Hi. Just thought I'd speak up as someone who found this forum and the page on Straight through a Google search. I was never in any of these programs. I had no idea they existed. I've been through the forums, reading about the horrible things y'all were forced to go through. My heart has broken more than once as I read about so many children being brainwashed and broken.
Because of these stories, I wrote to my rep and asked him to support the End Institutional Child Abuse Act. I've also posted and talked to others about Straight and its descendants, letting other people know what I've found out. I wish there was more I could do.
Please don't think people don't care. I realize now how lucky I was that my parents didn't get sucked into this-- as someone raised conservative Christian in the south, I would've been a prime target. (Not that I did drugs-- but that didn't stop any of these programs before...)
Someone mentioned the Love in Action protests. I was a part of that, but it was thanks to reading about Straight and The Seed that I recognized the language in the LIA rules. I hope that someday when that kid is eighteen and no longer risks being sent away, he can find a support forum like this and put his mind back together.
I'll be moving to Orlando soon, so if there are any protests going on in the Central Florida area, I want to be there. Even though I didn't experience the abuse myself, I'm smart enough to know it's a bad thing and must be stopped.
