Print Page - New Beginnings Girls Academy

This thread will consist of some small links about New Beginnings Girls Academy (http://http://wiki.fornits.com/index.php?title=New_Beginnings_Girls_Academy) located near LaRussel in Missouri.

The founders did work for one of the original Roloff homes in Texas and they have moved between Florida and Missiouri since operating their school under various names.

New Beginnings Girls Academy is a Deception! (http://http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/2720638) - Jeanette's Sharebook (Care2 blog), February 12, 2011:

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My daughter was recently brought home from New Beginnings Girls Academy in LaRussell Missouri. The ordeal was a very traumatizing experience that has definately changed the life of my little girl forever. The abusive punishment used on these little girls is cruel and unusual, and extremely abusive. The state laws of Missouri are very vague for protecting these girls from abuse, since the parents have signed many papers, notorized and sent back. Making the parent feel that they have no rights left to have any part in their child's decision making daily life. We asked the director, Bill Macnamera, if he would be able to help our daughter recover from a serious trauma that was tormenting her daily. He assured us that she would recieve counseling, encouragement, and discipleship and that with their help she would get "academically back on track..." The only thing our daughter did receive was severe and cruel abusive treatment. I am a mother with a heart for truth and justice, and when I saw my daughter on the day I went to pick her up...I knew that there was a story she would not be able to speak of for a long time. I want to warn all parents, and inform mothers that no matter how much anguish your child is struggling with, you are still the final answer....you cannot give up your child to a house of abuse, so that you can sleep better at night, knowing they are "safe" somewhere....it is a false peace, and the truth is that behind closed doors, and shut off campus, your daughters are being severely abused, not for acts of rebellion, but for merely looking at someone, or speaking to another girl, or expressing an opinion that is not what New Beginnings programmed them to say.... This establishment is one of great intimidation and threats of continual abuse daily. My daughter was on a punishment called "red shirt" when I arrived to pick her up. She had no idea that I was coming, and was in shock when she saw me for the first time. She stood there trembling, shaking, and started crying uncontrollably....saying over and over again, "Mom is that you?....O my God, Mom is that you?....are you really here?...Mom, O my God Mom... I cant believe its you!" She was weak and trembling, pale white, and her shoes and skirt were filthy. She was in a large red T-shirt, thin black summer skirt, freezing cold. Missouri had just had a snow storm, and the weather was 26degrees. She was being punished for the 3rd week in a row "on the wall," which means standing there at the wall for 8-10 hrs a day. Before that she had been on the wall for 4 weeks straight of continual standing with hands behind back, facing wall, no talking, no bathroom break when desperately needed, but had to wait for someone to take you, and that could range up to 5-6 hrs. She was sickly, with blood in her urine, and blood in her stools. She now has a horrible gag reflex from all of the forced feedings with the 5 minute rule. When you are on punishment you have only 5 minutes to eat everything they heap onto your plate. What were her offenses? What did she do to warrant this punishment? She had looked at another girl, spoken to someone without being informed that there is a no talking rule, she left her socks on the laundry pick up table by mistake, and she had stepped out of line to get her Bible. While on punishment at the wall she needed to go to the bathroom while on her cycle and was refused. During one church tour the girls wrote notes for help, hid them in the hymnals and prayed that the church people would find the notes and send them to their families. They were discovered, and each girl was put in solitary confinement twice...standing in a sealeded off room 4-6 hrs at a time...standing on the wall or writing sentences. My daughter was suffering with a UTI, and I informed them that she needed to go to a Dr. and receive antibiotics for her infection. They said that they would take care of it right away, and she never saw a doctor. Food is used as a continual punishment. The girls are forced to eat large amounts in 5 minutes time of unhealthy foods that also cause problems with these girls that are already struggling with chemisty imbalances. This place covers the bases for legal rights to do as they have done for years...abuse these little girls with the parents signing off, and the child left behind feeling the betrayal, abandonement, and the effects of being thrown away...to people that don't like them, who now have total power and control to inform them that their own family "does not even want them" and they are "fortunate" that the New Beginnings Program has taken them because "no one else would." The Bible is used continually to emotionally abuse these girls, reminding them that they are unworthy to be at New Beginnings, but that the staff is so merciful to allow them to stay, and punish them until they understand their place in the world... They are to be out of the world, away from family, and away from all sin. Sin is in the world, your family is in the world, if you go home you are going back into the world, you must not want to go back to your family, your family is in the world and the world is sin....the cycle continues...there is no "mending broken relationships" or "Loving caring atmosphere" as they advertise. They want these girls relationships with their family all severed so they can metally manipulate the life of your child beyond their 18th year. That is where the benefit for New Beginnings comes from...the girls then become the baby sitters, to give out punishments to any offenses the new prisonguard sees fit. The prisoner becomes a guard. The progrtam is built entirely on fear, intimidation, and abuse punishment. None of the things God inteneded...these are His lost sheep being abused by a leader who is out of control with his anger....Bill Macnamera lost control of his temper started yelling at me on the phone and hung up on me during a conversation about my daughter. Afterwards my daughter received continual punishment until the day I picked her up. A Leader with no self control, yelling at these girls the "rules of God," when Jesus said "my sheep hear my voice and follow me," we all know that you cannot yell at sheep, you will terrify theem! You must speaK gently, softly, reading the Bible to calm them, not terrorize them, beating them with the rode and staff, but gently guiding them to continual safety..... Mothers! Do not become so discouraged and helpless that you decide to turn and walk away from thinking you can help your child....this place is not God's design, and it is not the answer. This is a wolf in sheeps clothing, and our daughters are the sheep that are being devoured by this obese, angry, hot tempered, lustful beast of a religous man. I have been involved with the church for many years of my life, and have slowly come to see the difference in mens character, those who do honor God in their lives, and those who use God to their own glory....I can say with all honesty and no malice, that this program is not one that honors God in any way....it is performing, quoting scriptures, and yelling at the girls when no one is looking. Can good fruit come from a corrupt tree? Can we get fresh water from a putrid stream? We cannot have good and bad flowing from the same pulpit and expect our sheep to become mature, responsible, safe adults. I have years of work ahead of me, to undo the harm that was continually forced upon my daughter in only two months. But there are girls that have been left there for good. Years of this abuse will not turn them out to society, the plan is to keep them there to get promoted to become a security guard, and then to get hired on and help run this place while the Macnameras are on their one of many vacations...the day I went to pick up my daughter, they were on a cruise with their daughter and son in law who also helop run this family business, that is self governed, self regulated,and self documented. This is a dangerous place with wonderful Bible cover. I was decieved with the wonderful presentation they give in the churches. Our church supports this school, we watched their presentation, were taken by the plea for help for the girls, and our hearts ached for them. They would only look at the ground. We got there early and saw the girls sitting in the pew before their presentation started... they would only look down at the Bible on their lap. When I spoke to them they were shy, timid, and fearful to say anything...I did not understand, but now I completely do...the deception is thick and heavy. I was completely taken off guard when they quoted so much scripture, and were joyfully singing their songs. I did not know the truth of the hearts of the girls, they were pleading for help in silence....my daughter was too.. my daughter was co-erced to tell me on the phone in front of the staff that she could not come home, and told me that she needed to stay there to continue "growing with God" *( on the wall) and stay for another "6-7 months" This was shocking to me. We agreed that she would stay for 30 days to get time away to make decisions of the direction she wanted to go with God in her life. I found out after bringing her home that she was so severely punished, her only thought was the cost of leaving there. She was told she could never go home again, and that she had no-where else to go. She was told that she had to pay her parents back for her stay there, and how was she going to afford that. She thought she would have to stay and get hired on to begin paying back her debt. She was almost 18 yrs old. By then she could be a security-guard-baby sitter-type person called a "helper" or "Junior Staff" who follows the younger girls and give demerits for punishment. She would earn her freedom by staying and working for the New Beginnings Girls Academy.... Do not believe what you hear, your heart will tell you that there is something wrong, and it is true! I plead with other parents. Follow your gut instinct and believe no one, but see for yourself....it is never as it looks...it is a deception...I only wish someone had been able to tell me what I'm saying now.

