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Messages - Oscar

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31
The Troubled Teen Industry / Re: Pierceton Woods Academy testimonies
« on: April 30, 2023, 02:27:22 AM »
Feedback from employee

Quote

Unethical - Jun 25, 2021 - Youth Care Worker in Pierceton, IN

Pros: Working with the residents on treatment

Cons: Everything else. Unethical, Shady, ZERO treatment actually being done. The residents do not heal in the ways they should and usually relapse right after getting out.


Quote
Lacked integrity - Jul 20, 2022 - Youth Treatment Specialist

Pros: Got to know some great kids.

Cons: Got to know some pretty terrible kids. Management cared more about their image as a company than the boys


32
The Troubled Teen Industry / Re: Pierceton Woods Academy testimonies
« on: April 30, 2023, 02:14:20 AM »
Some of the comments to the article:

Quote from: Tammy dobbs
I am in need of someone to check out this facility . My grandson was sent to this place and has had problems since. Inmate hiding under bed. Now threatened to be next victim in front of supervision. Now torn up his room and inmates that threatened . Want investigated someone to call check out tapes.

Quote from: MaLinda Pugh-Miller
I have nothing to say against Pierceton Woods Academy. This of course is a great Stress to me as one of my children is currently a residence of the academy. However I can say that the program has helped my son in a immense way. They helped me save my family

33
The Troubled Teen Industry / Re: Pierceton Woods Academy testimonies
« on: April 30, 2023, 02:10:37 AM »
Article found online

Quote
Sexual Assault Lawsuit Filed Against Pierceton Woods
Amanda Bridgman, Staff Writer - Monday, October 26, 2020 6:00 AM

A lawsuit has been filed against Pierceton Woods Academy and employees there after a juvenile reported he?d been a victim of sexual assault while under their supervision.

Pierceton Woods Academy, 27 Pequignot Drive, is a residential placement facility for boys in grades 7 through 12 in need of services. It is a private Christian alternative school with a teacher to student ratio of 1:7, according to privateschoolreview.com. The facility is managed by LifeLine Youth & Family Services Inc. and Lasting Change Inc.

Attorney Travis McConnell filed a civil suit Thursday in Kosciusko Circuit Court on behalf of his client, a man whose minor son was a resident and alleged victim at Pierceton Woods Academy.

The suit is against Lasting Change Inc.; LifeLine Youth & Family Services Inc.; Darby Ellis Perry, an employee there; Brian Perry, an employee; Joe Gough, vice president of residential services; and Mark Terrell, CEO.

According to court papers, the lawsuit alleges Darby engaged in a pattern of conduct over multiple years where she methodically seduced multiple children to engage in sexual acts with her on the grounds of the academy and at local venues during unsupervised outings with the minors. The lawsuit alleges the outings were permitted by LifeLine and Lasting Change, ?in conformity with the institution?s lax policies.?

The suit claims both LifeLine and Lasting Change were negligent and owed a duty to prevent sexual assault against the residents under its charge.

A battery claim is charged against Darby for her alleged behavior between July and December 2019 against the minor plaintiff where she would ?work to change the hearts of the residents by earning trust through promises and counseling; inducing or encouraging residents to use drugs and promising that she would not report said use to supervisors; falsifying drug screen reports for residents; repeatedly telling residents they were in the ?circle of trust?; engaging in dirty talk and encouraging gossip of the same; kissing; full-front hugging; handholding, and allowing and encouraging hands to be placed on buttocks or other areas of her body; fondling of her body, including genitalia, and of other residents; requesting penetration from other residents; performing oral sex on the residents; and engaging in sexual intercourse with residents on their 18th birthday and beyond.?

The suit claims that in 2017, Darby was the suspect of an investigation with law enforcement involving accusations of sexual assault on another resident at the academy. Other staff members there also told of Darby?s inappropriate activities, the suit alleges.

The lawsuit further says that LifeLine and Lasting Change took no preventative actions in response to the 2017 accusations and investigations against Darby but rather promoted her and kept their ?deficient policies in place to protect residents from sexual assault by its employees and agents.?

The lawsuit goes on to say that Lasting Change and LifeLine allowed Darby to take minor residents to areas of the campus that are not recorded or visible to third parties and on unsupervised outings off premises. The company allegedly did not require more than one staff member to go on the off-premise outings as a cost-saving measure, according to the lawsuit.

The suit also alleges all defendants engaged in a conspiracy to ?negligently operate the Pierceton Woods facility in disregard for the well-being of its residents, namely failing to protect them from sexual assault,? even after the situation was investigated by the Indiana Department of Child Services and Pierceton Police Department, who both allegedly determined the offenses have occurred, according to the suit. The suit further claims that Darby continued to have access to the building where residents lived during the investigation.

As far as the claims against Brian Perry, the lawsuit alleges he and Darby were in an intimate relationship since at least 2017 and that he used his position of authority at Pierceton Woods to ?threaten and intimidate residents to prevent them from making complaints or to withdraw them once made,? as well as using discipline or the threat of discipline on residents who made and persisted in their complaints against staff members. The suit alleges Brian was in conspiracy with LifeLine and Lasting Change and the other defendants in the case. That conspiracy claim is represented among all of them for allegedly disregarding and concealing reports of sexual assaults from the appropriate authorities.

