Author Topic: Dr. Mel Riddile, Straight's former national director, prote  (Read 2403 times)

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BlogThis!Drug Free America Foundation
formerly known as Straight, Inc.
From 1976-1985 it was known as Straight, Inc. and had a reputation for abusing kids as a drug rehabilitation program. In 1985 it changed its name to Straight Foundation, Inc. in order to protect its money and its principals from civil suits. In 1995 it was changed again to Drug Free America Foundation. DFAF is a national and international drug policy think tank and provider of services for drug free work places.

 
About Me
 Name:Wesley Fager Location:Virginia, United States
Wes Fager is the editor of http://www.theStraights.com--an Internet newspaper about child abuse in therapeutic communities. For information on Wes Fager read his Bio or do a Google on "wes fager" and "wesley fager."

View my complete profile

 
Wes Fager's letter to Bill O'Reilly on biased reporting by St Pete Times
The Great Drug War now in second edition
The O'Reilly Factor vs. Calvina Fay
Mel Riddile, former National Executive Director for Straight, Inc., named 2005 Outstanding Principal in Virginia
14 years ago the Clownstown Chamber of Commerce tried to build a Shrine to Mel Sembler. Now Craig Sher, CEO of Sembler Co, is chairman of the Chamber!
Straight, Inc., now called Drug Free America Foundation, makes misleading News Advisory on Supreme Court's Medical Marijuana Ruling
Overview of Straight's abuses
Ambassador Melvin Sembler, wife Betty and Straight, Inc.:should they be ambassadors of national drug policy,or jailed?
Florida's Supreme Court strikes down statue of limitations, allows abuse law suit 20 years later
DFAF carries the logo OJJDP

Thursday, June 30, 2005
Mel Riddile, Straight's former national clinical director, protested at awards ceremony

We have received word that on June 22, 2005 Melvin Riddile, Ph.D., the principal of J.E.B. Stuart High School in Fairfax County, Virginia was presented an award in Williamsburg, Virginia for being the best principal in Virginia. But the ceremony was protested by a handful of Straight survivors. Dr. Riddile is the former national executive director of Straight, Inc. and during the early 1980s Dr. Riddile was the director of the Straight camp in Springfield, Virginia (in Fairfax County). For 17 years Straight, Inc. was one of the most destructive juvenile rehabilitation programs in the world. Straight stopped treating kids for addictions in 1993 and today is an internationally recognized think tank on American and international drug policy. Today it calls itself Drug Free America Foundation and its founder (who is the former chairman of the finance committee for the national GOP) Melvin Sembler is our Ambassador to Italy. While DFAF no longer treats kids for addictions, Kids Helping Kids of Cincinnati, Ohio does.

Kids Helping Kids was founded in part by Dr. George Ross who, like Dr. Riddile, has a Ph.D. in Education. Dr. Ross is Straight's former national education director. A few months after Straight had opened in Virginia, back when Mel Riddile was director of the Virginia program, a young Straight escapee named Fred Collins was awarded $220,000 by a jury in US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia for being falsely imprisoned by Straight. Virginia authorities did not prosecute Dr. Riddile or anyone else for their roles at Straight, but state authorities in Kentucky tried to prosecute Dr. Ross for his alleged role of violating civil liberties at Possibilities Unlimited--another Straight-like program he founded in Lexington, Kentucky.

Straight-Cincinnati voluntarily closed in Ohio after state criminal authorities took it to court on multiple criminal counts. Today Kids Helping Kids continues to operate out of the old Straight facility. Recently some Straight survivors urged Dr. Riddile to speak out against Kids Helping Kids. They allege he personally knows "people who were involved with KHK." When Dr. Riddile refused to speak out against Kids, the Straight survivors passed out the following flier at the awards ceremony for Dr. Riddile. Here is a copy of the Riddile flier that was eMailed to us.

Related articles:

The cause for the 1980 epidemic of juvenile suicides in Fairfax County Virginia
Abuse at Straight-Springfield
An overview of Straight's abuses
What professionals have to say about Straight
A newspaper montage on Straight

posted by Wes | 1:39 PM    

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