Abusive treatment facility (http://http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/abusive-treatment-facility-c414958.html), jeannie marie, Complaint Board, January 31, 2011,

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Met this group, while they were on tour to our church. we were impressed wtih their evening performance, and felt that this place would be a place where our daughter could find rest, and comfort and a place to get away from it all after a severe accident left her with some serious physical complications...
it was not what we had expected, nor was it what we were promised.We were told of mending broken relationships, academically getting on track and counseling...
punishment started right away, for things that were not understood, red shirt, punishment, left my daughter with many physical problems, untreated medical condition, UTI that was untreated, afer I spoke about her needing to get medical attention, they said they would, and did nothing.
blood in her urine, blood in her bowels, hives all over her body.
Our letters were kept from her, her letters to us were never sent, she was not allowed to speak to us freely on the phone, but every word was to be judged, and she was expected to speak to us in monotone, so as not to communicate anything other than what was allowed. She was on punishment, and red shirt discipline throughout her stay, and has foot, knee, hip inflamation from the constant standing on the wall with her hands behind her back, both feet flat on the floor.
she wakes up nightly with nightmares, of being taken back to New beginnings Girls academy.
Bill macnamera has a very bad temper, in which he did lose all self control with me, while I was asking him questions about educational neglect for my daughter. We were told that she would start counseling, up to two days a week, right away...after two months, she recieved one processing counseling interview...when I asked about the counseling and the lack of education, Bill Macnamers became angry with my questioning his authority, telling me that he did not have to listen to this, and slammed the phone down...a man with a lack of control, exploding on the phone in a temper tantrum fashion, is also in charge of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and 30 little girls who needed a safe place to be, and protection...very concerning...
we called to ask our daughter if she were ready to come home, a nd she had already been in Bill Macnamera's office earlier, and agreed under duress, to stay 6 more months...at which time she told me on the phone she could not come ahome, and it was not perfect at New Beginnings, but she could not come home...now she wanted to stay another 6 months...during my conversation, she was told she had 3 minutes to get off the phone for a counseling session...so they could than tell her why she needed to stay there...
The world is sin, your family is in the world, if you leave NBGH you will going back into the world, your family is in the world, the world is in sin...
They are not allowed to know the day of the week or the date of the month, and must learn to tell time backwards...no speaking of family you miss, or anything that is reminders of home, family, affection, caring loving people in your life outside of New Beginnings.
You get punished for making eye contact with any other girl, no matter what..no speaking at any time..you must raise your hand and be silent until you are called, if you are called.
Bathroom is punishment: with 5 sheets of toilet paper, or 7 depending on your need...open stalls for shower and bathroom...strip search, solitary confinement writing sentences for up to 4 hrs. a time..
When I went to rescue my daughter from this place, I was met by the counselor who told me to come into the office, we needed to talk...told me to sit down, I refused, he than got himself a chair, so we could sit and talk before I could see my daughter...he than told me that it was a dangerous idea to take my daughter home, It was not safe, she did not want to go home, and she made it very clear, told them many times she did not want to come home, she wanted to stay,
She was severely punished after I was hung up on with more discipline...she would than say anything that would make them happy hoping they would lighten up on the severe punishment...it didnt help...
she was severely distraught, terrified, freightened, full of shame, fear, intimidation, and terror...the look inher eyes the moment I saw her was one that I had never seen in her eyes before...it was the same look I have seen on a dog, lost on the side of a highway, trying to avoid traffic, sticks and stones, wet dripping with freezing rain, terrified for its very life, shivering, full of fear, begging for help...it shocked me and paralyzed me to see my daughter sickly pale, ghostly white, bug eyed, trembling, shivering, fulll of fear in her eyes...fear and intimidation not knowing why she was now in the Office...she looked at me, and said, Mom is that you...she than began crying saying, O God, O my God, Mom, is that really you, O my God mom you came...I ran to her, picked up her trembling body, and she melted in my arms, so I picked up her weak body, and felt how weak her hug on me was...she was trembling in my arms, and I whispered...do you want to go to Braums with me...will you go to lunch with me...I knew if I could remind her of a happy childhood memory, she would answer me freely before she remembered what she was supposed to say...she said, food, o God yes...she was in shock, and was trembling as we turned to walk out...she was than ordered to take off her red shirt and return it...big red T shirt to degrade as punishment, humiliate, and abuse mentally and emotionally...she had nothing else on with the T-shirt in Missouri snow storm, boots, thin black summer skirt...when I got there, they had her hurriedly put on a purple sweatshirt...she was confused, but never knew anything about me traveling to get her...she was in total shock and surprise...she was convinced that whe was not allowed to ever coem home again, she was not loved, not wanted, and at the same time, /Bill Macnamera told my husband to just let her go, give her away...let her go...they got tiered of all of our phone calls asking questions...
later on she was able to open up, telling me that she never would have went home with me if Bill macnamera was in town there..He was on vacation with his daughter and son-in-law who are his assistant directors...family run business...he would have let her know what the right response was...she would have done exactly what he told her to do...she was fulll of fear, intimidation, she was terrified of what would happen to her if she said the wrong thing...shw would have told me she was not going home.
I must confess that I am not one with free time on my hands to write openly, but this trauma is not half described due to time restraints...I am a mother of great love devotion, and concern for my daughter, and other daughters across America...Mothers who think thye are doing the right thing, finding out after it is too late, that we made the worst possible mistake of our lives...allowing total strangers, to have dominant control over the lives of a child that we have invested so many years, to a person that we knw so very little about.
I am reaching out to Moms everywhere, no matter how desperate you are to find help for your daughters, do not give up, do not give in, and do not send them to a place with your eyes closed, and imagine it is a good thing...if your heart is aching and grievingf, and warning you...listen to those cautions, it is real life screams in the dark...she was very exhausted and walked painfully...when I stoped for the night she was barely able to walk with terrible muscle cramps, and joint pain from the constant standing ont he wall, 7 days a week, *8- hrs. a day, and 500 jumping jacks each evening you are on punishment...she was in terrible pain, and groaned each time I held her, she was having muscle spasms throughout the night, with nightmares of being taken back to NBGH.
She now has anxiety attacks throughout the day, gag reflex from being force fed large amounts of food, and punished if you dont eat it all, or throw it up...punish is by demerits, and the girls who have grown up in the system and arrived at the age of 18, than become the new guards, to give punishment demerits without question...
the prisoner becomes the guard, so the abuse of the bully system continues, and the fear factor of this is evident in the lives of the girls that are full of fear to look anyone in the eye again...

This was originally the Rebekah Home for Girls when it was located in Corpus Christi, TX, yes? It's hard for folks to keep track when there've been so many name and location changes, as well as some changes in personnel... Do some parents believe that this is a "new" program or, at the least, one with no or very minor connections to the previous horror show?

From the New Beginnings website:

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What Is New Beginnings? (http://http://www.newbeginningsgirlsacademy.com/whatisnewbeginnings.htm)

At New Beginnings, we accept troubled teen boys and girls (ages 13 – 17) from all over the country. Our first emphasis is each student's spiritual needs. We are convinced more than ever that Christ meets every need and our goal is to point these young lives to Him. We believe that through Jesus Christ they can overcome their addictions, mend broken relationships, and get their lives on the right path. Our creator has provided the answer to man's basic needs of love, forgiveness, and acceptance in His Word. The King James Bible is our text book for spiritual direction. It provides Scriptural principles to confront all of life's problems. II Peter 1:3 "... (God) hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue."

We offer a place of refuge that allows our students to get away from the negative influences on their life and have a "new beginning." Our program provides a combination of spiritual guidance, Biblical teaching, and a healthy, loving atmosphere to help develop character and provide a foundation for confronting the many complex decisions in "growing up."

New Beginnings Girls Academy 2006

Here are some personal statements from their Testimonials page; some of these pertain to the New Beginnings' program for boys:

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Testimonials - New Beginnings Ministries (http://http://www.newbeginningsgirlsacademy.com/testimonials.htm)

Here are a few testimonials from former students and parents of students.