McConnell writes that as a direct and proximate result of the situation, his client has suffered damages including bodily injury with a permanent psychological injury, pain and suffering, disability, mental anguish, inconvenience, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, expense of hospitalization, medical and nursing care and treatment, loss of income and loss of ability to lead and enjoy a normal life. Those losses are either permanent or continuing, and his client will suffer the losses in the future, McConnell wrote.

?To date, Pierceton Woods Academy has taken no meaningful action to remedy the policies that permitted these sexual offenses. Nor has Darby Ellis Perry been charged with crimes brought to Kosciusko County Prosecutor Dan Hampton?s attention in early 2020,? McConnell said. ?The victims of Lasting Change and LifeLine deserve justice, just as the citizens of Kosciusko County deserve to see charges filed against individuals who violate Indiana?s child seduction law.??

Pierceton Police Department Chief Tim Sammons told the Times-Union he is aware of the civil lawsuit and that his agency submitted a criminal case pertaining to this case to the Kosciusko County Prosecutor?s Office for review, however, he has not heard of a decision from the prosecutors about moving forward with criminal charges.

In a statement to the Times-Union, Hampton said of the matter: ?Just prior to the pandemic, information about Pierceton Woods was brought to local law enforcement?s attention, which began an investigation that remains ongoing. In every criminal investigation, law enforcement conducts a very thorough examination ? not relying solely on assertions, assumptions or allegations? but rather on factual evidence. Due to this ongoing investigation, I will not confirm or deny any allegations raised in any civil lawsuit.?

Attempts to reach LifeLine and Lasting Change were unsuccessful, and it is unknown if any of the defendants have attorneys representing them in this cause.

34
The Troubled Teen Industry / Pierceton Woods Academy testimonies
« on: April 30, 2023, 02:01:19 AM »
The Google reviews are kind of mixed for this facility.

Quote from: Benjamin Green
I have lived here for one year and months and highly recommend considering you options when coming to this facility. My experience was absolutely horrendous. I was not helped when coming to this facility in fact was set further behind and was given less opportunity. There were care specialists that were clearly biased and gave favoritism to other residents. Not only this, I was promised full confidentiality of all treatment information but I was not given this respect and this caused me more troubles. I was put down by other residents and I was not helped by the care specialists. I was discharged unsuccessfully because of failed polygraph in  which I was forced to take by the facility and what was worse is I had been truthful, but had been called a liar. These polygraphs have caused the fall of so many residents and in my entire 14 months of stay,  I saw only 1 person discharge by completion of the program. These residents are undergoing a tremendous amount of stress, I know because of the social awkwardness that I still have today.  The facility also does not have a welcoming setting, I felt I was in solitary confinement . These people will walk out with more mental problems and will likely discharge unsuccessfully. In my personal opinion, avoid this place at all costs. In the mist of all this, they did offer a great christian environment but may be a problem if there were one who was not christian. The care specialists generally liked to show christian movies and shows. One more thing, the school offered had no opportunity, most of the schooling was on computer and classes offered were chosen for you, generally an elective like basic skills or Indiana studies. So complicated classes such as algebra had to be self taught on a computer. Please consider all of your options when coming to this facility, because generally any other residental is better than here.

Quote from: dillon johnson
Fired a good staff member for completely bs reasons and treated them poorly with clear bias for certain members. Not very understanding of staff having to do what they can to keep things under control in high stress situations with zero help from other staff even if it doesn't 110% go the way management wants it to go.

Quote from: Pamela Copley
Horrible place to work!!! They are alway short staffed. Was hired for zero Sundays and I can?t even go to church yet this is supposed to be a ?Christian? company. They do not allow me to go to church. This place is a joke. The management never helps and just lets us work short staffed. Kids are always beating up staff and running away. Setting fires. Yet no one here to help. This company is a joke! I never call off I?m always at work and they won?t even let me e cerise my rights to go to church.


Quote from: Fox-A-Million JiffyPaws
As someone who successfully discharged from the facility. I say, depending on the kind of environment you want your child in, this may, or may not be a good place. They may have good staff, but many staff who work here are power hungry when it comes to position. I would recommend somewhere else, but it is your choice.

Quote from: Direct Marketing LLC
i mean its not meant to be fun. But most of the officers are disrespectful asholes that break you down because they make NO money. Mr.White especially was a ugly as dude who would make fun of me and laugh at my own expense. Somedays they dont even let you out of your cell for rec. #ShutDown

35
The Troubled Teen Industry / Re: Georgia Wilderness program: First light wilderness
« on: April 21, 2023, 01:21:54 PM »
They were foundedi in 2020.

First Light Wilderness Therapy (2020-present) Dahlonega, GA (Anti-Troubled Teen Industry Activism & Survivor Support)

36
The Troubled Teen Industry / Georgia Wilderness program: First light wilderness
« on: April 21, 2023, 01:18:11 PM »
The feedback from this program which is run from an address in Dahlonega, Georgia is not that positive.

Quote
Xu's testimoney

The program lied to my parents giving false legal information saying if i left the state of Georgia it would complicate my felony even more because the place is so depressing me and a friend of mine there tried running away and we happend to come across a car with its door open and keys inside to swindle more cash pre day during my stay there in GA 2 the boys group 1 tried to kill them selfs 1 ran away 5 times turned 18 and finally ran away they over charge the worth of this program by priceless amounts WOULD NOT RECOMMEND if you have a troubled teen it would be much more beneficial to talk to them and provide care your self or send them to a residential or rehab facility the kid who tried to kill him self was there for 90 days and got kicked out last minute and all the program did was recommend him to another program a absolute WASTE OF MONEY

Quote
White's parent-testimony

I regret taking my son here.  He attempted suicide TWICE because of this program.  My son isn?t the same anymore because of the trauma this program causes.

