OBSIDIAN TRAILS SCHOOLS - 10 things you should know.

[Kathy]

http://www.kxtv.com/news-special/close- ... Things.htm

Here is the text of the above link: Ten Things You Should Know About
Obsidian Trails
 

 
Imagine having so little control over your teen that your only choice is to send him or her away to what's called a wilderness therapy camp. One such camp is Obsidian Trails.

While many parents swear it was successful in helping them win back their kids, the camp is controversial. In September 2000, a student at the camp died after being restrained by counselors. No one was indicted for in the incident, but the death did raise questions about whether the camps should be regulated. Here are Ten Things You Should Know about Obsidian Trails.
 

 
1. The program is designed for children between 13 and 17 years of age who have extreme behavior problems or are self-destructive.

 
2. The program lasts from 60 to 90 days, but there is no set time to graduate.

 
3. The goal is to get kids to learn to control their impulses, reduce their anger, and replace bad habits with good ones.

 
4. Kids reach the goal by successfully completing Obsidian Trails' behavioral and academic curriculums.  

 
5. Children spend the first three weeks weeks learning to give and take ) in an environment that they can't challenge, evade or manipulate. They face life in its most basic form where the focus is on the physical demands of the wilderness. This is called the Impact Stage.

 
6. The next step is the Advanced Stage in which the emphasis is shifted to more social interaction and cooperation. Kids are supervised somewhat less intensely. Students in the advanced section are exposed to a series of structured trials, challenges and natural obstacles.  

 
7. Obsidian Trails says physical, emotional and sexual abuse and neglect are prohibited. Physical restraint is permitted if the student appears as though he will hurt himself or others.

 
8. Parents receive weekly letters from students and calls from counselors updating them on progress.

 
9. The camp is not regulated or overseen by any agency.  The camp has to obtain a permit to use public lands from the Bureau of Land Management.  

 
10. The cost is about $20,000, but there is no additional cost if kids stay longer or have to return.

 
Information from Obsidian Trails

[Kathy]

More articles on the death at Obsidian Trails

(Be sure to notice it is from the strugglingteens site)
 http://www.strugglingteens.com/news/obsideannews.html

[Kathy]

HERE IS THE LATEST....  
 
Dead boy's mom wins suit ruling

01/17/02


BEND -- A Deschutes County judge has agreed to allow a Scappoose woman to seek punitive damages against a Bend-based wilderness therapy school for the death of her 15-year-old son.

 
In an amended complaint filed in December, Lynn McAward sought $5 million in punitive damages from Obsidian Trails Outdoor School and $3 million in punitive damages from its owner, Gregory Bodenhamer.

That is in addition to $1.5 million McAward sought for medical expenses, pain and suffering, financial loss and loss of companionship in her original lawsuit filed in January 2001.

McAward sued Bodenhamer, the school and its parent company, Obsidian Services Inc., after her son, William Edward "Eddie" Lee, died on an outing with the school in the desert northwest of Lakeview in September 2000.

McAward's lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial on Feb. 19 in Bend.




Copyright 2002 Oregon Live. All Rights Reserved.

[kaydeejaded]

I am glad that the boys death brought about a court ruling against the program he was in but it really bothers me that his mom got to dump him off in a program and now gets a million dollars. She isn't responsible? It was her choice to send him to the program right? If I had been killed in Straight I sure as hell would not want my parents to get a million dollars! What the hell? Am I completely off base here?

[FaceKhan]

It is hard to remember sometimes that parents are often tricked into believing these programs are safe and helpful. Parents are certainly responsible for investigating a program before sending their kid there, but the schools do not exactly make it easy for them to find out the truth even if they want to. A lot of parents I have heard from who sent their kids to absolutely awful programs like Teen Help insist that they came highly recomended, that trusted friends, and professional consultants told them it was the best thing they could do for their kid. I don't really sympathize with them in fact I am especially contemptful of parents who send their kids to one program after another because they have a problem, but for those parents who were duped into thinking that their kid was going on a camping trip for hyperactive kids and instead it turns out to be a cult deathmarch I think they have been punished enough. Besides punitive damages are just that, punitive the idea is to punish the facility and operator for their negligence, (read: actively hurting kids for profit). I hope she wins and takes them for whatever they are worth and I hope they go bankrupt and that the operator spends the rest of his life paying for his crime.

[Anonymous]

Hi I'm tommyfromhyde and I'm anonymous
  To expand on your point, FaceKhan,these
programs put just as much effort into
cultivating those parents as they do into
brainwashing those kids. They have to. The
parents are the ones writing the checks. The
parents are the ones who can (usually) pull
their kid out.
  These programs demand not only a lot of
money but a lot of time from these parents.
They often have "parent seminars" that border
on the cult-like themselves. In some ways
they're better at brainwashing Mom and Dad
than at brainwashing the kid.

