Dear Elan Survivors,
I received a fax from "Anonymous" today claiming to represent all of you. The fax stated that the community of Elan survivors has lost all respect for me and HEAL because we removed Art Warshawsky's name from the staff list. The fax message is attached.
I and my mother, as owners of HEAL-ONLINE.ORG and PROVOTRUTHEXPOSED.COM, are being sued by UHS of Provo Canyon/Provo Canyon School. The suit was filed in December of 2009 and we are still battling it out in court. I am a survivor of Provo Canyon School. And, this lawsuit has nearly bankrupted me in every possible way. But, I fight for myself and all the survivors who have spoken out. Most other survivors in our community fold when hit with such a suit and thereby weaken our overall cause. But, not me and not HEAL. The lawsuit has brought to our attention some options for protecting ourselves from further lawsuits.
It is really easy to anonymously attack individuals or businesses online without risking any legal liability. This type of reporting does not provide reliable credibility to support claims made anonymously. HEAL focuses on getting the truth out and we focus on doing it in the most credible way possible in order to be taken seriously and to make great strides for our movement. Certainly no one can deny that HEAL provides the most extensive online encyclopedia regarding fraudulent and abusive programs. And, that our efforts repeatedly negatively impact NATSAP and the entire industry.
I hope none of you are responsible for the fax I received today. But, if you are I encourage you to identify yourself and speak to me directly. I do not have one under penalty of perjury statement naming Art Warshawsky as staff. I have two individuals who mentioned Art Warshawsky. One speaks of a relationship that appears to have happened in the program while both may have been enrolled (positions of both individuals unclear) and the other simply reports Art as a staffer.
Art Warshawsky e-mailed HEAL and said he did not voluntarily work as staff at Elan and that he worked as "junior staff" while still enrolled in the program. HEAL provides the following options for staff who wish to have their names removed from our website:
"1. Submit an e-mail stating that you do not currently work for and will never again work for Program Name or a similar program in the future...OR
2. Submit evidence or a sworn statement (federal declaration) stating that you never worked for Program Name...AND/OR
3. For editing and not removal, submit an e-mail or declaration telling your side of the story to be posted next to your name(s).
Once a name is removed it is under the condition that the staff named does not resume working at a similar program or facility. If you are found working for a similar program or facility, your name would be re-added and the history and connection made."
Art submitted an e-mail that he does not work for and will never again work for Elan or any similar program. If you can provide me any evidence that Art Warshawsky is continuing to work for residential programs or wilderness programs for youth, please send it in. In that case, Art lied to us and we would have no legal issues arise by re-adding his name to the staff list.
If you can provide evidence (including an under penalty of perjury declaration) that Art Warshawsky worked at Elan after he became an adult (18 years old) and that he chose to remain on staff for any reason except that he was given no other alternative besides living on the street or working for Elan, we can re-add his name to the staff list because that will show he lied to us and give us a reasonable basis for questioning his credibility that could be used in court.
Art Warshawsky threatened to sue HEAL if we did not remove his name from the staff list. HEAL should not be the whipping child of the industry because we take our work seriously, identify ourselves, and provide credible information. Nor should we be the whipping child of the survivor community because we bravely identify ourselves and speak out even though we continually take extraordinary personal risks to get out the truth. Please do not hypocritically condemn HEAL because we have to take legal precautions to protect ourselves from suits from individuals you may not be willing to testify against and to which we have no assurance or security regarding whether you would show up if the day came.
Until you have taken on all abusive programs as your cause and have become a target of every program that abuses kids, so much that they create websites against you, defame you on their own websites, defame your family, defame your associates, manipulate your content, harass you by phone, e-mail, and through the courts, you have no business passing judgment or harassing me or the HEAL network.
If you are not the individual who sent the attached fax, but, know who did send it, please feel free to forward this message to that individual. And, if you still appreciate or respect me or HEAL at all, please let me know. The fax was very insulting and I'd like to know whether or not it was sent by some program supporter looking to stir the pot.
Thank you for reading this.
In Solidarity (I Hope),
Angela Smith
HEAL Coordinator
