As a job developer at the organization, I can say that my experience working for this non-profit was eye opening, fun and an overall well rounded experience. I was pushed to thrive and excel in what seemed like unfamiliar territory. With this organization, you can expect to be treated like family. Mr. Lucas worked hard to support my team and always listened to my team and I even when he was busy. Ms. Lamb was supportive and gave the space for my team to grow and thrive as we saw fit. I highly recommend this role and organization for anyone who is serious about gaining experience with an overlooked and often marginalized population.

This organizational has been a dream come true for my family. If You want a structured second chance, this is the place to attend. Great support team, shout out to Mr. Oliver & Ms. Harrington you are the best . Thank you for excepting my Boyfriend into your CDL program . He is looking forward to completing & starting his new journey in the trucking business. I thank you so so much for creating a program that will give all convicted felon a second chance . I will encourage many family & friends to reach out to your services for a great opportunity . This has truly been life changing… Go’s bless

Im extremely happy with the academy of hope. Mr. Oliver and Mrs Amanda were great. Thanks for all your help

I was inspired to become a mentor after speaking with Mr. Harrelson about TBAH. He did a great job of explaining the mission of the organization and how my life experience and skills can make a huge difference in the life/lives of our youth. Highly recommend everyone consider giving back to our community by mentoring. Thank you Mr. Harrelson!

I came in without an appointment but in desperate need of a resume.Mr. Reginald J. Harrelson(whom i had never met) gave up his lunch break to meet that need. He used his time, skills, and cardstock to provide me the most impressive resume that Ive ever had. As a result i have several job offers🙌.Now thats a commitment to excellence that can not be overlooked. This act truly went beyond the call of duty. With upmost respect and gratitude i say THANK YOU MR. HARRELSON.

This decision to post publicly about my experience at this traumatizing organization has taken me nearly six months. Now that I have had some time, I will share with you my experience.For six months, during a global pandemic, I worked for this agency. In that time, I witnessed 15 resignations out of 25 staff members. Entirely to blame is the executive director, Titania Lamb.Firstly, there is no HR department at TBAH to enforce procedures or respond to issues that may arise. Participants made inappropriate gestures at female staff to which we were told to dress differently. Staff made inappropriate gestures at other staff, to which we were jokingly told to report to the HR department... because there wasnt one lol. Staff benefits supposedly become active at 90 days but I never received mine in 6 months. Others had waited a year. Time off requests and timesheets were also an issue. Staff never received their vacation/sick time as promised and time off requests were either never approved or denied without justification.I am confident that the lack of an HR department is intentional as it was painfully evident Ms. Lamb was conducting illegal/inappropriate business behind closed doors. Training was horrible. Took over a month. Didnt learn anything and was expected to present in front of the other staff on topics we did not understand, only to be chastised by Ms. Lamb for not knowing what to do after JUST starting. The filing system is a DISASTER. Files were missing, personal information was being shared without approval, & the files were being left out unattended. She constantly brings in grant funds from the DOL but very rarely approves any expenses for the participants. Her son is employed in accounting. Her ex-husband was brought in secretly to screen employees for opinions about our experiences working at the organization. I felt like I was being watched by Big Brother. Not to mention she took advantage of her unchecked authority by berating, degrading, and downright insulting her staff regularly (when she was actually in office, since 50% of the time she doesnt even come in). It felt like she only showed up to work to see how miserable she could make her staff.I dont even have enough space to talk about how HORRIBLY she handled the pandemic. Staff without masks, thermometer that didnt work/give proper readings, huge meetings in small meeting rooms sitting shoulder to shoulder, breaches of positive COVID cases that werent communicated to staff, no protocol AT ALL, & we were expected to show up at peoples houses to try to get them in our program...during a pandemic....all while waiting on health insurance benefits that were never administered, I digress.The final straw? I applied for a management position to try and improve the conditions we experienced. Despite already performing most of the duties of the position, it was not given to me. In fact it was given to another person, with no social/human services experience. Since he was not hired for his knowledge of non-profit and understanding of post prison release services...Ill let you take a guess at what was the real reason. And I could have handled the rejection, if there was one. I waited three months for a response and never heard back. I was actually approached informally and then THREATENED by another (also unqualified) manager, Charles Walker, that I needed to be strategic about the way you proceed from here…the non-profit community is a small place and word travels fast. It was so unprofessional that I cant believe it actually happened as Im typing this right now. He wasnt fired. He wasnt even reprimanded. That just shows how little they value their employees.This organization is a joke. Matter of fact, our participants called us Tampa Bay Academy of Hoax because we were literally full of empty promises and no results. I dont even know how they are still open. Dont work here. Dont go here for help. Literally, avoid this place at all costs. Listen to the other reviews, they are absolutely right about this place.

