Author Topic: Operation Reentry (Read 38609 times)

LoveDr · « **on:** June 06, 2011, 03:49:11 AM »

Anyone who went to ReEntry from January 1973-December 1974 please contact me at; admin@wikileax.net

Thanks,

r

Beverly · « **Reply #1 on:** July 15, 2011, 04:47:23 PM »

I was at Operation Re-Entry from 70-74 .... please email me - Beverly
creashev@yahoo.com

Fred Thompson · « **Reply #2 on:** July 15, 2011, 04:59:20 PM »

Quote from: "??????????"

I'm getting censored. Psy is deleting my posts without explanation.

The gatekeeper is probably deleting your posts. He is a former staffer who believes in censorship.

none-ya · « **Reply #3 on:** July 15, 2011, 06:06:50 PM »

Why is this in the seed discussion?

Oh yea,fred,we know who you are.

Ursus · « **Reply #4 on:** July 16, 2011, 10:41:49 AM »

I came across an interesting review of the book The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness, by Elyn R. Saks (Hyperion, 2007), which happens to mention Operation ReEntry:

Something is missing here., October 5, 2008
By P. Guerrero

This review is from: The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness (Paperback)[/list]
What everyone who reviews this book and Ms. Saks herself untterly fails to realize is the devastating affect that her two years with "Operation ReEntry" had on her emotional and psychological development. Spawned from Synanon, a destructive and cruel cult that borrowed its methods from Korean war era mind-control and brainwashing techniques, it had her brainwashed into believing that she needed to have her spirit broken down and "rebuilt" although she never makes clear in what way it was beneficial for her to have spent two years being yelled at, made to scrub the stairs with a toothbrush, cut off from normal teenage activities, separated from her peers and turned over to a group of controlling drug addicts. Nor how her spirit was supposedly rebuilt nor to whose specifications. Lots of people have done far more drugs that Ms. Saks did and are fine. But when your parents abandon you to a cult that turns sanity, reality and common sense on its head then makes you believe you are crazy if you challange it, truth gets twisted into such a Gordian knot that sometimes insanity is the only escape. The lady seriously needs to reexamine that time in her life to understand the damage that was done by her post-traumatic reaction to her semi-incarceration. I'm not saying that she would not have schizophrenia anyway. But the massively profitable "behavioral" programs that Synanon spawned have been the cause of much post-traumatic stress and suicide, not to mention the kids who died in the "programs" as a result of abuse and neglect. Although I admire her and her accomplishments there is a big piece of the puzzle missing here. I hope Ms. Saks will do a rigorous re-examination of this time in her life and write about it.[/list]

Ursus · « **Reply #5 on:** July 16, 2011, 11:49:09 AM »

There are a number of comments left for the above review, "Something is missing here.":

Initial post: Nov 11, 2008 12:02:14 PM PST
Seoreh says:

Super interesting point, I felt the same way. Gee, she wasn't an addict and here she was in this ridiculous program her parents actually forced her into. I think that may have something to do with the mental illness she developed.In reply to an earlier post on Dec 8, 2008 3:59:31 AM PST
Last edited by the author on Dec 20, 2008 10:10:41 AM PST
J. A. Haverstick says:

Exactly. Reading the book and that comes up and goes away like it belongs there. It leaves a creepy effect since it's such a bizarre episode. The first thing that occured to me was, 'what does it say about her parents'. I was a parent during the popularity of this "cure", and most of my fellow adult parents, as far as I can recall, were appalled by such programs! Since there is some feeling that schizophrenia can be triggered by life experiences....Anyway, her parents came across in a very unclear way in the book, I thought. I got a negative impression overall, but for a "biography", I felt the parents were confusingly described.Posted on Dec 15, 2008 2:40:59 AM PST
Last edited by the author on Dec 15, 2008 2:43:27 AM PST
C. Bowen says:

I think you hit on something in the last sentence of your post, "I hope Ms. Saks will do a rigorous re-examination of this time in her life and write about it." The book you are supposed to be reviewing is intended to speak of schizophrenia, not Operation ReEntry; If you wish to learn more on that subject, I suggest you read a book with it as its main topic. I believe Ms. Saks did an exceptional job of highlighting the experiences and difficulties of life with schizophrenia, and I personally do not have any interest in what punishments or corrective training her parents decided where appropriate.Posted on Dec 30, 2008 4:03:21 PM PST
G. Steen says:

Few people seem to want to discuss this book. Giving a synopsis is not a review, it is not a critique. Elyn's book is a starting point in a discussion about mental health and the way that society, individuals and consumers (terrible word, patients, mentally challenged, let's find a new word!) deal with a terrible problem. As P. Guerrero indicates there is another book that needs to be written. This was the coming out book. The next book will be even harder. Please Elyn write it. Thank you!Posted on Jan 6, 2009 1:02:52 PM PST
Last edited by the author on Jan 6, 2009 1:03:37 PM PST
Stargeezer in Utah says:

Posted on Jun 17, 2009 6:56:47 PM PDT
Last edited by the author on Jun 17, 2009 6:59:42 PM PDT
W.H. says:

In reply to an earlier post on Feb 20, 2010 11:25:38 AM PST
Carolyn Mae Robe says:

Feb. 2010 program Nature of Things by David Suzuki indicates that in a very small minority, marijuana use can trigger psychosis-- in those who are vulnerable. Synanon could have provided structure in her life as could any cult like religion, etc. or the mistreatment could have been an exasperating factor in her illness. Better medication could have helped her more than all that psycho analysis perhaps.In reply to an earlier post on Aug 26, 2010 7:52:43 AM PDT
Dreamer says:

Seoreh, regardless of this woman's horrible past, it is known that schizophrenia is a MEDICAL/NEUROLOGICAL disorder. There is no dispute about that. Abuse can damage coping mechanisms, but the complexity of this illness (cognitive, emotional and other symptoms) are NOT caused by abuse. Such concepts as the "schizphrenogenic" sp? mother, or a cold mother that causes autism (for example) have long been discredited. Abuse is one issue. Schizophrenia is a BIOLOGICAL/NEUROLOGICAL disorder.In reply to an earlier post on Aug 26, 2010 7:57:42 AM PDT
Dreamer says:

Indeed, though psychoanalysis and talk therapy AND CBT can be helpful as an adjunct treatment, this would be like saying that one can treat this with talk therapy alone. Freud and his many followers with many theories have long been eclipsed with growing neurological understanding of everything from schizophrenia, bipolar, clinical depression, anxiety disorders (such as OCD), etc. I myself have a mental illness and came from an abusive family. I see TWO things that happened to myself -- PSYCHOLOGICAL issues (which have hindered my coping mechanisms) and a clearly NEUROLOGICAL disorder. Yes, the early years exacerbated her illness, they did not CAUSE it.Posted on Nov 28, 2010 10:07:39 PM PST
Alice F. Meier says:

[Deleted by the author on Dec 23, 2010 11:31:24 PM PST]In reply to an earlier post on Apr 27, 2011 1:27:34 AM PDT
Meadow says:

none-ya · « **Reply #6 on:** July 16, 2011, 12:06:32 PM »

I Just googled operation ReEntry,and there are several oganizations using that name. (Including one that claime to help ex-cons). Where and when was this program? Is there anything left of it today? Yes it sounds very seedlike and straightlike.

Ursus · « **Reply #7 on:** July 16, 2011, 12:44:33 PM »

From a Slovakian Facebook discussion on Phoenix House:

Quote from: "Jo Jo"

I worked for Operation Reentry on Miami Beach in the late 70s.
The head director came from Synanon, and knew the director of Phoenix House. We learned how to play "Games", and I introduced the concept of The Secoind Chance Family. We had weekend "experiences" where everyone wore robes, and had round the clock "games". It was a therapeutic community, and I'll always remember those years I was there.

Ursus · « **Reply #8 on:** July 16, 2011, 01:03:12 PM »

From fornits... First post in the below quote-reply nest, with Operation ReEntry originally mentioned as an aside, is dated 06 Feb 2002):

Originally posted on 29 Nov 2008 on the I heard ART retired thread:

Quote from: "Just a guest..."