My name is Donna and my son was a student at New Beginnings in the Boys Academy. He was actually the first boy that Bro. Mac took in at the school. The boys' school was not quite ready to open its doors yet and I had been in contact with Bro. Mac about the crisis that was going on for my son and our family. Bro. Mac graciously called me and said that he felt there was something about "this boy" and that God was saying to take him in. It was truly a miracle in my life and for my child that was in so much pain and turmoil...all the pieces began to truly miraculously fit together and within one month my son was placed in Bro. Mac's care. I didn't know that my son had been praying that if God would get him out of the situations he was in, he would give himself completely to God. God answered his prayers on May 12th and my son recognized it as God's hand and indeed within a few weeks at New Beginnings, he rededicated his heart back to Jesus.

I went to visit my son with his brother and sister after he had been at the school for six months. We were all completely amazed at the transformation that God was accomplishing in and for my son. He had that peace and joy back that he had as a young boy, loving Jesus. We spent the three days we got to visit him singing hymns and songs that we had sung together when he was young as we drove around Missouri together.

I am in awe of God and the work He is so faithfully completing in Taylor. I am forever grateful for the godly men the God has placed in Taylor's life at New Beginnings. When my son left California, he was a 15 year old that struggled with entitlement, disrespect, lying, and anger. He now is a young man that has a passion for God's Word and actually is able to take responsibility for his actions. As a mom whose deepest desire is that my children will have personal relationships with God...He has granted me the desires of my heart as I hear what He is doing in my son's life. I knew that my son needed to be removed from his environment and family dynamics to have a chance to hear God's call. To God be the glory for the things He hath done for my son and thanks be to God for the family at New Beginnings and their willingness to give their lives for our children in service to God.

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My name is Buggs. Eleven years ago on Father's Day I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. I wish that I had done this so many years ago. I would have brought my family up in a more Christian home environment, but you live and learn. No matter how hard you try, the Devil has ways of getting in and trying to steal your glory. I have a son that was 17 years old. All and all, he has always been a good son. I kept him in church and he went to the altar and asked Jesus to be his personal Savior, but I did not believe that it was from the heart. Only God knows the heart. My son got into a little trouble in June of 2008.

The church that we attend supports New Beginnings, so I prayed about the matter and in just a little time the Lord spoke to me about sending my son there. I called Bro. Mac at the home and spoke to him about the matter and asked if he would consider taking my son. He told me that he would love to have him in the program. It was the best thing that I could do for my son. At 8:45 on September 10, 2008, my son asked the Lord Jesus to be his personal Savior and this time it was from the heart. The difference that the staff has made in my son's life is like day and night. Just in the first few weeks, I could tell the difference in my son. It is so good to set down and have a conversation about God with my son and listen to him bring Bible verses out in to the conversation.

The staff at New Beginnings is a God fearing King James 1611 Bible believing ministry. Only the true Word of God is spoken. I have seen the difference that the ministry has made in my son and would encourage anyone that has had a teen male or female that needs a second chance or a parent who wants to help their child get a better start even in their education to contact New Beginnings.

I would like to thank the staff at New Beginnings and all of the wives of these great men who have devoted their lives to changing boys and girls into respectable young men and ladies. God bless you all.

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My name is Amber. I am 20 years old and from Missouri. I went to New Beginnings on January 5, 2006. The Lord used the home in amazing ways and on January 11, 2006 He saved my soul! He allowed me to graduate and get on staff in 2007 until I went home to help take care of my sick grandpa.

In coming home, I found that it is true..."The world doesn't change, you do." Our families don't go to the home, we do. I have found that not too many people have been trained by the King James believing pastors like I have. It is also true that we could be the only "Bible" that people see (or at least pay attention to). God calls us to "be ye separate", but most of the time when no one else is, it is not easy. We are also to "follow his steps." (1 Peter 2:21) The Lord has really used these verses to help me in the last couple of months. At the home, it is so easy to do because there are others around doing the same thing. Once you leave, the Bible and prayer must be your focus.

I thank God so much for His love and grace, but also for the love and dedication of the staff at New Beginnings. The Lord used you to make it real to me.

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My husband and I want to personally thank you for helping our son to change his life and get him back on track. Last year was a tough year with our son becoming more defiant, getting angry a lot and losing his relationship with God. In a short period of time you helped change his life around. My son was not doing drugs or getting in trouble with the law but he was angry and destructive in our home, not caring about school, our family or God. Before it was too late for him and he started getting involved with drugs or the law, we wanted to send him somewhere so he could change. New Beginnings was the right fit for our son. He was able to get right with God, which is what he says has helped him change the most. Further, the structure and support helped him break out of his angry demeanor. Being away, helped our family heal and helped our son understand what is important in life. He now wants to do well in school and is repeating the classes he failed. He is taking pride in himself and his life. He now has a relationship again with God and wants to be a part of church several times a week; this has been a huge blessing. He is pleasant and polite. He does work around the house in a cooperative manner. He has gotten his temper under control. He learned so many new skills while at New Beginnings, such as planting, harvesting, carpentry, laying cement, etc. These skills are a source of pride for him and he really enjoyed doing these things while he was there. He has learned how to take responsibility of his life and build his self-esteem. It was such a hard decision to put him on the plane and send him away but I knew it was what he needed. There were many days I cried and prayed for comfort but I would do it again in a heartbeat because the change in him is incredible, he is a young man now. The months he was gone were hard for me but seeing him happy and in control of himself is a blessing from God. He grew up so much with your program and God's support.

If you are considering placement for your child, I would highly recommend New Beginnings. It clearly changed our son's future.

New Beginnings Girls Academy 2006

There are several "not especially flattering" reviews on Merchant Circle; here are all 19 of them.

Not sure why, but a number of folk, seriously unhappy about their experience with New Beginnings, actually gave them 5 stars. Clearly they misunderstood the rating system. I bring this up solely to stress the fact that, were it not for this misperception, New Beginnings Girls Academy would have had the lowest possible rating, namely, 1 out of 5 stars. There were no positive reviews.

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New Beginnings Girls Academy (http://http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/New.Beginnings.Girls.Academy.417-246-5200/review/list)
7437 Lawrence County Ave
La Russell, MO 64848
417-246-5200

2.5/5 stars

· · ·

Run away from this place! · 1/5 stars

January 16, 2011 by Deborah Renee' Wallis in Burleson, TX[/list][/list]
ABUSIVE AND ABRASIVE ENVIORNMENT · 1/5 stars

January 16, 2011 by A in Atlanta, GA[/list][/list]
Stop Turn Away · 1/5 stars

January 16, 2011 by Anonymous[/list][/list]
DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD HERE! · 1/5 stars

January 16, 2011 by Lady A in Fort Campbell, KY[/list][/list]
This place isn't what you think it is. · 1/5 stars

January 17, 2011 by Cindy in Garden Grove, CA[/list][/list]
A False Front · 1/5 stars

January 17, 2011 by Anonymous in Conway, AR[/list][/list]
I wouldn't send my DOG there; PLEASE put your CHILD FIRST!! · 5/5 stars

January 17, 2011 by H.A.H. Kansas in Wichita, KS[/list][/list]
I wouldn't send my dog there ; PLEASE put your CHILD FIRST!! · 5/5 stars

January 17, 2011 by H.A.H. Kansas in Wichita, KS[/list][/list]
I wouldn't send my DOG there; PLEASE put your CHILD FIRST!! · 5/5 stars

January 17, 2011 by H.A.H. Kansas in Wichita, KS[/list][/list]
I know from personal experience... · 1/5 stars

January 18, 2011 by B in Fitchburg, MA[/list][/list]
I know from personal experience (continued.) · 1/5 stars

The time will eventually come when all the damage from abuse, isolation, and feelings of abandonment will seem irreversible. Sometimes it takes years for former detainees to "deprogram" and really process what has happened to them. Do not trust the McNamaras. Do not fall for their lovely-sounding lies. Eventually, you will regret it deeply if you do. For more information, please contact me at [email protected] (http://mailto:[email protected]) Look for the group: "NBGA: Proactive Survivors of New Beginnings Girls Academy." (Feel free to contact even if you were part of the boys chapter or a parent of any present or past student.) Parents: also feel free to contact us. Please read Help at Any Cost, by Maia Szalavitz, a book about homes such as New Beginnings.

