Pathways House Rehab, Canterbury (Kent)

A member has contacted us to express his concerns about the above treatment centre and the questionable conduct of both its owner(?)/manager and another member of staff: 

Care Quality Commission report (30^th August 2014) on their services. They fail in two categories:

• Caring for people safely and protecting them from harm
• Staffing

Pathways House Limited is managed by Kenneth Milne. 

This is the same Kenneth Milne who appears in the following Kent Online article (June 2014):

Canterbury neighbours endure lewd insults from rehab boss Kenny Milne in row over Pathways House in Rochester Avenue

Not a particularly auspicious recommendation!

Apparently Kenneth (or Kenny to his friends – he must be running short on those by now) is adopting a lower profile these days (presumably no longer displaying his nether regions to the neighbours, which is probably something of a relief for all concerned). Moreover we've been told he has connections with both AA and CA (funny how CA keeps on cropping up isn't it! See Harry K, Richard E).

But he isn't the only 'loose cannon' on the premises. Another of Kenny's colleagues (who shall remain anonymous ...for the time being at least) is well known as an active cult member in both the West and East Kent areas. Employed by Pathways as a general 'gofer' this individual somehow acquired the view that his position qualified him to be a counsellor (presumably through some mysterious form of 'osmosis'!). Unclear about the distinction between counselling professionally (albeit unqualified and with absolutely no experience) and 'sponsorship' he set himself up in some kind of hybrid role and was charging a former client of Pathways House £10 per hour to take him through the steps - something of a bargain we have to say when compared with professional fees. But then you get what you pay for don't you!

In between fleecing other members he also does a bit of conveyancing (no not that kind of conveyancing!) on the side taking punters to the local hard core cult meetings – Friday Canterbury (Quaker) and Dover Monday (not sure if we've come across that one before??). Apparently the former was set up by some geezer called Bill (from Strood – all part of the cult 'franchise') attracting such notables as Laughing Chris (oh dear not another one - we've already got a Happy Dennis on the books) and Arthur. Clearly giggling is permitted in cult circles - but no speaking at meetings until you've got a sponsor. And even then only to chant “happy, joyous and free” and “my sponsor says this, and my sponsor says that” … right up to the point where they finally crack!

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS Thanks to our correspondent 

PPS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here  

PPPS Plymouth Intergroup corruption

Good news! Cult meetings fold!

Yep! We're always delighted to announce the demise of a cult meeting but even more so when two bite the dust!

Guildford: Beginners (see our Cult Where to Find (GB) under Surrey – no connection with Guildford Young Persons of the same day incidentally) has shut down as has Herne Bay: Big Book Salvation (East Kent) (presumably because of a shortage of members who either needed or wanted to be saved!)

The latter group, of course, is associated with a certain 'cokehead' who goes by the name of Harry K (Remember him? .. of course you do! Who could forget such sartorial elegance!). We say 'cokehead' because not only is AA blessed (?) with his presence but also seemingly CA (Cocaine Anonymous) where he hangs about with another of his ilk, Richard E (yet another recipient of our“thug of the month” award... Is this pure coincidence??). We use the term 'cokehead' because some doubts have been expressed in certain quarters as to whether these two are even the real deal when it comes to lapping up the 'sauce' so beloved of “real” alcoholics …... although on this matter we can, of course, express no view …. 'Nuff said! We are informed, however, that CA is apparently prone to a particularly virulent form of recovery dogmatism (accompanied by an equally rabid brand of despotism!) which both Harry and Richard are most keen to promulgate …. both in their equally unique but repugnant ways! Strange to say their form of evangelism is not going down well amongst seasoned AA members who can spot a con artist a mile away (with the exception of Harry A (or Harry the Handbag … don't ask!) ….. who's hopped on the bandwagon to further his own control freak agenda). Unfortunately the same cannot be said for newcomers who may be somewhat more susceptible to their glib allure (is that the right word?).

But with every silver lining there comes a cloud in the shape of Esher Green Saturday evening meeting. More on this at a later date ….

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

Common assault (contd)

Further to our previous entries (see here and here) we have sent notifications of the incident to London North Middlesex Intergroup (which covers the Uxbridge Friday meeting where the assault was reported) with copies to the Trustees of the General Service Board, the General Service Office (York) and London North Region. We have proposed that the Intergroup concerned institute a full enquiry into the incident to ascertain the identities of all involved, then report the matter to the police, and take action to ensure no further repetition. This kind of behaviour cannot and should not be tolerated within the Fellowship. Dependent on the response we receive, and the action subsequently taken, we shall consider what further steps we might take ourselves...... This one isn't going to go away!