I want to share my personal experience during my time here to give people a true and in-depth review of how it was to work for this company. I spent two long and miserable months working as a case manager here. It only took my second day in the office for major red flags to flare. From day one I felt a sense of instability, lack of direction, a negative environment, lack of professionalism, dysfunctional structure, dictatorship, and very poor management. I quickly learned that majority of the staff had only been employed here for about five months due to the extreme turnover rate.I want to point out the fact that culture is a major problem here. The executive director, Ms. Lamb, has been there for 8 years and has effectively built a negative culture. She has created an environment where she is the dictator and anything that may pose a threat must be eliminated, hence why I believe there has yet to be a HR department implemented. During a staff training, there was a section asking specifically for feedback. Ms. Lamb made it a mission to tear down the staff after giving feedback about our own personal experiences with the job. She used words such as complaining and scorned us for being negative when the point of the section was to give feedback. Ms. Lamb is quick to criticize anyone negatively, never pointing out the good in anything, but will not take any criticism for herself. Anytime the staff began to express their selves, Ms. Lamb made sure to eliminate the situation in a negative and harsh fashion.The dysfunction of this company is very apparent. Due to the lack of competence and awareness of the upper management, mainly Ms. Lamb and Ms. Fields, there was consistent disorder. Last minute notices, poorly planned meetings, outdated filing system, lack of communication are just a few examples of what to expect if you work here. Favoritism is also very apparent here. Certain staff members are able to do as their heart desires, including wear whatever they want to work. The accountant is so comfortable doing what she wants that she walks around the with no shoes during one of the biggest pandemics this country as ever experienced.The micromanagement here is insane. Ms. Fields was so concerned about my work but could barely keep up with her own. Why is it that I would receive assignments to complete that were already completed? I felt I had no room for error or room to grow because of how I was being watched. Again, I never felt we had the tools in the first place to succeed and when I went to management, nothing got done or they make you feel incompetent. This is sad because the organization has so much potential but with Ms. Lamb in charge it will never be reached. There will always be dysfunction and negativity as long as the management is in place.

A year ago I heard about this wonderful program and invited them to our staff meeting to have them introduce themselves so that we can get better acquainted work together and serve the community together .I work for a child abuse prevention agency I am a case manager and at first everything seem to be flowing but it’s a year later and I’m still waiting for three boys to be contacted for a mentor during this time one of those boys dropped out of school and is now working in McDonald’s a boy who was an honor roll student abused at home by his stepfather.. Who did not trust anyone and refused a mentor when I finally convinced him and he agreed to meet a mentor to hook up with a mentor I called on a weekly basis I’ve been calling since last year and this boy has yet to be connected with anyone.If you’re wondering why I did not contact anyone I went straight to the top and I still have not heard anything .

Tampa Bay Academy of Hope is the best. Ms. Lamb is caring and committed to our kids at the academy. She can be found in her office well past 6 PM and is always willing to help a student. I read some of the post and as a parent who has had a student involved with the Academy I can honestly say that she cares about the care our kids receive. Not all staff feel the same way and she will get rid of you if you do not care about the kids.

Welp, as I stroll through comments searching for a new home for my daughters 2020-2021 school year, this institution definitely WONT make my top 3 . Good Spirits to improving in the future 5 STAR BLESSING !

Called to schedule a ACT workkey assessment for a prospective employer that requires the tests.Scheduling was easy enough, albeit the academy attempting to profiteer off of their monopoly providing the tests by jacking the price up compared to other distant locations... but that aside, on the day scheduled the test proctor Mr Lamb never showed up and the staff seemed perplexed, unwilling and/or unable to call him in.Promising they would get back to me I never heard a thing. When I called in I was given the runaround so to go away.By appearance I would gather this academy to be but a facade/shill of an institution designed to collect non-profit funds. The staff were unprofessional, the facilities lacking, and I wouldnt send my child within a hundred yards of this sham organization.

I was just fired from TBAH! Meanwhile, they seem to be firing people every other week with no motive! New people in and out the office ALL THE TIME. EVERYONE is new, meaning only been there for almost a month! That should tell you how this company runs! They gave me no reason or even let me know in advance! I was leaving and my supervisor Dr Jasmin told me he had to talk to me, let’s be mindful they have been acting shady all week and I been informing him that they were trying to fire me because I’m calling them out about their unorganization and he stated ALL WEEK, no but I am going to work with you. He apparently knew and still was talking to me like I wasn’t going to get fired. I did an amazing job as an employee while this company is VERY unorganized and do not know how to communicate!!! The executive director, Lamb, is not passionate about her job! She stated she is not a people person and she does not like going within the community! TBAH is based off of that, so why is she still in this position, I have no idea. Most of upper management talks about people, order food, and shop online and expect you to do all the work. This job is very unprofessional and I don’t recommend anyone to continue or start with this company!

Y’all are the best!