Thank you for your time.

January 18, 2011 by B[/list][/list]
It does more harm than good · 5/5 stars

January 18, 2011 by Anonymous in Hialeah, FL[/list][/list]
It does more harm than good cont · 5/5 stars

January 18, 2011 by Mia in Hialeah, FL[/list][/list]
It does more harm than good cont · 5/5 stars

January 18, 2011 by Mia in Hialeah, FL[/list][/list]
It does more harm than good cont · 1/5 stars

January 18, 2011 by Mia in Hialeah, FL[/list][/list]
GOD SHOULD NOT BE FORCED ON ANYONE!!!!! · 1/5 stars

January 22, 2011 by april lyn amey[/list][/list]

© 2006 - 2011 MerchantCircle.

From Hurrikayne's blog on Care2.com:

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New Beginnings Girls Academy - a.k.a New Beginnings Rebekah Academy (http://http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/974889)
Dec 6, 2008

(http://http://dingo.care2.com/pictures//c2c/share/97/974/490/974906_370.jpg)

What is the name of the facility you were in?

Originally, it was called The Rebekah Home for Girls, based out of Corpus Christi, TX. However, due to some changes in state laws in 2001, the home was closed and the same administrators, Bill "Brother Mac" and Jennifer "Mrs. Mac" McNamara, sent half of the ninety girls home and moved the other half of us to Missouri temporarily. They eventually found us a permanent location in Pace, FL, and we moved there.

The name underwent some changes for legal reasons. For a while, it was called New Beginnings Rebekah Academy. Later, they decided to avoid any negative association with the original Roloff homes so they officially named it New Beginnings Girls Academy, which still exists at that location. The McNamara’s have since gone on to operate New Beginnings Ministries in Missouri, which admits both girls and boys.

What kind of a program did they operate?

It was an extremely strict, Christian program, which is probably a lot of the allure for parents. But the reality of it isn't so simple. It's not just loosely Christian, like many parents assume. It's not much of an "academy." It's not like regular boarding schools.

People send their kids there out of desperation, and their kids end up having to deal with circumstances in an environment that they themselves could never cope with. They operate under the guise of being a tough love, Christian place where kids can come to terms with their problems in a caring, safe, secluded educational environment, but if I was only allowed to use one word to describe it, I'd call it "degrading."

We were constantly ridiculed. During my first week there, we were all gathered together for a little sermon or chapel service, and during that Brother Mac jumped up on a pew in front of me and called us a "bunch of faggots." Soon after being sent, girls realize that such situations are not uncommon - there's a lot of screaming and yelling and what was referred to as "open rebuke," which literally meant that we were individually verbally bashed and humiliated in front of everyone there. Brother Mac discussed and criticized a lot of our past errors openly.

They tried to keep us in a pretty constant state of shame. They used a lot of brainwashing tactics. We were constantly monitored, discouraged from befriending each other, poorly educated while there, and physically and mentally abused. With all of these atrocities, they hide behind the whole "tough love" facade, but there isn't any real love at all - only degradation to force good outward behavior. It's extremely traumatizing, to say the least. The cycle continues to this day, because no one really seems to believe "troubled teens" when they do get the courage to say they're being mistreated. People tend to assume they're just lying brats.

When were you there & how long did you stay?

I was there initially from January 2001 to January 2002. I went home for a few short months and then the administrators of the home and my guardians mutually decided that I should be sent back so that I could finish high school and help them out some since they were shorthanded. I know that I wouldn't have gone back had it been up to me, but at the time my family wanted me to go and I was still trying to "do right" by them as I was still pretty convinced that I was a terrible person.

I was only 16; they were sending me, so I thought I might as well go with at least a little dignity still in tact. In May 2002, they put me on a plane back to Florida. My status was technically "junior staff," which over time exposed me to a lot of things the average onlooker doesn't know about. Once I turned 18, I tried leaving a couple of different times, but I didn't have a lot of help or money. I was paid, but only enough to get some bare necessities; nothing even close to minimum wage.

I finally succeeded in leaving when I was 19, that was in 2005. They weren't happy, but the longer I was there, the more I knew that I couldn't be subjected to or associated with the things that were happening there. Everything was just so deceitful. I just wanted to run away and forget about it forever.

Whose idea was it for you to go to this facility?

It was my sister and her pastor's idea. Legal guardianship was awarded to my sister when I was 14. She had become a really strict, really conservative Christian, and it was understandably difficult for her to deal with the fact that I wasn't interested in Christian ideals. It really frustrated her and caused a lot of turmoil at home, because I was interested in school friends, secular music, and I wore black clothes. Prior to sending me to the home, she tried to send me back to my mom who lived in Seattle area, WA, and that was a doomed effort. To make a long story short, there were a lot of problems in her home, and I just didn't want to be there either. A few months later, my mom returned me to my sister who then made the decision to send me to the home.

Were you included in the decision?

Not at all; I had no choice in the matter. I felt that any kind of crazy, punitive efforts regarding me were just stupid, and this seemed like the ultimate punishment. It felt like being dumped off and exiled in a place they couldn't know that much about. I battled with a lot of past-related depression leading up to that. I guess, to an extent, I was pretty typical: I was a smart kid, intensely creative, but really anti-social and misread. It seemed like my sister wanted me to be someone else instead of encouraging the growth of my positive traits. So I fought her the whole way.

How did you get there?

My sister and her husband drove me. When I figured out where we were headed, I lost it; screaming, kicking, cursing, for several hours. The whole time, they kept saying that I had two choices: shackles and duct tape, or muscle relaxers. I learned later on that such methods were pretty common in getting girls to the home. When I finally tired out, one of them handed me pills, and I took them so that I could temporarily forget what was happening. I didn't wake up until Texas.

What happened when you arrived? How did they process you into their program/facility?

Most girls fight and have to be physically removed from their parents' vehicles, but I was tired and tried to be optimistic even though I had already done a little research on the place myself and read that there were scores of abuse allegations. I tried to believe my sister and her pastor, who said that the administrators were good Christians and those allegations couldn't be true about them.

As is typical procedure, we first met Brother Mac, whom I later learned was a completely different guy around parents and other outsiders. Next, the girls sang a song for us. It's a frequently-used ploy to show the girls as really docile and happy. Then, I met my "Buddy," a girl who follows her assigned new girl around and monitors her every move for her first thirty or so days. Last, they asked me to take a shower so they could finish separating what personal belongings I could keep from what had to be discarded or sent home. When all was said and done, I was left with a trunk of clothes I had never seen before, some toiletries, and a Bible.

Can you describe a typical day?

We woke up very early, made our beds and brushed our teeth, congregated to read the Bible and pray, returned to our areas to do more in-depth chores, and went to the school building to do what passed for school - no real teachers; just an unaccredited home school curriculum. Then, we worked off our acquired demerits, worked on Bible Memorization, had song practice, took showers, had a chapel or church service, had Bible reading and prayer time again, and, finally, went to bed. It was basically the same thing every day. Saturday was a work day.

The schedule differed if you were being disciplined in some way, were on Summer Tour, or were chosen to work outside that day. Some girls, even if they're suffering academically, do labor jobs on the property all day, surely in violation of child labor laws and school attendance requirements.

Can you describe some typical rules?

There were many reasonable rules but many more outlandish rules. The one that seems most harsh to people is that girls aren't allowed to talk at all unless asking Staff or Helpers a brief question, except for about an hour a week on Friday night. They're certainly not taught anything about rational communication. No talking, no humming, no popping knuckles, and your hair can't touch your face. You get six minute showers and five sheets of toilet paper. It's all about control of all aspects.

