Guess what? Last weekend when I saw him he said that after CALO he wants to go back to the wilderness program, because the people there were "chill." Go figure....
Oddly, his preferred destination was not "home"...Guest
This speaks volumes.
My observations after reading posts here and at other sites, and after talking personally with survivors, is that the majority of (though not all)
teens sent to programs do not have close relationships with their parents afterwards. They say they go through the motions. They appear agreeable and compliant around their parents, but privately do not trust their parents again.
I can understand this. I imagine how it would feel to have the very people whom you are supposed to be able to trust completely a)
allow you to be forcibly transported, usually in handcuffs, b)
turn you over to the care of strangers, often thousands of miles from home, c)
end their daily parental contact with you, just a few minutes on the phone every week or two for a year or more, and d)
deny all your requests to return home. Personally, I would not trust or love these people/parents again.
That said, I can often understand how parents can be victims in this environment as well, though they do not endure anywhere near the sort of suffering and abuse the teens endure.
Few, if any, parents realize the program will most likely cost them their relationship with their child in addition to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Auntie Em