37
World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS) / Victoria Valentina Zubkis investigation thread
« on: April 10, 2023, 04:12:15 AM »
Victoria Valentina Zubkis sadly passed away. The circumstances are not clear.

We have been looking into her connection with Sunset Bay Academy and found this piece.

The questions are:

Was her death fauld play?
Had it connection to Sunset Bay Academy?

Quote
ROSARITO B.C. EN CENTRO DE REABILITACION V?A DENUNCIA POR ABUSO SEXUAL Y TRATOS INDIGNOS A MENOR

/OF. NO. 0031/PT/13. El Sub Jefe JUAN LUCIANO RODR?GUEZ REYNAGA con los agentes ARTURO AVALOS P?REZ y RA?L JAVIER PAREDES ESQUER tripulantes de la unidad patrulla P-0947, al encontrarse en las instalaciones de la Direcci?n de Seguridad Publica, se presento una persona del sexo masculino, quien dijo llamarse VLADISLAW ZUBKIS de 53 a?os de edad, quien manifest? que tiene internada desde el d?a 01 de Diciembre del a?o pasado a su menor hija de 17 a?os de edad la cual responde al nombre de VICTORIA VALENTINA ZUBKIS, en el centro de Rehabilitaci?n para las adicciones denominado SUNSET BAY ACADEMY, ubicado sobre el camino viejo a Pemex, entre las calles Guadalupe Victoria y Calzada a la Playa de la colonia Lienzo Charro de este Municipio, lugar donde se encontraba el Hotel Villa Serena, la cual le manifest? que hab?a sido abusada sexualmente en dicho lugar, as? como recibir tratos indignos, por lo que solicito a los responsables de dicha instituci?n que se le permitiera sacarla del lugar, ya que el reportante no estaba de acuerdo por lo manifestado de la menor, neg?ndose a entreg?rsela, motivo por el cual se trasladaron al lugar en compa??a del reportante. Ya una vez en el lugar se entrevistaron con el que dijo llamarse SALVADOR ALBERTO MAYORAL GONZ?LEZ de 29 a?os de edad, quien dijo ser encargado nocturno de dicho centro, por lo que se le indico el motivo de dela presencia policiaca, solicitando autorizaci?n para entrevistar a la menor, al igual si exist?a por parte de esa instituci?n alg?n motivo para no ser entregada la de nombre VICTORIA VALENTINA ZUBKIS, a su se?or padre, manifestando con la negativa de que no pod?a ser entregada ya que contaban con un documento firmado por la madre donde les dejaba la custodia de la menor a dicha instituci?n, por lo que se le solicito pasara ente la autoridad competente y asimismo entregara a la menor, neg?ndose rotundamente, no siendo posible asegurarlo ya que se encontraba en el interior del inmueble, siendo en esos momentos que arribo al lugar el administrador del lugar, el de nombre MARTIN ARTURO BERNAL GAPI de 48 a?os de edad, al cual se le informo de los hechos manifestados por la parte reportante, solicit?ndole la pretensi?n del padre de la menor, mismo que accedi? inmediatamente a ser entrega de la menor a su se?or padre elaborando al momento un oficio de salida de interno suscribido por el mismo. Por lo que de estos hechos se le hizo de conocimiento al C. Director de Seguridad P?blica Municipal Lic. FRANCISCO CASTRO TRENTI, quien ordeno se elaborara el informe ante el Ministerio del Fuero Com?n, por tratarse de hechos presuntamente constitutivos de delito.

Sources:


38
Facility Question and Answers / Gateway Christian Military Academy testimony
« on: December 23, 2022, 03:19:08 AM »
Found this in a blog: (link)

Quote from: Matthew Pierce
Reading through the news articles in the Tampa Bay Times, I found some disturbing similarities in the statements of others and what I experienced here, even though they were sent to this facility many years after me. I was sent to Bonifay, Teen Challenge in May of 2002 and ?graduated? in September of 2003 only after my parents signed a waiver for me to join the US Army (as my other option was homelessness). But in June of 2002 I was nearly killed in this facility by a staff member called ?Sergeant Williams.?

I raised my hand to ask a question in the dining hall and was picked up several feet off the ground and slammed head first onto a tile floor. I could not move or feel anything for several minutes. I had a knot on my head the size of a softball, got dizzy and sick often, and found walking difficult for several weeks. I was refused medical care. I would find out years later during a CT scan that my skull had previously been fractured and I had sustained what should have been treated as a life threatening concussion. SGT Williams would go on to do this to several other children during his career at TC Bonifay, until eventually being let go for nearly killing another cadet.

In this facility we were forced to fight each other in a boxing ring in what was called the ?back 40? (the 40 acres of land behind the facility facing away from Highway 2) for staff entertainment. Sometimes the staff would enter the boxing ring with cadets if they felt there was an issue with a child. It is important to note that the staff members during my stay at TC Bonifay were all either ex-military, active duty police officers, or former police officers. One of which was ?SGT Pollock,? an active duty police officer, who was fired for sexual misconduct involving a cadet (TC did do the right thing here). Another honorable mention is SGT Wright, a former Marine, who entered the ring with a cadet and knocked him out (he was not fired).