Offenses mean demerits, and demerits mean pain. Each demerit has to be worked off somehow - through very strenuous, forced exercise, etc... When I first got there, we got "licks" (corporal punishment) after the first 10 demerits acquired that day. Many simple offenses were worth 5 demerits; so you worked off the first 10 physically, and after that you got one lick per demerit, up to five licks. They were usually done by Mrs. Mac, and usually while Brother Mac watched.

When Mrs. Mac got physically tired of giving licks, we'd have to write sentences overnight. One hundred per demerit, and some girls went some nights without sleep, just to repeat it all over again the next day. Some of the rules may be different now because some of them have been exposed. Some of them may be less harsh and some of them may be more. If nobody knows for sure, and no one is really accountable for their actions, and you can't really check for yourself, then they could be doing practically anything they want with your child.

comments (16) | discussion () | permalink | send green star | flag as inappropriate
Visibility: Everyone
Tags: industry, abuse, teen, accountability, troubled
Posted: Dec 6, 2008 9:21am

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Comments (http://http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/974889) left for Hurrikayne's above blog entry, "New Beginnings Girls Academy - a.k.a New Beginnings Rebekah Academy (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=35289&p=396812#p396812)" (originally posted Dec 6, 2008 on Care2.com):

Alexandria W. (7) · Sunday December 7, 2008, 9:08 pm

I was in New beginnings. I went in March of 05 i was 15 contact me if youd like yahoo xxkillswitchx id love to chat with you if your interestedhurrikayne (38) · Sunday December 7, 2008, 9:31 pm

I lived on the Roloff Homes compound in Corpus in the late '80's when Rebekah was officially closed. No girls were supposed to be there, yet, I and 5 other girls were. Later, I was entered into the Jubilee home, for women. I was 17 and legally should NOT have been there either.Doll Linson (0) · Sunday February 22, 2009, 4:40 am

I was in the Roloff Homes in Corpus in the early '80's until I decided it was time to leave and i did with no problems. I was 17. The teachings from Bro. Roloff and Bro. Cameron I carry with me to this day and I also raised my children with the same teachings..I might not have agree with everything they did but the most important one of all..God..I agree with and that's what i hang on to..Paula S. (0) · Friday April 10, 2009, 8:26 pm

I was from the old Rebekah back in 1984-86 I am 40 now and still have nightmaresKatherine D. (0) · Saturday June 13, 2009, 11:19 pm

I was at the Roloff Homes when we moved to MI and then to FL in 2001. It was the worst most damaging experience of my life. No child should ever have to go through what I went through. I left seven years ago and still have nightmares about being trapped and abandonded. The Macnamara's have no concept of helping troubled teens, as a matter of fact, I was worse off after I left. I went to therapy for years after that experience and I still feel no closure. After telling my counselor what happened to me there she filed a report, but that report obviously did not do enough damage. I was PHYSICALLY, EMOTIONALLY, MENTALLY, and SEXUALLY abused at New Beginnings. If you are a parent reading this and are considering sending your child, please I beg you not to. Please do not allow your child to be put through what I went through. I promise you there are other options that will help. New Beginnings should no longer be able to operate and the Macnamaras' should be incarcerated.Becky C. (1) · Sunday July 5, 2009, 9:41 am

I was in Rebekah in 84-85. I remember alot from that time. Some good, some bad. Nothing too horrible happened to me, but I did see what others had experienced.John S. (0) · Thursday August 6, 2009, 9:47 pm

http://www.girlschools.net/ (http://www.girlschools.net/)[/list]
Paty V. (0) · Saturday October 10, 2009, 8:34 am

All of these girls saying horrible things about New Beginnings are full of shit! The only thing they did, was care for us. But lil brats like you are too ignorant to see that, and hated it because you hate instruction. PATY (I was in the home in 2005-06Sarah S. (0) · Wednesday December 2, 2009, 10:46 am

Well my name is Sarah and I as well was in the home in corpus Christi in 2001 , went to Missouri and then florida. I went back twice again in 2003 or 04 I really can't remember exactly when but not that I really care to. I can say that I agree with the abuse that had went on in the home. I can go on and on about all the stuff that has happened. There is one thing I wish happened was that we had more time to talk with eachother because there were alot of friends I made that I wanted to know more about but of course anything from the past or talking about the "world" was bad. Just like tv but the macs had one the most hypocritical people I have ever met. Oh really by the way patty whatever your name may be I guess you didn't learn much in there you imature little child there's no need for cusing maybe you shouldve learn some manors if anything while you were there. Plus you weren't there for the really hard stuff that us girls had to when I was in there. I'm sure you were brain washed as well to. But none the less we have our own opinions on our experiences. Well anyway enough said sorry to those that experienced the same thing hope nobody else goes through it and also if anyone recognizes me contact me my email is [email protected] (http://mailto:[email protected]).[/list]
Jeanette B. (0) · Friday January 28, 2011, 7:23 am

I appreciate seeing a parent that understands. Thank you Jeanette.

The above interview (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=35289&p=397778#p396812) continues with another of Hurrikayne's blog entries on Care2.com:

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New Beginnings Girls Academy: Survivor Story Part II (http://http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/991662)
Dec 19, 2008

(http://http://dingo.care2.com/pictures//c2c/share/99/991/166/991666_370.jpg)

Were you aware of Mrs. Cameron's history of trouble with the law in relation to Rebekah, another home she helped run before starting New Beginnings?

From an article by Chris Womack, published in The Observer, "The homes have been the subject of allegations of brutality for decades, and in May 1999 a TACCA-approved Roloff home had its turn. Faye Cameron, supervisor of the Rebekah Home for Girls and the wife of Roloff Homes president and TACCA board member Rev. Wiley Cameron Sr., was convicted of a misdemeanor for unlawfully restraining a child. In fact, Cameron was banned from ever working or being present at any juvenile home in Texas-for duct-taping a girl's wrists together and locking her in a room."
Link: http://www.isaccorp.org/newbeginnings/n ... tml.a.html (http://www.isaccorp.org/newbeginnings/new-beginnings.a.html.a.html)[/list]

From The Austin Chronicle, by Emily Pyle (2000): "Texas Protective and Regulatory Services removed Faye Cameron, dorm mother of the home and wife of Wiley Cameron, for abuse and neglect. Wiley Cameron retained both his position at the Roloff homes -- and his membership on the TACCA board, which he did not resign until Simons' mother filed suit against the homes the following year."
Link: http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase ... id%3A79818 (http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A79818)[/list][/size]
I had heard about it, yes. I was there around a year or a year and a half after the incident happened. By that time, Faye Cameron didn't participate in much of our daily activities inside the actual dorm, but she interacted with us almost any time we were around her outside of the dorm, which was often.

More importantly, was your family aware of this?

I'm not sure; I don't think that many parents are aware of it.

There were other incidents as well.

From the Pensacola Independent News, by Duwayne Escobedo (2004): "New Beginnings has been investigated twice (by FACCCA) and insisting that Faye Cameron quit the boarding school for troubled girls after being questioned for hitting a girl with a curtain rod."
Link: http://www.inweekly.net/article.asp?artID=713 (http://www.inweekly.net/article.asp?artID=713)[/list][/size]
Did you witness the incident, or hear about it?

After we left Texas, Mrs. Cameron was rarely around, even though Wiley Cameron was referred to as the president of the ministry. The Camerons lived in another state then, but they dropped in every few months or so. Mrs. Cameron always seemed to maintain a little bit of distance when on the property. While I was there, she never got involved with any of the discipline, which I assume was directly because of her legal trouble in Texas in 1999. One New Beginnings staff member who has worked with the home since it was still part of "Rebekah" in Texas, occasionally recounted times when Mrs. Cameron slapped girls in the face when she still worked inside the actual dorm.
(I witnessed the same behavior by Mrs. Cameron during my time on the Roloff compound.)

Details of the curtain rod incident got really mixed up somehow, which is probably why nothing ever came of the investigations, but I actually know all about it. Mrs. Mac was the primary physical disciplinarian, and "licks" were usually given with a thin, hard, white paddle. Many girls complained of bruises. The time that I got mine, Brother Mac brought in at least eight of my peers and threatened to have them hold me down. None of the girls looked like they wanted to help. Most of us realized that it was just something they did to prevent us from trusting each other.

