Spending a night on the streets, or however long, is a no-brainer decision when escaping an abusive program
I said spending the nights on the streets so you could make an uncensored phone call. And you try doing it in a high crime area of Southern Cali. And do it after just turning 18, after growing up in a sheltered enviornment.
so I don't really get this thread. You say the program was abusive and non-effective but you didn't take your option to leave because it was too scary.
Many tried. Very very few suceeded. I was not about to take my chances on the streets with no money or identification. A good friend of mine was raped on the streets.
Which would seem to suggest the program was less frightening than running away from it.
It was less frightening. This was CEDU style BM, not WWASP. Go spend a night on the streets of one of those areas you see on "COPS". They wanted you to eventually
feel comfortable there.
It really makes you wonder why kids are running from isolated wilderness programs hitchiking hundreds of miles to freedom, and grown adults who get to stay at motels can't seem to get away from an urban facility.
Most eventually leave motels. Some of their parents run out of money. Some contact friends if they can but is rare for reasons i already explained. Read a few posts ago as to why it was not easy (read damn near impossable) at all to get a job while in motel (phone calls). 90+ percent of students eventually ended up on the streets. Most of these kids were barely 18 and few had serious problems.
Most of these kids could have made it on their own if given the chance. And even if they couldn't, the program claims to be able to help with "emancipation".
They should not have had to take their chances on the streets. It would have been great if program actually gave them an opportunity to suceed with the program. They let a few do it for testimonials but most of the time they just want you to stay there as long as possable. If you "work the program" you will work until your parents run out of cash. Eventually you lose hope and take your chances on the streets after you realize they are not going to let you graduate even if you do everything they say to the letter.
Your paren's won't take you back 95% of the time becuase the program has convinced them over the couse of the year+ that you are a manipulative liar who constantly misbehaves. The parent says "My god. my kid has become a monster!"
I have the letters the staff wrote to my parents and it's 80% complete
horse shit. How is a student to contest things when he does not even know the things he is accused of to his parents. Almost every single letter they were asking for more money becuase I "needed an extra 6 months at least" of "emotional growth".
(disclaimer: i was sent there to finsh high school. that was my "issue")
They claimed i had been skipping school days at Redlands Adult school when school records would show that i had a perfect attendance record. They tried to say I was procrastinating my HS graduation and that I did not want to work when fact they did not let me attend Redlands Adult school when Benchmark staff (Flo "full-time teacher" Reynolds) was not there (~2 hours/day). The idea was to postpone my HS graduation so my parents / their employers, would have to pay for another 6 months. When the staff letters are contrasted against reality this is crystal clear.
I'm not necessarily saying that the program was as bad as a WWASP program, although it was certainly as bad as a CEDU program. You still find people who actually "liked" their stay at CEDU. This was the goal. Break them until they loved being there, until they actually
asked their parents for more. With enough lifespring and other less-than-legit BM techniques etc... you could do this easily.
The mind is it's own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven. -- John Milton
The point was to make you feel like it was impossable to leave without the program. The loss of hope became your prison bars. It was in their vested interest for you not to leave. They made thier money by making sure you didn't, and they had enough tricks to do it.
Breaking your will
is abuse. It's psychic murder.