We were physically worked until several of us were urinating blood, and forced to dig 6′ x 6′ holes in the ground to ?bury our demons? if we committed an offense such as not standing at the position of attention with the correct posture.

It noted in the Tampa Bay Times that the school is not regionally or state accredited. The Army accepted the HS diploma issued (bear in mind it was 2003 during the invasion of Iraq), when applying to college after leaving the military I still had to go and get a GED due to this school not being accredited.

If anyone else is out there reading this, please do not send your child here. If you are also a victim of abuse at this facility, please share your experience and vote to change the law regarding class action suits of facilities like this so we can be somewhat compensated for the brutality experienced here and years of PTSD which follow.

.

39
The Troubled Teen Industry / New name for facility where 15-year-old died
« on: October 26, 2022, 02:55:44 AM »
When a child dies in your care, it is normal to think about changing name so parents and case-workers do not remember the bad things when they search for treatment for children. That is the case with Sequel TSI who now is named Brighter Path.

Sources:


40
The Troubled Teen Industry / 7-year-old died at Brooklawn
« on: October 26, 2022, 02:50:51 AM »
How could they? If everything that could come from this tragedy, is some fines and a reprimand to the facilty, of course they could.


41
The Troubled Teen Industry / Mercy Mountain Ministries - Farmers Christian Academy Girls Home reborn?
« on: July 28, 2022, 01:07:37 AM »
Sources mention that Farmers Christian Academy Girls Home might run under another name.

Mercy Mountain Academy aka Mercy Mountain Ministries located in Asheboro, North Carolina might be an attempt to hide from bad press so they can continue to detain girls in their religious nightmare of a school.

The address is stated to be: 2610 Cid Road, Lexington, NC 27292

More about the old facility: https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/36140791/posts/987


42
The Troubled Teen Industry / Re: Trinity Teen Solution and their stand on possible molestation charges
« on: May 23, 2022, 04:22:56 AM »
More reviews waiting to be recommended:

Quote from: Tess F.
Horrible horrible horrible. I was a girl there for almost 5 months before graduating and I, 8 months later, still think of the horrors of this place till this very day. First of all, I was NO angel. I went there because i was crazy and out of control, typical teen stuff times 1000.. I come from a beautiful loving family,  so they were desperate.... First of all, the majority of the women here are in their early 20s and very unqualified!! Second of all, in order to get out, you must kiss up to them as much as possible! You are also NOT allowed to talk to any other, or stare or even smile at any other girl there. Snitching on eachother is expected. If you get caught doing so without going through staff you will get a hill run,(its not a hill) which includes running up a mini mountain with raddle snakes while staff times you... If u dont get up & down in 15 mins you must redo it . Third,  you run over a mile a day, up and downhill.... You are given no choice. If you feel sick or are injured that usually say they don't believe you and force you to run anyway..  Over the course of my nearly 5 month stay,  I got a gash in my head that almost needed stitches and broke my tailbone/strained my back because staff forced me to ride on an unruly horse. I was threatened with tacking on months to my stay and being level dropped if I got off, so out of desperation I did what they asked. Sure enough, due to staffs incompetence, the horse steps on sharp wire, bucks up, knocks me off and begins to roll on top of me .... The helmet broke.  Just as bad, the woman, instead of calling for help, forced me to walk almost a mile back to the ranch... When we fianally got to the cabins, i was told to go to the "wash cabin" where I, in terrible pain, had to tell the lady there I had just fallen off a horse. Finally, after delaying about an hour, they took me to the emergency room.  Of course, not before making me walk to the barn to get myself some dinner. However, I was so brainwashed by the crap that I didn't see just how messed up everything was. They have something called "Life Review" ( the name still gives me chills) that is basically you do something "bad", and are forced to sit facing the wall. All day. Thats all you do. You cant be around anyone, you sleep on the floor, cant participate in anything, cant talk to staff, and if u get caught doing something as minor as looking around the room, you get olives and beans to eat. This can last anywhere from a week to MONTHS. A 13 year old girl was on this for over 2 months before she left... She was so bored and lonely that she resorted to self harm & picking the skin off of her hands to occupy her time.. She wasn't perfect but wow I bet she suffered SO much. By the time she left she was pale and even more thin.

Quote from: Elana B.
If I could I would put this place called hell in negatives. But sadly i'm not able to do that. My names Elana, and I didn't get the help i needed. I stayed there for 5 months trying to kill my self every other week. That should be a sign. You're welcome. Please contact me if you want more details on the experience.

Quote from: Kelsie V.
I attended Trinity as a teen and have since tried to forget the trauma that happened to me while I was there but have found myself 5 years later, still tortured by the memories. I was your typical rebellious teen- experimenting with alcohol and drugs, defiant, hanging out with older boys, and depressed. However, the punishment I received at trinity for being this way is something I would never wish on my worst enemy. All Trinity did was confuse and lie to my family, and further traumatize me. I was sitting in a car one day after I got out drinking and smoking weed with my old friends 100 times MORE self destructive, alone, and sad than I was the day I went to Trinity. The affects of Trinity led me to be a serious hard drug abuser, something I was never destined to be coming from my loving and supporting family that was only trying to help me. I had no other way to numb the memories and pain. Every other girl I attended with had similar fates- either became serious junkies, or became promiscuous and had children out of wedlock because they were only searching for love and to numb the memories as well. I am being totally honest when I say this- I WOULD HAVE RATHER BEEN IN JAIL.