There were periods of time when they wouldn't administer licks. It seemed like the McNamara’s would back off for a while after a period of time when they were giving licks, and having girls held down by other girls or junior staff if they refused them, just constantly. It was like they'd decide to ease up after realizing they'd gone for a period of time being totally out of control about it.

Once on junior staff, I learned that during staff meetings Brother Mac actually talked about these "phases." He'd say that the home was going to stop using licks as a punishment altogether so that they couldn't get in trouble with the law anymore. The curtain rod incidents happened during times when the McNamara’s said they were going to limit, or completely stop giving licks out; but they continued anyway just because they were particularly angry, or desperately in need of getting things more firmly under their control. Other times, they used one of these rods, which were more specifically the hard plastic rods used to open and close mini-blinds, if they didn't have the usual paddle on hand.

Numerous girls witnessed this happening plenty of times. I remember two incidences in particular. One time, Mrs. Mac gave licks to a girl named Jamie with one of these rods in a building behind one of the churches we sang in on Summer Tour. Several girls were made to hold her face down on the floor while she struggled, and she was repeatedly struck on the buttocks with one of these rods.

The other time, it was a girl named Kara. Brother Mac and another older staff member took Kara into a staff bathroom area. He was shouting terrible things at her while the rest of us listened from outside the door. We watched as he came out for a second, grabbed one of the mini-blind rods from one of the windows and hurried back into the bathroom. None of us could see what happened, but we could hear the girl screaming and begging for them to stop.

When people came to investigate the subject, Brother Mac tried to dictate which girls talked to the investigators. I think all of them were afraid they would get into trouble if they told the investigators anything about what they had really seen or heard. I was never questioned, but I wish I had been, because at that time I would have had the courage to tell truth.

Additional information this young lady shared with me:

• Redshirt/Discipline: Extremely physically strenuous, humiliating punishment that could last for months on end, most of which time the girl spent standing with her nose against a wall. The idea of standing with your nose against a wall doesn't sound very strenuous, but it can be pretty agonizing when you have to do it while remaining in the same position for hours upon hours without a significant break. I was on Redshirt for a month, and we had to wear red gingham shirts to ward off other girls and show that we were being ultimately punished. If other girls communicated with us, they'd be put on Redshirt, too. Girls on Redshirt had to exercise until the last regular girl was done working off her demerits. Afterward, we'd get a six-minute shower and then we had to go back to stand with our noses against the wall until the next activity, which we'd usually remain standing for. For an hour and a half or so, after the other girls went to bed, girls on Redshirt would have to do a series of different exercises which were designed to hurt a lot more than normal exercises. After that, we'd be permitted to sleep. On Redshirt, girls' diets were restricted to half-portions at one time. Later on, this particular form of discipline was modified. They changed the name to "Discipline" at one point, then girls stood with their noses against their bun kbeds instead of walls, got periodic 10-minute sit-down breaks, and some of the rules weren't quite as harsh.

• Behind closed doors Brother Mac used racial slurs. I believe that many girls were discriminated against because of race.

What slurs do you specifically recall him using? Did other staff use similar slurs?

Brother Mac used the "N-word" when referring to black girls when in his living area, around his family, and around a couple of the staff and junior staff members. At one time, some girls of black and Spanish descent were put on "Separation," (forbidden to talk to certain other girls of their race who were on the punishment of Redshirt/Discipline or licks), he said, so they wouldn't make trouble. It wasn't because these girls necessarily showed interest in befriending each other, it was just because of their ethnicity.

• I believe that we were sexually harassed by Brother Mac, too.

How so?

I've said before that he used to come into the dorm and "openly rebuke" us. In other words, he'd come in and single out specific girls and humiliate them to tears. On a couple of occasions, he would come into the dorm and single out specific girls or make more general announcements saying that he could tell that some were masturbating because he could "smell it" on them. I remember him saying that specifically several times. It was awkward and uncomfortable for all of us, needless to say. He'd also fairly frequently discuss our past promiscuous acts in crudely detailed and degrading ways and openly ridicule some girls for claiming to be homosexual before the home.

• Most girls gained serious amounts of weight (despite all the exercise,) which we were sorely ridiculed for, and a good percentage of girls completely stopped menstruating for the duration of their stay.

The menstruation complaint is common for many girls/women affiliated with the homes. Do you recall ever being given any sort of medication? Did you have a normal cycle as a junior staffer?

I don't remember for sure what I was given, but I was told that they were just vitamins. I tried to refuse to take them, but they insisted. I didn't need to be on any pills prior to the home. When I first got there, there were scores of us, who weren't even on any sort of medications previously, who were required to take these "vitamins." Maybe they were vitamins, though, I don't know for sure if the pills that we were given was what caused so many of us to stop menstruating, but it seemed too common to be purely coincidental. We all thought it was weird, we were assured that it was just something that naturally happened when girls are exposed to large groups of other girls. [Something to do with the theory of Menstrual Synchrony.] Some girls had normal cycles, but a good portion of us just entirely stopped. Some of them stopped for several months and some for the entire time they were there. Mine normalized completely as soon as I left the home the first time.

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Visibility: Everyone
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Posted: Dec 19, 2008 7:34pm

Copyright © 2011 Care2.com, inc.

Comments (http://http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/991662) left for the above blog entry by Hurrikayne, "New Beginnings Girls Academy: Survivor Story Part II (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=35289&p=397950#p397778)" (posted Dec 19, 2008; Care2.com):

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Paty V. (0) · Saturday October 10, 2009, 9:04 am

You're fucken stupid. Keep in mind that all of those false accusations will eventually catch up to youRenee Turner (0) · Thursday December 3, 2009, 4:51 pm

It is very sad to think that these things happen to our children. Im not opposed to Homes for troubled teens but I am highly opposed to such abuse...It's obvious why they place these homes out in the middle of no where. If these girls had a fair chance to get away, they would. I know of a young lady that is there now and trust me, I better not ever find out she has been mistreated. It was a desperate father that had no time for his children that chose to send her there. I cant believe anyone would pay these idiots one red cent to so called " look after a child ".....I have read many storys about New Beginnings and believe every word these poor girls have writen. Some of the things said are not things that young girls just sit around dreaming about. It does not take a rocket sciencetist to read between the lines. Just take a look at the big picture. I even called to ask about some general information and were told things I could not believe I was hearing. It is againt the law to threaten a child with food. I was told by Mc that as punishment a girl would get a burger with just the meat and bread ( not a damn thing on it ). I was also told that they do make them wear a different colored shirt when they r being punished as well. This way they r singled out.....What bothers me the most is that they do not let them have any contact with family or friends. Now why do you think this is ? It takes about 6 months for them to brain wash them real good. Thats all this is is a brain washing cult...Well, I have news for you folks. There is one that is smarter then you are and when she gets out of there your asses are grass. Take that to the bank.Kathy G. (0) · Tuesday December 29, 2009, 7:14 pm

I was in the Rebekah Home for Girls from 1977-1980 in Corpus Christi, Texas under the direct Supervision of Wiley and Faye Cameron. I can guarantee you they would not nor never be a part of the things that are being said on this Website. I pray for you, and the forgiveness you need for stating the things that have been stated......Melanie G. (0) · Thursday June 10, 2010, 7:41 am

I came back from the home last year and the home has only helped make me a better person I know that the home was strict but that is exactly what atroubled teen needs. All the macs have ever done is love us girls even when we were a nightmare. They continually prayed for us and Im so thakful the Lord used them to meet a need in my life.Mary Ann N. (0) · Wednesday October 13, 2010, 6:11 am

[email protected] (http://mailto:[email protected])[/list]
Sarah C. (0) · Friday November 5, 2010, 1:14 pm

