxic, young staff: a toxic group of mostly young ladies who adore their commanding, self-inflated roles, who consistently gossip about patients and each other all day from behind a desk with one computer, avoiding most meaningful engagement with patients.

Next, all patient Protected Health Information is documented on paper (in 2023), and these papers are everywhere, scattered around like on the Wall Street Stock Exchange floor in 1997. Not to mention, the content of some of these documents. For instance, the screening assessments require you to ask patients very jarring and careless lifestyle questions immediately upon arrival—possibly in the worst mental (and physical) space they've ever experienced.

And most importantly, administration is happily stuck in time with snuggly salaries. There’s no computer system for health records, with the exception of updating a few documents in Word and clicking “save” - a PHI + HIPAA nightmare. The techs (and likely intake reps) make $16/hr+, but don't worry, they’re rebranding and expanding with a new Children's unit. Do not mistake the expansion for any actual progress in their mental health treatment offerings. Keeping up appearances is all.

HR has been terminating employees left and right I’ve learned from former and current employees. They do not attempt for any conflict resolution or warning systems prior to termination. It’s amateur hour. I’ll never get over being so blindsided and abruptly terminated by an organization that had poured so much time and resources into my training. HR comes as part of Operation PAR.

Administration is happily stuck in time with snuggly salaries. There’s no computer system for health records, with the exception of updating a few documents in Word and clicking “save” - all a PHI + HIPAA nightmare.

The techs make $16/hr, but don't worry, they’re rebranding, and they're expanding with a new Children's unit, and that wage won't change as long as executive staff make a salary that can yield season tickets to the Bucs. Do not mistake the expansion for any actual progress in the way of mental health treatment. Keeping up appearances.

I am very much an advocate for mental health and have sought treatment for myself, and this place leaves my heart heavy for the individuals who will likely be mistreated or sent elsewhere, far away, for much of the same.

It’s time for PEMHS to revise their policy, quell the toxicity, train their staff to get better at respectfully and effectively engaging with mental ill people, and to shift to a wholly patient-centered care approach like all quality Mental Healthcare institutions in America already have.

The service I received recently was a blessing from GOD himself. I’m currently going through a seperation/Divorce and had to move into a new place w my 3 children. The amount of stress I have been under w finding the $ to move into new place and still having to pay rent at old one until the lease is up (the owners selling the house said we are required to pay until it’s up) I had no idea what to do. My best friend referred me to you guys, and thank God she did because I came in contact w Ms. Amber Ramnath who is literally an angel sent from above. Amber met w me for about a hour and we filled out paperwork effortless and efficiently. Literally within days and I mean less than a week I got approved and they helped me pay my move in cost to the new apts I’m staying in. Then the very next week Amber hand delivered me groceries for myself and my kids, and tbh I could have broke down crying right then and there.
Thank you so much PEMHS and Ms. Amber for all your help and support, you truly helped a single mother at her lowest.

Held hostage, lied to me and told me to come over for group therapy, and discuss options on treatment. That's when the nightmare began. I'm not the only one who was tricked. I've seen allot but I'm also going to tell you they are very deceitful and ohhh yes my friend I'll be sueing. I also have you on a HIPPA violation, when you finally let me go, I was discharged with another gentlemans records. You are not helpful to the community and I will be seeking justice, you know who you are

This facility is absolutely awful. No one answers the phone and no one returns calls. At any time of day, no one answers. They keep people longer than the 72 hour baker act hold which is ILLEGAL! They are inconsiderate and in the rare chance you can at least talk to a receptionist, they are rude and condescending as hell. This facility breaks the law. For people going through crisis this is making them worse off. I don’t understand how this place is still running. Do not send love ones here.