Why? Many reasons. One, in jail you actually know how long you are going to be there. Trinity is on a "need to know basis." So unless it is information you need to know in a life or death situation, it is withheld from you. The MONTHS never knowing when you will be able to see your family again or be treated like a human being are torture. Two, you can talk to other people in jail and rely on each other for support. At Trinity, the girls are not in any case allowed to be friends or talk to each other without permission. No one is allowed to know why the other one is there. Theyre encouraged to tattle on each other and punished if they do not. This creates a lonely and depressing environment versus having other girls there for support and to share similar struggles with. Three, if you are doing well you will get out sooner and vice versa. At Trinity, no matter what you do, you will be accused of faking it and lying and problems will be made up by staff for you, anything in order to tell your parents you need to be kept there longer. It is biased and decided by unqualified "life coaches" that have simply received an undergrad degree in something like psychology and has no training. I was once told by one of these staff members that I was getting too close with another girl and every time I looked or spoke to this other girl I was tacking on a few months to my stay at Trinity. My final reason is you are given adequate hygiene, food, and clothing in jail. At Trinity, every girl there even though we were all different sizes and body builds were FORCED to eat the exact same portion every single meal and if they didn't eat something on their plate? Punished. This was too much for some girls and never enough for others. Showers were maybe once a week in cold water for 5 minutes. And the underwear, bras, and clothing were reused by girls for over 20 years- it was ratty and disgusting. One girl came back as a staff member 10 years after she had been there and said she recognized her sweat pants and hoodies she wore at age 15. This is pretty amusing to me since TRINITY COSTS NEARLY $300 A DAY. Yet they spent none of this money on clothing or anything else really. Food was ordered cheaply in bulk and the girls made every thing themselves- low cost pasta and rice meals- and if anything started getting used to much and became "too expensive" it was immediately nixed. I was once reprimanded for using the too expensive avocados. 

Angie Woodward, the owner. How that name makes me cringe. She is the lovely lady responsible for harming so many teen girls and scamming hundreds of people into dumping her loads of cash for her multiple homes, vacations, and boats, cars, horses, ATVs, etc. that she parades around the girls and rubs in their faces while they are slaving away on her ranch. Angie's father owns the trouble teen boys ranch down the road and is where she learned all of these shaming and fear tactics for the clients and families. The only difference between the two ranches is that the boys one has been closed for abuse, neglect, and fraud, while Angie's is surprisingly still open! She claims to have years of experience and be our on staff nurse but I think I only saw her twice in the whole year and a half I was there- like I said she was busy vacationing. She hires 24 years olds fresh out of undergrad to carry out the dirty work instead who are too fresh in the world and naive to know they are doing something wrong- although a few figured it out and left and have written reviews here themselves that are negative but have been removed. Ill spare you the details of the abuse and neglect that goes on at Trinity- all you need to know is it is a scam with false advertising, AND YOU SHOULD NEVER SEND YOUR DAUGHTER HERE.

Quote from: Katy S.
My daughter attended TTS three years ago at a time when we, her parents, were desperately seeking help for our teen who was self-destructive to the extreme.

After 16 months on the ranch our daughter came home. We were no longer living in fear that we would receive a dreaded phone call that our daughter was in jail or dead. Initially we attributed this to TTS.  We now know that any improvement in our daughter was by default, certainly not due to the unprofessional, quack/psuedo therapy administered at TTS.

After three years, it has become abundantly clear to us that in the process of overcoming the former self-destructive behavior, our daughter was very emotionally traumatized by the harsh, punitive treatment at TTS.

As her mother, I had put my faith in the program but had misgivings. I heard of all the "challenges" and "consequences," the critiques at the peer and staff assessments - but where was the balance with any affirmation, or sign of love and caring? I definitely had the sense that my child was living in a fearful, not loving environment, even though I had been assured the girls lived in a loving, healthy, "family" environment.

My daughter is now in intense psychotherapy to deal with the trauma she experienced at TTS. She has been diagnosed by both a psychiatrist and a psychologist with PTSD.  TTS did a masterful job at tearing our daughter and her former ways down but she was not built up in a healthy, caring way, as we were led to believe she would be. No, she was intimidated, afraid to tell the truth, say or do  the "wrong thing".  She now lives in fear of being constantly judged, misunderstood, has nightmares and flashbacks.  Her already fragile self-esteem and identity were decimated at TTS.

For all the time, money, and emotional drain we invested with TTS, I believe we were misinformed, lied to and left in the dark about the harsh reality of our daughter's treatment.

Unless the program makes a concerted effort to balance the "Siberia-like" conditions with some loving compassion - I would strongly not recommend sending a daughter there.