Quote from: "Guest"
Quote from: ""Scarlett Chiclet""
I just found about about another Synanon spin off in the Miami area around the late `70's. The place was called Operation Reentry.
Hello, anybody still watching this thread? I know about Operation Reentry! I was there, and was just thinking about it today, and found this as one of the top results!

"OR", as we used to call it, was originally run by a nut named Warren Klein... I think I remember some old stuff about the "Seed", but the stories I heard of it sounded evil, or at least suspicious. But I loved it, especially after the change in management. I went there for the 7th grade, right there on Miami Beach, and I guess I could tell as many bad stories as good ones, but in the end, they got shut down when the city stopped all support. We tried to fight it, but it did not work.

I remember several people from there, though, that I've always wondered where they went... Could you be one?

--JJ
Hello! I am one!

Was there in April of 1978 to August of 1978. I hang with a few people who were there then.....

Matter of fact...one of them spoke today at an NA meeting this morning...brought back some memories...hence the reason i was googling it. I didn't even DO drugs or ever had a drink at that time...was just a discipline problem...but that place screwed me up in a major way. I am glad it got shut down. The way they treated people was no way to help anyone...

Just my 2 cents worth

Ursus · « **Reply #9 on:** July 16, 2011, 09:49:39 PM »

So... Operation Re-Entry was apparently in operation from late 1969 to 1980 or shortly thereafter. It subsisted mainly on city funding and community support; there was also at least one federal grant in the beginning, probably more throughout its existence.

There appears to have been a death associated with it, a boy... "broken heart." Perhaps a suicide? Re-Entry claimed they tried to help him. The boy's parents do not seem to have blamed them at the time.

Operation Re-Entry did advertise itself as "Synanon-style." I believe Warren Klein may have been the director who came from Synanon. There was a Warren Klein associated with Synanon and their attempt to open an auto repair shop in the Los Angeles area in 1966 or 68.

There were actually quite a number of drug rehabs opening up and already in binnis in Florida back then. Even for teenagers. Art Barker was, if anything, NOT leading the pack! He just jumped on the bandwagon.

Here are six, just from the Miami area alone, which were vying for Federal Drug Grants in the year 1971: Spectrum, Concept House, Here's Help, Operation Self-Help, Operation Re-Entry, and Genesis.

DannyB II · « **Reply #10 on:** July 16, 2011, 10:59:32 PM »

I heard from a friend of mine that Joe Geranamo from Marathon House Newport/Middletown R.I. went down to Miami and worked for Re-Entry. Joe was my director at Marathon in early 1974, he would of got down there in late '74. Joe came from Daytop originally. John Overend Elan 1976-1978 also worked at Re-Enrty in the early 70's.

grapeape · « **Reply #11 on:** July 17, 2011, 02:15:50 PM »

I read the book as well. It is facinating but the most interesting part is how she can glide right past the most important traumatic event in her life and not see any connection between that and the escalation of her mental disorder which she claims began when she was 8. If that claim is true then she should have been treated by a mental health professional whether subsequent psychoses were precipitated by drugs or not.

Another interesting fact: her brother experimented with drugs, was smart enough not to tell his parents, did not get sent to a program and did not develop a mental disorder.

Of course there is no way to know if the program caused her illness; the focus today is on neurochemistry and genetics more than environment but anyone who dismisses this lady's experiences in OR, at a vulnerable time in her life when hormones were already affecting her neuro brain chemistry ,is a moron. I greatly admire what she has been able to accomplish but if she would only take a really hard look at the abuse she endured at OR she may be inspired to put her considerable legal and medical talents to use to help other victims. So far she does not seem inclined to admit that the program had any affect on her.

grapeape · « **Reply #12 on:** July 17, 2011, 02:17:55 PM »

One more thing: if the lady does not want to face what she went through because it would hurt her parents then I hope she will write and tell us exactly how that program helped her. What specific "treatment" helped.

dragonfly · « **Reply #13 on:** July 17, 2011, 09:56:50 PM »

dragonfly · « **Reply #14 on:** July 17, 2011, 09:59:09 PM »

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