Dear Paty, nothing stated above is false!! I am sorry that you think it is but I was in the girls home for a year and saw alot of terrible things happen and I wish i could take it back because I have that memory forever in my head, but I can't. Girls are leaving this home and developing lots of disorders just because of how extreme they were and how badly we were treated. Such disorders include, Panic Attacks, Agoraphobia, Anxiety disorders, and PTSD, just to name some. I have three of them and know girls who have way more problems then that. They have a hard time living a normal life because of what happened to them there. I am glad that there are some people who made it out of there who aren't completely screwed up. But it was different for me. It was different for almost every girl that i went there with. They will all tell you, this place is no place to send a child with problems...I honestly would have been better off at boot camp. but anyways, you can't just say that people are lying when you dont know anything about it. people have no reason to make anything up about this place or how they were treated while there.Abby Clausen (0) · Wednesday November 10, 2010, 8:25 am

i was placed in the home from 2001-2004 and constantly was both a witness to/ submitted to the emotional and physical abuse administered under the guise of "guidance and tough, unbending love" i hope this site becomes a warning to parents who are tempted to think that we are making up the tramatic experiences of the homeJamie S. (0) · Thursday November 11, 2010, 7:12 am

I find it a little offensive when you can't even spell 'fucking', and if 100+ girls are making what you call 'false' accusations, does that mean our 100+ are liars and you are the only honest person here? SMFH, you ahve got to be the most ignorant, uneducated person I have ever met.Cindy K. (0) · Thursday November 11, 2010, 9:36 am

Cindy K. (0) · Thursday November 11, 2010, 9:37 am

I meant to say, we could NOT talk in our native language, if it was not English.Jeanette B. (0) · Friday January 28, 2011, 7:48 am

Eliana R. (0) · Wednesday April 20, 2011, 5:00 am

that home was nothing but a joke. physical, emotioanl and mental abuse was a constent in that home. if you for once think that this home has helped me in any form of way, your hightly mistaking. i was in the home2002-2003.it was nothing but a nightmare, from the day i walked on till the day i left. i was told that i would regret telling my mother i loved her because i was so disguested with her for abandoning me there just like she had done to my brother in Anchor home.i was on the wall for 13 months out of the 14 months i was there, why simply because either there daughters would run there mouths to there mommy and daddy,or because i would have one demerit over or because the mr. would forget why he put me on the wall. i was called a whore, when in fact i went in a virgin and walked out as one. i was told that i would be just like my bio mother who slept around for money and was a dope head. i saw girls try to kill each other to get the hell out of there. i saw girls just finally after hours and hours of being ignored drop to the floor. girls get sick because they didnt want to eat the food given to them because it was entirely to much for them. i know for a fact what emotional and physical abuse was for years before this home, but never knew what mental abuse was until after i left. and if they didnt wear you out emotionally or physically, they would mentally. so for those of you who believe the home helped you, im happy for you, but remember now that there are girls who are coming out, not for the hell of it, but because they were honestly affected somehow by this torture chamber. we arent making this shit up. i could go on and on about things i saw, and of course for those of you who are closed minded. let me tell you how fucked up that home and those people are, when i ran away from that hell whole, i saw the mrs. the very next day at walmart, she and i locked eyes, she then turned around and continue to pay for her groceries, as if she never saw me. a few years later i found out that they had said that i was either dead or i was found a week or so later and placed in another home. they didnt care for me. all they cared about was somehow filling up my spot so they could benifit from it.anyways, we girls and boys willl continue to spread the word about homes such as NBGA and pray that they will be shut down for good. stop using God as a crutch to beat young teens down. and actually find a better way to help out troubled teens.

Copyright © 2011 Care2.com, inc.

Hi,

We survivors also have a blogspot site now... www.stopNBGA.blogspot.com (http://www.stopNBGA.blogspot.com)

<3

And, here is what appears to (currently) be the final NBGA entry on Hurrikayne's Care2.com blog... Another interview:

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2006 NBGA Survivor's Story (http://http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/1001212)
Dec 29, 2008

(http://http://dingo.care2.com/pictures//c2c/share/10/100/012/1001216_370.jpg)

What is the name of the facility you were in?

New Beginnings Girls Academy, it was located in Pace, FL.

What kind of a program did they operate?

It all revolved around one thing and that one thing was God. I didn't understand how they could get away with brainwashing girls and shoving religion down people's throats. It made no sense to me. The program, when I was there, was unfair & misleading. I'm sure, without a doubt, it has not changed. I looked up their website and saw pictures of the girls. Some girls I remembered from when I was there. I know they're unhappy. It's like being locked in a cage and having nowhere to run.

When were you there & how long did you stay?

I was there for 10 months in 2006. It was the longest & hardest 10 months of my life.

Whose idea was it for you to go to this facility?

My grandfather's, he was "friends" with Brother McNamara. He said he was a good Christian man. Obviously my grandfather didn't do his research. I came to my grandpa for advice because my mother had found out I had gotten on drugs. When I talked to my grandpa he automatically got up and went into the living room and grabbed his phone. The next day they asked me if I wanted to visit a place where I could get help. I said "I'll go check it out, but I'm not making any promises."

Were you included in the decision?

Not at all, when we arrived to "visit" it was a trap, the papers were already signed. My mother had gone behind my back. Bro. McNamara kept smiling like 'Hahaha I got you now', kind of thing. It made me extremely uncomfortable. When I went into the dorms, he made the girls get up and sing. They looked like sad robots. He was the only one in the room with a smile on his face.

When my grandparents took me in the office with Bro McNamara, I remember seeing a wall of pictures of the girls when they first arrived. We all looked like we really needed help but not this kind of help. This was robotic brainwash crap that I was completely against. I was all about freedom and being who you wanted to be, not being forced to be someone you're not.

How did you get there?

I was driven by my grandparents, who lied to me, and knew from the moment I got into the car with them that I was going to be away for a very long time. Everyone in my whole family knew, besides me.

What happened when you arrived? How did they process you into their program/facility?

Bro. McNamara basically put on a show in front of my grandparents and me. Showing off the girls singing abilities, quoting Bible verses, etcetera. When we got into his office my Grandma kissed my cheek and walked out the door. I had no idea what was going on. I freaked out, I tried to open the door but Bro. McNamara had already slammed it shut and said. "Welcome to New Beginnings."

He called a girl into the room, she was to be my "buddy". They basically are your little babysitters. When walking outside in line, we had to have our heads down & the "buddy's" had our arms locked so we couldn't run. I complained to a staff member that one of my "buddies" held my arm too tightly, she simply said, "Get over it".

Can you describe a typical day?

Wake up was around 5:30 a.m., you had to make your bed perfectly or that was 5 demerits. Ten demerits at the end of a week was a weeks worth of discipline. 'Discipline' was standing with your hands behind your back, nose on the wall. No looking away from the wall, you couldn't breathe wrong or you would just get more demerits.

I stayed on 'discipline' the whole time was there. I was a good 195 lbs. when I went into the program, I came out weighing 167 lbs. because they made us do painful exercises, instead of them doing the pain to us they made us do it to our selves. After doing morning chores, we had to stay in line and go through what they called dress check and they made sure our hair was pulled back perfectly, or that was a demerit, made sure we had slips under our skirts, etc... We had to remain in line with straight posture holding and reading our Bibles with our heads down at all times.

We went to breakfast then headed to school. Sometimes Bro. McNamara would grab girls to work in the yard for the day, most of the time it was only trusted girls. After school we had lunch, if the Macs were in the mood, they'd give speeches on how stupid we were and how we were such sinners it disgusted them.

After school we went into the dorms had a time where we said scriptures, there was a name for this my memory is just blurry. We'd sit, most of the time we would have to stand if we sounded "lazy". It wouldn’t be over until we said it to their liking.

Then we had showers, dinner, chapel, or we'd sing. I remember one time I didn't want to sing because I was light headed, being between all the girls, all the body heat, I wasn't allowed to sit, let alone not continue to sing. So, I forced myself and ended up passing out. They STILL made me get up and sing. After that we went back to the dorms and slept. I know I never slept, I couldn't. It made me sick to my stomach to know that this country allows such things to go on.

Can you describe some typical rules?

Hair had to be pulled into a clip 4 inches from the top of your head. If they didn't like it, that was like 2 demerits.