43
The Troubled Teen Industry / Re: Trinity Teen Solution and their stand on possible molestation charges
« on: May 23, 2022, 04:18:22 AM »
This are reviews from Yelp waiting to be recommended:

Quote from: Emily D.
Listen to me when I say this place needs to be SHUT DOWN. The physical labor, abuse, and neglect that takes place there is absolutely inhumane and I'm not sure how it's even legal. The girls are forced to spend countless hours doing extremely hard, manual labor on the ranch in harsh weather conditions. They're punished over the most minuscule things like not smiling enough, talking without permission, being "attention seeking", or forgetful. The punishments are absolutely humiliating and a lot of time they're punished with something physical like doing 600 step ups or running miles up the side of the mountain. One of the worst punishments that goes on there is "the chair". The chair is when the girls are punished with sitting in a corner and staring at a wall the entire day. No slouching, no talking, and only being allowed to use the bathroom when they're told to (a lot of girls pee on themselves and suffer from kidney infections because of this). The chair can go on for as long as a YEAR which is sensory deprivation torture.  That's just the tip of the iceberg. The girls are sleep deprived and malnourished on the ranch. Most of the girls end up losing their period because of the stress that their body is under. The only productive thing that goes on there is all of the unpaid physical labor they do on the ranch to make the owner's life easier. They do NOT care about helping your daughter, they care about your money and all of the free dirty work your daughters will do for them on the ranch so they can sit back and relax. If you see the girls smiling in the pictures, it's because they are terrified of the punishment they will receive if they don't. Most of the girls that leave there suffer from ptsd, extreme anxiety, and depression and also end up falling into drugs and alcohol as a way to cope with the trauma they're left with. A lot of them also end up being behind in school because they're forced to prioritize their work on the ranch more than their education.  "Troubled" teens just need a little love and compassion from their FAMILY and they will become great people. The owners and staff consider themselves to be godly but my opinion is they're the antichrist. Not only is this company preying on young vulnerable girls and turning them into slaves, they're getting paid millions to do it. PLEASE do your research on the troubled teen industry and don't even consider sending your daughter here or any place like this.

Quote from: Yukon C.
So many accounts of child and animal abuse coming from this place.
They put the girls through hell and call it treatment, the abuse is the treatment. If there was any justice they would all be locked up for the rest of their lives.
There is an on going child protection services investigation for abuse, and a lawsuit from 21 young women.
The girls are worked like slaves, fed very little, and only crap food. Most of the girls loose their period due to malnutrition, overwork and incredible stress
They are not give proper gear for the winter cold, frostbite is common.
They don't have any mental healthcare professionals, there is no therapy of any kind. They use "humiliation therapy" or "attack therapy". Beyond disgusting.
There have been incidents of medical neglect, a girl was bucked off a horse into a barb wire fence and cacti, they would NOT allow them to stitch her up or give her anything for pain. She has horrible scars to this day. They lied to her parents so they wouldn't come an get her!
Another girl had her arm purposely broke in sadistic and prolonged restraint. A restraint is when they pile on a girl and hold her down applying great pressure to her pressure points putting her in horrible pain. They usually do this for an hour!

They made the girls go to the bathroom in a bucket, as part of the investigation they agreed to supply porta potties. But they watch the girls, and they watch the girls shower. Why do they do this? In the owner's words she said that they treat girls who are victims of sexual assault, and girls that have experienced sexual assault can have an obsession with their genitalia, and they need to be broken from this obsession.
Does this sound like any place for your girl? Will she really thank you? Will this demented place bring you closer? Look up what the survivors are saying on Tik Tok, Reddit and Fornits.
All the pictures of smiling girls on their web site are fake, there is no indoor yoga gym. They just force the girls to run up and down a hill until they drop
This has to end.

Edit, this is the state investigation for child abuse, they would not let the girls go to the bathroom so they would constantly be forced to pee themselves.
These people are monsters.

Quote from: Tess F.
Horrible! I was a girl there for almost 5 months before graduating.. I was 17 at the time, now I'm 21 and I still think of this place daily. First of all, the majority of the women here are in their early 20s and very unqualified!! They are definitely not equipped to deal with mental health problems, and punish by giving physical consequences. You are NOT allowed to talk, stare, or even smile at any other girl there. If you get caught doing so without going through staff you will get a hill run,(its NOT a hill) which includes running up a mini mountain with raddle snakes while staff times you... If u dont get up & down in 15 mins you must redo it . Third, you run over a mile a day, up and downhill.... You are given no choice. If you feel sick or are injured they say they don't believe you and force you to run anyway.. Over the course of my nearly 5 month stay, I got a gash in my head that almost needed stitches and broke my tailbone/strained my back because staff forced me to ride on an unruly horse. I was threatened with tacking on months to my stay and being level dropped if I got off, so out of desperation I did what they asked. Sure enough, due to staffs incompetence, the horse steps on sharp wire, bucks up, knocks me off and begins to roll on top of me .... The helmet broke. Just as bad, the woman, instead of calling for help, forced me to walk almost a mile back to the ranch... When we fianally got to the cabins, i was told to go to the bathroom to clean up, where in terrible pain, had to tell the lady there I had just fallen off a horse. Finally, after delaying about an hour, they took me to the emergency room. sure enough, my tailbone was broken..However, I was so brainwashed by the crap that I didn't see just how messed up everything was until I got out. They have something called "Life Review" meaning youve done something "bad", and are forced to sit facing the wall. All day. EVERY day. Thats all you do. You cant be around anyone, you sleep on the floor, cant participate in anything, cant talk to staff, and if u get caught doing something as minor as looking around the room, you get olives and beans to eat. This can last anywhere from a week to MONTHS. I saw girls lose their minds after being on this for months.
Also, they didn't diagnose me with any mental health issues, which turns out I have quite a few, like bipolar disorder anxiety and depression. After getting out, I immediately started cutting, ended up with an eating disorder, and also began to struggle with drug and alcohol abuse, so I've been in and out of rehab. I'm so traumatized by this place. Please, shut it down!!!! It makes teens worse,not better.