We also note from other entries that Richard E has previous 'form' when it comes to threatening or assaulting other members. He has already been arrested and charged for “spitting in a female member's face in a Sunday night meeting in Barnes south-west London”, something which he apparently omits to mention when lecturing the rest of us.

NOTICE

To all of you out there who get your kicks from bullying or sexually exploiting other members (so-called '13 Steppers') we serve YOU notice. We will have absolutely no hesitation in 'outing' you on the site, naming names and giving full details of your conduct together with the groups where you operate. In dealing with you we will follow the same procedure as above passing on information to the relevant intergroup(s) - together with the aforementioned cc's – and, where appropriate, notifying the police

You will no longer be able to act with impunity

We will not collude in covering up your ABUSE

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED 

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

Common assault! (contd)

Further to our previous entry “Common assault!” we have been sent further clarification on what actually took place (our thanks to the members who provided the info).

Firstly the meeting in question was Uxbridge Friday night. See below:

Apparently this locale has become a focus of a “Big Book fundamentalist cult” (possibly Primary Purpose - and see here) which has infested the Uxbridge, Slough, Ruislip and Harefield areas (you will note the name Richard E crops up … more on this particularly nasty piece of work later)

The cult members in question introduce themselves as recoverED (as distinguished from those who are merely 'recoverING', an inferior species, something which is made clear in the formers' sharing which is generally arrogant and “belittles the rest of the fellowship as being useless etc”). According to our correspondents the woman in question (whom we will refer to as the 'assaultee' as opposed to sponsee, and her sponsor as the abuser) was herself a rather unappealing character (not that this justifies the assault in any way) who shared that should she fail to phone her abuser at the precise time the phone would be slammed down on her. Moreover her abuser did not make suggestions but rather issued “rules and orders”. The woman's subsequent sharing was “littered” with numerous quotes from the Big Book whilst the general impression given was of someone who had been thoroughly “brainwashed”, her voice even being described as sounding “like a robot”. When time came for other members to 'share back' as is customary the assaultee made a point of ignoring those who were 'not on message' and instead ostentatiously read her Big Book while they were sharing. Clearly common courtesy does not constitute part of the cult curriculum.

Our correspondents add:

“But it does look like cult violence is on the up in AA. There is a thug who goes to the Friday Hampton Wick cult meeting called Richard . And he has apparently threatened to "punch the lights out" of anyone who openly challenges his supreme sponsorial authority. And he is sponsored by another nutter called Rupert who has set up yet another cult meeting in Surrey somewhere. A friend of mine attended it recently and said it was sickening. This is what happens when the prisoners run the prison, and the lunatics run the asylum. People come to AA to try and stay sober, not to fight endless battles with criminal gangsters and sociopathic loonies”.

Richard's hobbies (apart from threatening to punch people's “lights out”) include verbal abuse as well as a general liking for getting “physical”. Apparently he was a gangster in a previous incarnation. Seems like not a lot's changed there then! An altogether sick and twisted specimen!

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anomymous)

PS More to follow on this …....

Suicide in Gerrards Cross

A recent email: 

“Hi love your site - don’t suppose you can tell me who runs it? Does it originate in Beaconsfield? I don’t like the cult meetings. Never been to Ealing but I've experienced Harefield Friday. I've met that Richard. He scares the shit out of me. He came to Uxbridge and told everyone they were sick. Said he wanted to take me through the book and help me recover. I'm sober in AA 34 years. What does he think I did in 79! I want to go to Bayham Road Ealing but I don’t know what to expect. Never met Happy Dennis. So I got the message you do the steps in 6 weeks then you have recovered - people like me are sick. Some lady involved with the idiots at Harefield committed suicide - jumped in front of a train at Gerrards Cross. I was sat next to her on Friday. She was dead on Saturday. That was 2 years ago. They where turning up at her house taking her to AA. She didn’t want to go. Was a good friend of mine. Someone tried all that with me in 77. It didn’t work. The cult took over South Harrow. Everyone left and it closed down. They had a look at Pinner but we are too strong for them. Thanks for the site. I read it every few days. Will you e mail me back. I don’t care you can print my e mail online if you want. Too many groups using the AA programme. Too many different interpretations of it. Thanks again. Keep up the good work ….....”

