I was at PV for 13 months and two other rehab centers as well... over all I was away for 5 years
I will answer the questions the person above has asked
1) What was the food like?
The food varied, somedays it was good depending if it was breakfast lunch and dinner others bad... but then again when you are hungry after a hard days work anything in your stomache is better then nothing. I only became ill after eating the food a few times but it was not due to the foods content but more the taste, thoes food included Keilbasa, Brussel sprouts, Honey buns, beef stroginof (which we called beef stroke me off).
2) Where was it served?
We usualy ate in a huge bulding located on the main campus called the "Y.C." or Youth Center.. this was also where parent events were held and the staff room was in the loft of said building while Boys STU is literaly in the basement below. Sometimes we had to eat at the cabin depending on the circumstaces. When we were on quarintine due to an illness that was floating about we ate at the cabin and had our food brought to us.. it was kind of nice not to have to walk a mile to eat seeing how the boys campus was on the other side. But the strike rule also comes in to play, the strike rule is basicly each month we get three strikes, If any of the males get caught sneaking a peek at the girls... that was a strike for the whole clan, if your clan obtained 3 strikes the clan would have to each day for a week consume every meal on the boys side. That means we had to go to the YC, take the food back to the boys side, eat, and then bring it back to the YC and then go BACK again to the boys side... making us take 4 trips as opposed to the normal 2.
3) Was food ever denied?
Kind of, they really manipulated this one... Based on what ever it was you did, would make you wait to eat untill 15 minutes before said meal was over... that means you have to eat ALL your food and not throw up. Problem was what ever was on the menu you had to get one portion of each type even if you hated it. Also you had to FINISH everythign on your plate or you would get DL (Desert limitation) They always made sure you ate... but they made it hard to enjoy whatever it was you were eating
4) What was the school part of the program like?
We only had school on mondays, wednesdays, and Fridays. I believe the girls had it on alternate days which makes me wonder if they only recieved 2 days of school as opposed to 3. The reason we only had three days of school was so on tuesday, thursday and saturday we could do vocational work... which was the village's cheap ass way of not having to hire anyone to repair anything. We pretty much fixed everything that went broken unless it truly needed to be professionaly done. Whne the cabins needed work, we fixed them, when concrete needed to be layed, we did that, spreading gravel, reshingling the roofs, weeding the front of the admissions office... that was us. This supposedly counted as gym and shop credits but I never saw any of thoes grades come to fruation when I finaly went to normal public school... thanks to PV I was put in 11th grade when I should have been in my senior year on the sole reason I did not have enough credits.
5) Where were classes conducted, and what was the classroom support like? IE. Teachers, computers, books etc..
The classrooms was a class cabin... thats right just like Tom Sawyer. Each clan had a section of the cabin that was "homeroom" with a specific teacher as the clans "homeroom teacher" The teachers were varied.... although there were only four they each had a unique personality and taught specific subjects... one taugh Math, calculus and of the like, Another taught strictly english and literature, another taught Biology and various sciences, and the last taught History, Geography, economics, etc. The books were new and plentiful but they never let you read what you wanted. I remember The english teacher told me to pick out a book as an assignment.. I picked a book called "A confederacy of Dunces" Which I had read before and enjoyed... He said he would not allow me to read it because I was not worthy of such majestic story telling. I agree it was an awsome story, majestice even.. But Iam not worthy to read a fucking book? Instead he made me read this peice of shit horribly written 120 page book titled "A light in the forrest" Which is just a shitty rip off of the book "The education of little tree"
Just for the record... you could not read anything other then A/A N/A material outside of school unless you were a high level and even then the book had to be evaluated and approved by your treatment team.
6) Under what circumstances could school be denied?
If you were sick, or in the burrito (straitjacket) or the time out room.
7) What were the accomodations like for the students not in STU?
Could you please be more specific about this question?
What sort of clothing did the captives wear, and where did it come from? We were to wear white T shirts, working jeans, shirts tucked in with belt, normal tennis shoes for school days and steel toed boots for work days. Every 2 months or so we would have something called inventory day where we would clean the cabin from top to bottom and go over a liost of clothes we needed... There was actualy a list with the items required and the ammount we should have that we had to have a staff verify and sign. Kids usualy recieved the clothes from their parents... but the kids whoes parents could not afford it or simply refused to send them things had to go find the items from what is known as "The eagles Nest" Basicly The eagles nest was a storage space for all the clothes that was ever left by a former patient... over 17 years of rehab patian clothes reside in that nest... and woe to the poor sap who had to get his clothes from that place...
9) If you needed a basic necessity where did it come from? Such as tooth paste and things of that nature...
The village provided that, also your parents could send you hygenic things if need be
10) Was there a stage/level system at PV? Yes, both in STU and in the Cabin program but they differ greatly. IN STU you have Levels 1,2, and 3. You come in as an "outcast" and have to earn your way in to the group by writing a 10 page journey paper about why you were sent to PV... once you complete it you are in the group. Depending on a kids writing level this project could take a few hours or for others 2 months. When u are in the group you are a level one. You have to kiss ass and ragg on your fellow captives to show your are able to be a level 2... you then have to send in a request and staff will review it. Level threes have the most privelege and I found out that all you have to do to get level 3 is ask... but most dont because when anyone talked about thinking about going for a level 3 they were manipulated in to not even bothering because they would be rejected and it would be a waste of time.
The cabin system was different and very intricate.... the levels were based off the Native American medicine wheel. The levels were Premouse, Mouse, Senior mouse (this level has been abolished) Bear, Bear Adoha, Eagle, and Buffalo. Each level ment something and it would take waaay to long to explain each meaning and how to obtain each level because each way is different based on what Clan you are put in to. Also when you recieve a level there is a ceramony among your Clan members that takes place by a fire in an almost cult like ritual that is supposed to be "mystical" but once again each ceramony was different depending on what clan you were in
Basic employee qualifications for entry level staff?
We were never informed of their qualifications and even if we asked wouldent tell us
Many claimed to be off duty marines... but when 9/11 happened I always mention how it was strange how they were not asked to ship out.
What sort of training did PV give them?
On the field training... get sone stupid intern and place him with a clan.
