psy

[TheWho]

i could never be friends with people who abused me, even if they aren't responsiblel for it mentally

I get what you're saying. We had an unspoken code, we were there for eachother. That's why I consider myself lucky. We never abused eachother, we were just there for whatever the other person needed. That's what made it real. We got eachother.

Good peer support is heathly and encouraged.  This helps build self esteem.

[psy]

For quite a number of  us in the real world (ie not obsessively on fornits) the truth of various situations is reasonably apparent from the get go.

And what might that truth be? Please clarify it for all us box-minded fools, running around in our gerbil balls.  You're free to speak your mind here, let's hear it.

[dishdutyfugitive]

That's exactly the point.

Face value. Taking things at face value.

What if, just for 1 second, contemplate this, what if we removed the fragile, vulnerable parent from the equation??

If we sent in an independent 3rd party to spend real time (2 weeks) at these schools they would see it for it's face value. These kool aid camps would be shut down. These education consultants aren't independent - they're on the payroll. When visitors come round, the schools show their pre-packaged fluff. They do the peacock dance.

That's all we want, we want these these places to be seen at face value.

Instead vulnerable parents buy the window dressing and sign over their kid.....

Ryan's Mother
These words were spoken to me at a time I felt I had no more to give & no hope left. The more I gave, the more I forgave, the harder I tried - the worse things got. I discovered in myself a well so deep it was bottomless, there was nothing I would not do to save my child. Yet of all the people in the world - it became crystal clear to me, that I alone could not save him. I had to have the faith & courage to trust & let go.
I let go.
It is not easy to watch someone you love struggle with painful life & death issues. I held onto the knowledge that of all the places Ryan could be at this time in his life, he was safe. With all the struggles & challenges he confronted I knew he was in the perfect place to handle it, manage it & move on. Life rarely gives you an opportunity to evaluate your life/decisions or to have in your corner the support of adults & peers every step of the way.
Change takes time, energy & effort - on everyone's part. Ryan did not walk this journey on his own. We all grew personally from this experience. Looking back, I have no guilt or regrets. I know I gave all I had to give and if I had to do it once again, I would not change a thing.
I've always thought that if you were a great parent you'd have great kids. However, what I have learned is great kids sometimes don't have the best parents & that you KNOW you are a great parent when you have a challenging child. I believe ALL my children were born into the perfect family, our family. And I was chosen to be the one for them & they were chosen to be the ones for me.

(What on god's great earth is that supposed to mean?? How bout I drank too much damn kool aid!)


As a parent, I am so full of gratitude toward everyone at Elan. I know that here, in this school, the course of many lives have been forever altered. And I am blessed to be the parent of a young man whose life's choices inspire me daily. I am very proud of you Ryan.


Karlin gets a BMW, counselors get bread crumbs, graduates get brainwashed and your retirement savings goes down the drain

And why are all you pro-programmies willing to accept so much collateral damage? Why aren't you inclined to right the wrongs of the TBS past. Who's responsibility is it to do so? A public acknowledgement is long overdue.
Until then, you can find us at Fornits, the only place for those who know right from TBS wrong. The place where we can collectively unearth the layers of horseshit we were buried under, condense the very same unearthed shit (which is now very soggy), mix it with Rhino sperm and firehose your own witches brew right back at you.

Damn, too bad UHS and CRC couldn't have talked Al Gore out of inventing the internet.

[psy]

Here are a bunch of video clips pertaining to Benchmark suicide attempts (and successes) both in and out of program:

Yet Another Suicide
Students slitting wrists
Those are from an interview with a Benchmark student down in Cali.  The audio isn't censored since they know we talked to him. Yes, you get to hear my silly voice again.  You should know I don't sound like that to myself.

Another attempt
This is from an interview with a neighbor across the street from Benchmark explaining how just a month after George's successful suicide attempt there was a second kid on the bridge threatening to do the same exact thing.  Perhaps that's why they eventually fenced the bridge off.

Ambulance seen this year
That's from the same interview with the neighbor.  Apparantly things haven't improved all that much at Benchmark since there are still suicide attempts.  Want more?  She wasn't the only neighbor we interviewed.

Doctor judges Benchmark a dangerous environment
Here, Buddah22's father describes how a doctor at Loma Linda hospital refused to send him back to Benchmark, judging it a dangerous environment for him, given that he was suicidal at the time.

That clip also mentions Dr. Mauer, and I have lots more about him in various interviews.