The waist of skirts had to be above or right at the belly button, which obviously isn’t comfortable for teens, especially me. It wasn’t because I was a "whore" or a "slut" as Mrs. McNamara called it. It was because to me it was not comfortable.

You were given limited toilet paper.

There was a 'new girl rule'. I was accused of looking and "communicating" with them constantly by the girls that were "trusted helpers". The staff and the Mac's called me a liar almost every day. It hurt so much, but I knew I had to get out of there and make a difference so I went along with it.

That was until he said something out of line to me one day in the cafeteria and I finally said, "F you". I was on discipline at the time; I sat down and refused to do anything. If he was going to sit there and humiliate me in front of everyone I just didn't care anymore. I wanted to die. He had a girl attack me, pulling my hair to get me up. I wasn't going to move. After he called another girls name I grabbed the girl that was pulling my hair and got my hair away from her, they wrestled me to the ground. I kept fighting back. The next thing I know I have one girl digging her knee in my back, 4 girls on my legs; one girl with her arm on my face. I tried with all my strength to move but I couldn't, I ran out of energy.

After that I was taken into the dorms and had to stay there. Later that night I walked into the shower area and sat in the shower stall turned the water on hot and wished to melt away. They tried to get me out but after an hour of me being in there they just left me alone.

To me, you didn't get to have an opinion and you weren't allowed to have a social life. You were made a ROBOT nothing else.

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Posted: Monday December 29, 2008, 9:17 pm
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nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

It's now called New Beginnings Ministries. Brittany Campbell, head of the NBGA: Proactive Survivors of New Beginnings Girls Academy group on facebook has tracked the changes:

Rebekah Home for Girls -> New Beginnings Rebekah Academy -> New Beginnings Girls Academy -> New Beginnings Ministries (Girls, boys, and - according to their newsletter - mens homes.)

I found an article on Scam Informer:

New Beginnings Ministries New Beginnings Girls Academy, Rebekah Home for Girls. Abusive Treatment Facility, Survivors, Cult, La Russell, Missouri (http://http://www.scaminformer.com/scam-report/new-beginnings-ministries-new-beginnings-girls-academy-c65122.html)
11th of Dec, 2011 by User134007

New Beginnings Ministries (aka New Beginnings Girls Academy & Rebekah Home for Girls) is a total scam and fraud. At this very moment teenage girls and boys are being abused by these people. The parents of the students are being lied to and the students are being brain washed, it is pretty much a cult. (They have been operating since the 1970s under the Roloff Homes in Corpus Christie,Tx) There are very many people that have been affected in a bad way by their experience while attending this facility. I had the unfortunate opportunity of attending this "academy" for a year and it was complete Hell. There is no freedom whatsoever. Jesus, and the Bible and constantly shoved down your throat and you will be openly rebuked and called "wicked" and "evil" among many other names if you don't conform to their beliefs. The things I saw when I was there were completely horrible. Girls were force-fed, medical needs were not properly taken care of, the school was a total joke and we were made to feel like we were abandoned and worthless and worthless if we weren't 100% on board with their extreme religious antics and rules. They tell you your parents are evil and that you will go to Hell if you don't believe they way they do I experienced and saw many horrible things when I was there. One time, I recall when two pale skinned girls forced to get a tan because the administrators thought they were trying to be "gothic" and rebel because they didn't want to get a tan like the other girls. They were forced to sit in the sun for 6-8 hours a day with tanning oil all over them and fried in the sun. They got horrible burns and it caused extreme pain, and they were not allowed to tell their parents. All phone calls and mail going in and out of the school are very strictly monitored, if you say something to your parents that they do not like or say anything about the rules or going home they will cut off your phone call and tell your parents that you are lying or rebeling and haven't received the help you need yet, or make you re-write your letter your sending to your parents. Also if the parent sends a letter to their child that says something they don't like, the letter will be withheld from the child. The tuition and medical expenses are a complete fraud, and with as much as they have been charging over the years, it would probably make them millionaires. They tote the students around the country, making them sleep on church pews, hard floors, or sometimes on the bus, so the students can sing and testify about how "great" New Beginnings is so they can collect donations and get prospective students. Not to mention all the donations they receive monthly from different churches and supporters around the country. The food is terrible, they would normally get it for free or cheap from a local food bank and sometimes it would be expired or stored in unfitting conditions with rodents around. If you didn't eat everything they put on your plate you would be in major trouble and receive demerits. If you acquire more than 10 demerits in a week you will be put on 'discipline' which requires you to stand at the end of your bed or on a wall with your hands behind your back and nose touching at all times, only being allowed to sit down for 5 minutes every hour all day except for school, church and meals, where you are made to finish all of your food n 15 minutes (which is bland with no condiments or flavor because you are on discipline) and then go back and stand on your wall or bed. They also make you stay up an hour and half after everyone else has gone to bed with the more trusted girls watching you stand there with your nose on your bed, hands behind your back. Then being rudely awoken at 5:30am after very little sleep having to make your bed perfectly (or more demerits) and then go stand back on your bed, then you are allowed 15 minutes to get yourself completely ready to their standards (or more demerits) without using perfume, straighteners, or anything else they consider a "privilege" to have to get yourself ready with. (because you are on discipline) Demerits are very easy to get. You can get one for something as little as not facing forward in line, talking, not covering your mouth when you cough, not using the bathroom in your allotted 30 seconds, not getting out of the shower in your allotted six minutes, plus many many more things. They made us do manual labor, such as roofing, building, and cleaning up human sewage that had backed up all over their property and only being allowed a 10 minute shower. Very disgusting. There was work to do outside almost everyday and no matter if you were suffering in school, if they called you to work, you had to work. Several people that have gotten out now suffer with PTSD, anxiety, and many other physical and mental health issues that they should not have to suffer with as a result of attending this school. A lot of people that have attended schools like this are now anti-religious and don't want to step foot near a church ever again, they are very damaging. And the sad part is, there are schools operating like this all over the country, this is only one out of hundreds. They are not state regulated so there is no one to go out and check on the students to make sure that they are taken care of and being treated right. There are so many things I could say, it would take me a week to type it all up but I am writing this report mainly to inform parents to not send their child to New Beginnings Ministries in La Russell, Mo. We have a group of 120+ survivors that are fighting to have them shut down so teenagers can stop being abused. Please feel free to check out the links below, as two major News Sources have already ran articles on this abusive facility. If you are a survivor and would like to join our Facebook group, that link is below, also. I also encourage you to check out our blogspot site listed below, there is more information and first hand accounts of what life at New Beginnings is like. Thank you for taking the time to read this and my hope is to see this place shut down for good. As my fellow survivor friend said "A childhood memory should not be survival".

ABC News article by Susan Donelson James: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/independen ... t6BMFbdLms (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/independent-fundamental-baptist-discipline-call-tough-love-abuse/story?id=13310172#.Tt6BMFbdLms)
Mother Jones article: http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/08 ... omes-abuse (http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/08/new-bethany-ifb-teen-homes-abuse)
Our blog: http://stopnbga.blogspot.com (http://stopnbga.blogspot.com)
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/NBGAsurvivors (https://www.facebook.com/groups/NBGAsurvivors)

Quote from: "User134007"

ABC News article by Susan Donelson James: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/independen ... t6BMFbdLms (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/independent-fundamental-baptist-discipline-call-tough-love-abuse/story?id=13310172#.Tt6BMFbdLms)
Mother Jones article: http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/08 ... omes-abuse (http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/08/new-bethany-ifb-teen-homes-abuse)
Our blog: http://stopnbga.blogspot.com (http://stopnbga.blogspot.com)
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/NBGAsurvivors (https://www.facebook.com/groups/NBGAsurvivors)

The ABC News article by Susan Donaldson James (first link noted above) is also posted (http://http://www.fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=37039#p399993) on fornits near the beginning of the following thread:

Biblical Reform School Discipline: Tough Love or Abuse?
http://www.fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=37039 (http://www.fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=37039)

Fornits

Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => Lighthouse of northwest florida (fka VCA )/ Rebekah / Roloff ) => Topic started by: Oscar on February 13, 2011, 03:19:44 AM