Fornits

Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora
An open discussion about the troubled parent industry

So I read through this thread and had a really interesting time reading everyone's opinions, very interesting.

In March 07 I was sent by my parents against my will to a wilderness program, in June 07 I left that program and followed it up at Uinta.

I'm pretty sure I managed to butt heads with every staff member, as well as several therapists and most of the other girls while I was there, I didn't accept the program easily and I left shortly before my 18th birthday with no graduation and a lot of hard feelings. While I made a little progress in some areas I was not "cured" and would absolutely say I've relapsed and undone 98% of the progress I did make there, but this isn't about me, its about the program.

Uinta is really what each girl makes of it. I was headstrong, angry at my parents and the program as well as everyone in it, and I had no desire to change myself or accept anyone's help so I did not enjoy Uinta, other girls who were more willing had much more helpful and enlightening experiences. I believe that the program is flawed but that's why Jeff and Becky are almost constantly making changes.

And seriously? Some of you, especially girls who attended the program, are trying to make Jeff and Becky seem like bad people?  :roflmao:

Jeff and Becky are two of the nicest, most compassionate people I have met in my entire life.

I lived on the East campus which is home to Jeff's office and when he'd walk into work doling out hugs and high fives to girls as he made his way to his office it was the highlight of my day, he'd always stop and say hi and discuss with you whatever issues were bothering you whether it be with your schoolwork, a peer, your therapy or maybe your horse just did something particularly adorable and you want to brag. He had stopped doing therapy by the time I'd found my way into the program but despite that, when I was there he took time out of his personal life once or twice a week to come in on weekends or in the evenings and meet one on one to do therapy with a girl who has struggling especially hard. A girl tried to run once after feeding the horses at night and when we went to bed a few staff members were sitting in a field with her trying to convince her to come back. She was my room mate at the time and at 3am we woke up to Jeff arriving. He woke up in the middle of the night to voluntarily come out to the campus and bring the girl back inside and talk to her. He was not asked to do that, its what he pays the staff to do, but because he actually CARES, he personally went to help resolve the situation.

Becky is, if possible, even more caring than her husband. When I arrived she let me pick my horse after meeting the available ones and helped me form an incredibly strong bond with my horse, Sugar. That december, right around christmas time Jeff was forced to sell my horse due to her roughness. She was a handful and with so many girls having little to no experience with horses she was too high strung and almost a danger in that environment. Becky woke up early on a cold snowy Sunday morning before it was even light out so she could be there with me when the new owner came to take her away. She cried with me as I loaded my horse into the trailer and watched it drive away and sat with me until I was ready to go back inside with everyone else. She saw how much it hurt me to have to say goodbye to Sugar and went above and beyond to make it up to me, even offering to let me work with one of her family's personal horses, tonto, who she knew I was extremely fond of. She became very sick towards the end of my stay, so much so that she was unable to accompany us on trips or attend graduation ceremonies. It broke her heart not being able to see and work with us, especially when it came to graduations and not being able to say goodbye. Jeff never failed to tear up when he passed on messages from her or updated us on how she was doing and on our Tuscon trip where we first found out she was sick, you could see in every single concerned face in the room that she'd touched everyone's life in some way.

Jeff and Becky's program may not be perfect, it may not be the most effective, and it may not be right for you or your daughter, but I have never seen anyone try harder to make people's lives just a little bit better. They aren't in it for the money, they aren't in it for glory, and they aren't in it because its a job. They built Uinta out of nothing purely because they wanted to help kids who were struggling.

I'm not sure which of their children entered the post previously, but I've met most of their kids and one of their grandkids and I can take a guess. You may say her opinion is biased because she doesn't want people bad mouthing her family over the internet but I read what she wrote and even though the examples she provided came from her personal home life which I was not a part of, there is no doubt in my mind that shes telling the truth.

No one understands better than me what its like to have a bad Uinta experience, but you cant put that all on their shoulders, its not fair. They are providing you with an opportunity. you may or may not appreciate and take advantage of that opportunity but if you choose to ignore and/or abuse it, its not their fault. Even though I disliked being there, Uinta was a once in a lifetime experience that I wouldnt trade for the world. It may not have resolved my rebellious and defiant behavioral issues but it absolutely broadened my horizons and benefited me in other ways. While at Uinta I found myself with a 3.0 GPA, by far the highest it had been since grade school, I went white water rafting and learned German, something I never thought I'd do, and it allowed me an opportunity to get healthy again, to get into shape and learn how to be self reliant.