Quote from: Bridget H.
My experience at Trinity was torture for me. I was not what you would really consider a troubled teen. Worst grade I had in High school was a C, I did not party, do drugs, or have sex. I did have communication issues with my parents and that is what I was sent to Trinity to address. I felt that the information my parents found on Trinity before sending me was misleading and the issues could have been better addressed in family therapy rather than a residential treatment facility. I was there from May 2008-Aug 2010.

I was sent at the age of 17, after getting drunk for the first time at my oldest brother's wedding. I was there for 26 months. During that time I saw my parents twice. I was not allowed to see my brothers or my grandparents. My grandmother died during my stay and I was not allowed to attend her funeral. Communication with my parents was monitored very closely. If anything I said on a phone call was seen as negative by staff I lost my phone privileges with my parents. I felt forced to say what staff wanted to hear even if it wasn't the truth for fear of losing contact with my parents. If the letters I sent were not considered "positive or uplifting" they were returned to me to rewrite. This was the only contact I had with my parents over the two years.

I have done research since leaving on the behavior modification model, also known as coercive persuasion. I encourage parents to do some research if you are considering residential treatment for your teen. The environment of this center feels very similar to a cult and masks abuse (physical, psychological, and emotional) as "tough love". I have had many other girls confide the same feelings to me since leaving. I was left feeling isolated, sleep deprived, overworked, and desperate to get home. Even after I turned 18 I was told that I was not allowed to leave. I was never informed of my rights. I was terrified to even ask because I did not want to be knocked down levels for being "defiant" or "manipulative". It is a constant state of fear. The "challenges" were assigned to either humiliate or break a certain behavior. I felt that very few of the challenges I endured actually had any positive effect on me.

The program is run on a "need to know" basis. The staff never disclosed how long I was to be there. My parents thought I would only be there for a few weeks. The anxiety behind not knowing the length of stay or even when the next time I could see my parents was unbearable. Any "change" I believe was inspired by the stress and were not effective outside of the ranch. After two years I had only reached level 3 of 6. I can't imagine how long it would have taken me to graduate. My stay cost my parents about $200,000+ dollars. My relationship with my parents after was still a mess. I felt lost and confused when I left, even though the staff claimed I was in a good place. I was 19 which I believe played a major part in me being able to leave. In my opinion, the truth was that nothing about Trinity had prepared me for re-entering the real world. Everything they had "taught" me there I felt was a lie and had no real world value.

I felt like the exorbitant amounts of money spent to keep me here should at least have afforded us things such as clean unused underwear, and clothes.

The Government Accountability Office website has thousands of reports of abuse regarding the troubled teen industry due to the lack of regulations. Trinity claims on their website, "As a Christian based Residential Treatment Center, Trinity Teen Solutions uses individualized treatment plans to help your child be a functioning part of today's world with the least restrictive environment possible." I feel that this is a lie based on my experience. I feel that the ambiguity depicted on their website does not accurately depict the level of restrictions and discomfort that they are exposing teens to. I felt that I had no freedom, no support; only fear, deprivation and isolation. We as humans need to be loved and accepted and will adapt to the environment around us to survive. That is what I did here, I survived, but I am left with the aftermath of the abuse and it will forever be part of my life.

I want you to know that I'm coming from this with 11 years of perspective. I have worked hard outside of Trinity to repair relationships with my family, but Trinity did not help me accomplish that. I believe that any success I have had in life is in spite of it. I am now happily married with 3 beautiful girls. I could never imagine putting them through a place like this. It is my job as their parent to protect them. I still to this day have nightmares that I get sent back (10 years since I left). My parents and I are on great terms now that they have seen me reach my potential as a mother and adult. It took us years to reach this place and to leave the hurt that Trinity caused us in the past.

44
The Troubled Teen Industry / Re: Trinity Teen Solution and their stand on possible molestation charges
« on: May 23, 2022, 04:14:27 AM »
More reviews from Yelp (Link)

Quote from: Hailey M.
Please do not send your daughter here. I left Trinity almost three years ago, and suffer from the repercussions everyday I was barely 16 when I was sent to TTS and left at almost 18. Those are two vital years of a young persons life, in which they should be nurtured and be able to learn from their mistakes. Trinity is a verbally, emotional and psychological abusive program that you leave having no feeling of self worth or confidence. I know I do not speak for just myself as I am in contact with MANY previous Trinity girls. A majority of the reason I was sent to Trinity, was because of my adoption. My "counselor" and staff would never allow me to talk to them about my adoption and upon leaving they told me I was not allowed to talk to my birth family for a year. They refuse your basic human rights and treat you worse than if you were residing in a prison. I have many psychological as well as physical damage as a result from Trinity. While there I was told I was not allowed to engage in any extraneous activity involving my knees. However I was still made to do these and more, now at 20 years old I have the muscle, bone structure and fragility of a 70 year old woman. I also had many UTI's as a result of being refused to be taken to the bathroom while on chair. I suffer from social anxiety and PTSD, waking up screaming in the middle of the night afraid I am being sent back. If you want the best for your daughter, DO NOT send them here. They will come back with only more damage and hurt before they left.