[kaydeejaded]

Agreed because I never bought that shit. But what about the fact that we are constantly told that we need to be responsible for our actions and not depend on other people to be held responsible for what we decide to do. We also are hit with old sayings like buyer beware and shit like that. Mom is not at all responsible? Not at all and she sues for loss of compainionship he was not a fucking poodle and if she wanted him home so bad that is where she should have kept him.Wasn't she lonley while he was hiking himself to death or was that a vacation for her. I feel intense animosity towards this poor women that I don't know and don't understand. Imagine that it was a conspiricy right and now thousands on Johnny doesn't want to play football anymore parents ship there kids off in hopes of the big payoff. Sick I know but WHAT IF? Straight was too unbelievable to be true but that shit sure felt real.  Here is one quote, from where I don't know " Just because you are paranoid does not mean they aren't out to get you"

[FaceKhan]

For the programs to lose, someone must win. Sometimes that person is almost as undeserving as the programs but, I would feel much better knowing the program got taken for millions in a wrongful death suit than for it to continue to exist, torturing kids for profit.

Perhaps what we could do is get in contact with the mother and ask her if she would like to join our little club.

[Anonymous]

this is tommyfromhyde
Face, remember,  when she or anybody else
wins we want the insurance industry to get
the message that when they cover these
programs that they expose themselves to huge
judgements. That'll shut'em down faster than
anything else.

[Anonymous]

this is tommyfromhyde again
In other words, the press coverage that
counts is in the buissness press and especially
the insurance industry press.
Peace,
Tommy

[Antigen]

Hey Tommy (and anyone else), if you want your username back, let me know and I'll set the password and email address for you.

[Renae_Lee]

Hello, I don't know that any of you actually still look at this topic, however, I noticed that you were interested in having the mother of eddie lee on here to talk with you. I'm not his mother, however, i am his sister. my name is Renae Lee and i live in portland oregon. i'm 22 years old and am attending school.
I have so many comments about what you have all had to say that I dont  even know where to begin.
I want you to all remember and know that everything that is said in the paper or online is not always true. My mother sent him there knowing that she was uncertain about the situation and the camp and his conditions considering. To be completely honest, the bottom line ended up with our step dad wanting him to go and pushing my mother to have him go. He didn't belong there and i wish that i would have seen that then. unfortunatly all i saw was a 15 year old boy that needed a little help and thought that maybe this would be a good place for him. My mom did all the research she could possibly find for this camp. including calling parents of children that were out there at the time and children that had come home. of course your always going to find the good ones and not the people that came out messed up more then than when they went in. she was devestated the night that he past away. (as was everone else) sueing was not even an option.she wanted justice and that was that. we went to council meetings, changed laws, talked to people about the camps, wrote a book, sent out pamphlets, etc... nothing seemed to matter. obsidian got away scott clean. the last thing to do was to sue them. not to mention that by this time my mom had gotten to the point where she just wanted to forget about everything because she was ready to kill her self as well to be with him. so she basically just walked away from it and took them for what ever it was that she could including there money. I appreciate all of your comments and outlooks on this. i hope that all of you keep this in mind!   ::

[Antigen]

Greetings, Renae Lee, and welcome. Thanks for posting.

Please don't take this stuff personally. I know your family has been put through a lot. Please accept my condolances for your loss and, if appropriate, pass them along to your mother.

Most of us who post here have been through a Program. There's a lot of anger and, most often, it gets misdirected. Please don't let that turn you off to talking about this issue if you're inclined to do so. I, for one, value your viewpoint very much.
 

The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either, but right through every human heart.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060007761/circlofmiamithem' target='_new'>Alexander Solzhenitsyn

[Anonymous]

Renae Lee---

I'm sorry for your loss, and I'm sorry those sorry SOB's fooled your mom into thinking it was a place that would help your brother.

Thank you for pointing out that the suit was the last resort and that your family did everything you could---first---to stop the place from hurting more kids.

It really means a lot to me to know that.

I was never in a program, but as someone with a mental illness and a lot of family members with mental illness, I'm big on informed consent and quality of care.

It renews my faith in humanity to see people who, when they've been burned, get out there and try to help keep it from happening to the next guy.

Thank you for posting.

Timoclea

[Renae_Lee]

Hello antigen and anonymas...
Don't worry I don't take this personally. As everyone has there own apinions to the story. I just wanted to let you all know that everything you hear isn't always true. these people are not SOB's, just people with a strong opinion. which is always fine. i would bet or put money on it that there kids would NEVER end up in one of these camps! ;0) i understand out there!
thank you for your condolences. it's been a long time since i've been able to talk about my brother and what happened. Yesterday i was online looking around and decided to look at some other stories about kids that have passed away from these camps. i didn't realize how upset i still was til i almost starting crying.   :cry2:  
again i want to thank you all for your input. it was nice (and interesting) to read.  :wink:
you say that most of you or your kids have gone through these programs? any stories? i'm curious!
wish you all the best,
Renae