It seems like many kids choose this sad route of escape from abusive programs, and for some reason they don't get included in the deaths like they don't count or something, like they are damaged and not humans trying to escape a bad situation. People kill thesmelves in jail and people understand that, so why not this?
I don’t think anyone knows for sure why a person takes their own life, but what we do know is many times that the people who are left behind feel a tremendous amount of guilt, the parents of the child feel they could have done something to prevent it like address the problem sooner, the ex-girlfriend/boyfriend who just broke up with them wish they hadn’t written that letter, the brother or sister who laughed when they finally got rid of their sibling for a year, the staff member who feels he/she might have been too harsh, the therapist who missed some of the warning signs. It is fair to say that everyone feels they are somehow responsible…but not every child can be reached or root cause determined… I have had my share of families who had to bear this tragedy in their lives.
But don’t let the silence fool you…. These kids are remembered well by everyone…. but it seems the families just need a little more space and privacy than in other circumstances of the death of a child (i.e. car accident, health problems)…it’s a little more personal because of the reasons I described above and obituaries are not always placed in the paper celebrating the child’s past football accomplishments or love of cars. So don’t despair that these kids are forgotten because their name wasn’t placed on the internet or in the paper …..they are not… the ones that count, those who were close to them and knew them well will remember them and the good they did for others and all the people they touched during their short time here… these thoughts will linger forever.
Yadda yadda ya... It
does matter if they are in the internet or the paper. Especially when there are industry shills running around claiming that such things are necessary for their statistics on the safety of such places. Pfft... (and stay the hell away from that thread, please, please, please)
Let me give you a different version of what others think might think. Let's take George at Benchmark... George went to Benchmark, a
NATSAP program that is not licensed as a treatment center or accredited as a school. George was bipolar and already suicidally depressed. Benchmark has no licensed therapists / counselors on staff. Some don't even have high school diplomas. Students who were there at the time say that Benchmark made the situation much much worse with him. Eventually, an extra-harsh confrontation from counselor Joelle (according to multiple witnesses with identical accounts of the event) was too much for him and he jumped off a bridge onto his head. Nothing was in the papers. Nothing was on the internet. The family got the consolation of having a nice special parent group with hand-picked students. Jayne (the owner) admitted to most of this, but insisted his death was inevitable, that it would have happened no matter what.
My opinion: the school is directly responsible for his death. They claimed to be able to help him when were not qualified, or otherwise able to do so. They also knew he was at a risk to himself and allegedly ignored his suicidal behavior as "manipulation". Furthermore, verbally attacking an already fragile teen with a pre-existing and noticable history of depression is reckless, in my opinion.
Why no lawsuit? Probably because Benchmark's contract has a liability waiver and "covenant not to sue". It probably wouldn't hold in court, but most parents wouldn't know that. Furthermore, the parents, with all the LGAT seminars and incessant propoganda, probably left the situation believing the school: that their child was depressed and destined to die (according to the all-knowing deities of the cult/school).
Let's talk about ambulance records. An investigator for the California Alcohol and Drug programs went down to Benchmark and happened to ask about the semi monthly suicide attempts I alleged. Jayne Longnecker claimed that there were no suicide attempts, and that the investigator could check with the local police department (whom her husband and son in law work for, as well as the family of other staff members).
As you might expect, there were no ambulance records... However... Like all crooks eventually do, Jayne Longnecker made a mistake: she forgot that both ex-students and their parents had copies of the ambulance bills (and now, so do I). What this adds up to is this: I have proof that Jayne lied to an investigator about the suicide attempts. Later on, she did worse, but I won't / can't talk about that until the time is right.
How many deaths are covered up, Who? Given the frequency of suicide attempts at Benchmark, the age of the program, and the effectiveness of their cover up, it really is anybody's guess; however I do know that the official record is not accurate, and in case you have been sleeping around here, Benchmark is not exactly the only school around with the "aid" of local law enforcement.