Our response: 

“Hi …...,

Thanks for the mail. We're glad you find the site useful. As for us we prefer to remain anonymous – there are far too many 'personalities' floating around AA as it is! But the site was started off by a few members in …... and then expanded from there. We've even gone international with contributions coming in from the US and Australia amongst others! But we're not exclusive - as far as we're concerned anyone is a member of the aacultwatch team who understands what we're about and supports us. Obviously some people are more active than others but we depend solely on information supplied by AAs to keep us up to date with what is going on in different areas (and countries). As for Happy Dennis not all the Bayham Rd meetings apparently are run by him. There have been a number of defections and some of the meetings have reverted to standard AA ie. relatively sane. But if you really want to see a show apparently the Sunday Bayham Rd meeting is where they all “jump for joy” …. rather you than us!

We don't believe we've heard about the suicide you mentioned but that's precisely the thing we're trying to ensure doesn't happen in the future. Certainly we'd be interested in any details that you are able to supply about that.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Cheerio

The Fellas”

(our edits)

Our “Thug of the Month”: Richard E

Yep! Yet another addition to our pantheon of dishonour … introducing ….. Richard E …..who will be joining the likes of Harry K, Glynne M, Billy (the Kid) and numerous other 'unsung heroes' of the cult movement in Great Britain. The list goes on .. but not quite 'ad infinitum'.....

We quote:

“Hi chaps just a little report on the dangerous actions of Richard E. He is a member of AA and CA and is part of the fierce control sponsorship movement sweeping many AA and CA groups. A friend of mine visited an AA meeting in the South Harrow area recently and saw a female member crying outside and when he asked what was wrong she stated that Richard E had told her she is not a real alcoholic and is killing people in AA. This meeting has been taken over by Richard and his army of sponsees who are all ordered to introduce themselves as grateful recovered alcoholics. Richard hunts newcomers in AA and proceeds to tell them they will not recover in mainstream AA and demands they attend his CA home-group in Ormond Road Richmond hence the meeting is full of alcoholics who in my opinion are in the wrong fellowship. He also demands they ring him every day at a set time and write and review a gratitude list none of which I can find in the AA book. He was recently arrested and charged with assault for spitting in a female member's face in a Sunday night meeting in Barnes south-west London but fails to mention this when he speaks in meetings ….. only claims to be happy joyous and free at all times. Please keep my name off this as I don’t want conflict when I see him and his gang at meetings. Keep up the good work. God bless.”

And from another correspondent:

“Perhaps you have already heard of these meetings, nonetheless for your information...

South Harrow, London 8pm Thursday 13th September. The chair was by Harry K - "That's Harry K......., not Henry Kissinger!" he says. Alcoholics "Anonymous". Travelled in from Margate. From the top down he was wearing a black cowboy hat, black overcoat and what looked like blue slippers. Noticed lots of people in attendance never seen before - my view is they had probably also travelled some distance to this meeting. Relatively few locals in the meeting. Didn't count attendance - though guess at least 45.

Also Harefield, London Friday 7pm. Sponsorship and "Big Book Study" offered there. Smaller meeting.

Keep up the good work. I enjoy reading aacultwatch on a regular basis.

Best wishes”

When we checked with our first contact we received the following information:

“Sure. Richard E and Harry K are pals that’s why Harry will have been there. Harry K is actually a heroin addict who cleaned up in AA. He was introduced to CA one year back through Richard and his flock of sponsees so he is now attending CA meetings and has an awful habit of telling everyone else what to do. Also loves to quote his knowledge of the book ….... what page is what etc.. He has also been invited to speak at our CA UK area convention in Hayling Island this November. This has been heavily influenced by Richard. There is plenty of us who can see these people for what they are. We continue to carry the real message of love and tolerance to alcoholic or drug addict who still suffers. God bless fellas.”

Comment: By all accounts these two are just made for each other! Not a lot of people know this (well actually a lot of people know this) but although Harry is something of a self appointed 'authority' on the Big Book he's not so adept when it comes to other people's property. Indeed he seems to have come rather unstuck not that long ago when an employer sacked him for shop lifting from one of their stores! Still to err is human, to forgive divine .. and we're sure that Harry has forgiven himself already!

Cheerio

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS Thanks to our various correspondents... keep up the good work!