Quote from: Michelle S.
This facility did nothing to address the problems I have communicating with other people. They told me I do not have any disorder. Turns out I have autism. I was there for almost two years and none of the staff there picked up on it. I have problems understanding other people, and learned nothing about how to deal with my disorder. I also requested to leave repeatedly when I turned 18 years old there, and was told I could not. I was held against my will for over a year. At no time was I showed paperwork that they could hold me against my will, such as a court order signed by a judge. I still have weekly nightmares and am in therapy with a PTSD diagnosis because of the abusive manner in which I had been treated. I underwent sleep deprivation, food deprivation, and mental and emotional abuse. If you really want to help your child, I recommend finding either a short-term place or putting your child in the juvenile justice system. Research shows no difference in outcomes for clients of these facilities and people in the justice system. At least in the justice system, there is a definite sentence. A person's behavior while inside determines if they stay longer or get out faster. If they want to get out faster, they will change their behaviors. Keep in mind Trinity Teen Solutions is a private institution, and can pretty much do whatever they want, legally. The things documented here by myself and other former clients really happened, and TTS is going to keep doing them as long as parents are desperate enough to send their daughters there. It would be nearly impossible to shut them down due to the abuse they have inflicted, since they are a private company.

Quote from: Sydney V.
honestly this was the worst experience I've ever had to be put through. i was only there for a little over 5 months and I only got to leave when i ran away while in town. My stay there was so horrible that towards the last month and a half all i could do was think of ways to try and kill myself to get out. I suffer from PTSD now. i went to two more residential treatment centers before going home truly better. My whole stay consisted of trying to kiss up to all the staff so i could get out. the average stay there if you wanted to graduate was around 2 years. most girls had to wait until they turned 18 to leave. You aren't fed properly. you are over worked to an extreme. the "care" you receive there is horrible and traumatizing. it would be less that a star if i could rate it that way. this place honestly made me worse than when i came in.

Quote from: Tarah B.
I went here for about six months, and while I don't think it was as bad as some of the other reviews here say, it was still pretty bad. For one, before I went there I had never done drugs, never drank, never partied, but when I came back I felt the strongest urge to get into this stuff. I learned about piercings, tattoos, parties, alcohol, and all this other stuff I didn't really know about and being so restrained it seemed so fun! The turn over rate is very low, most girls can take 2+ years to graduate. Nobody had graduated in over a year when I was there Jan-Jul 2014. Most girls either "age out(turn 18, like I did)", or they get pulled out by their parents for whatever reason. Most girls parents don't let them go home when they turn 18, but my mom did because she had been planning on pulling me out soon anyways because she didn't like how regulated and censored the communication between us was, mostly letters.

The staff are pretty nice, but there is definite favoritism. I've talked to a lot of girls who went there, and the few of them who I've met said they had to kiss major butt to get anywhere. I was only comfortable actually talking to only 2 or 3 of the staff there, many of them are just either awkward or tend to make me feel like what I was saying was wrong. Now, maybe that was the case, but I thought they were supposed to help me open up and learn to see my mistakes instead of making me feel shut down and guilty. All I know is that I had a lot more self confidence going in than I did coming out.

Another thing was the horses. I LOVED the horses. One of the main reasons my mom said she sent me here was because she was really excited about the horses, but unless you are on horse chore you don't get to see or interact with them very often. You go riding maybe once every few weeks if you're lucky, though sometimes at random you'll go like three times in two weeks then not go again for a month. Not sure how that system works, but my mom wasn't very happy with it and neither was I.

The therapy was alright, I loved Bernadette! She made me feel like a normal person and a lot less guilty. Not everything bad is my fault, turns out! The staff though is a bit harsh. I know the point of the place is "tough love", but there's a point where it can go a bit overboard. You can try as hard as you can but it still will not be good enough, unless you meet these standards you feel awful about yourself. I did learn a lot, but I think the "trauma" kind of negated most of it. I have nightmares about the place and I wasn't even there that long compared to most. I was pretty well behaved, so I didn't get in too much trouble, but the punishments for things are very unbalanced. Once a girl freaked out and made us all leave the cabin and she just didn't get dinner, while once I accidentally ordered an extra box of soap and got a hill run. I understand that people need different punishments, but good golly. Some girls would act completely awful and so the staff would coddle them, while some of us got completely ignored. Now this is how I saw it. I don't know the whole story, but all I know is that it made me feel very insignificant and frustrated.

The religion was also kind of shoved down your throat. I am a christian, not catholic, but I still got shut down when I tried to give my opinion during group discussions. If they didn't agree with you, you were wrong. Another thing about the "group therapy", I didn't even know that was supposed to be "therapy". Most of the time we watch videos about a saint or how to react in different situations(videos that were made in the 80's may I add). Those videos are hilarious and none of us take them seriously, they are just too dang corny. They call it "group therapy", but its more just something to keep us occupied for an hour or two.

Now, in my opinion, if your daughter is close to turning 18, has never drank, partied, or done drugs, isn't very religious, or anything like that, this isnt the place. I cant speak for others, but when I came out I think I was worse than when I went. Also if you actually want her to graduate expect her to be there for at least two years. I did learn some stuff though, like that you can put anything on a tortilla! Also patience and people skills because the girls there can be nuts. I love them though and I can't wait until they get out so I can talk to them without being constantly monitored. So anywho, yep. That's my opinion.

45
The Troubled Teen Industry / Re: Trinity Teen Solution and their stand on possible molestation charges
« on: May 23, 2022, 04:11:11 AM »
Various feedback on Yelp from former students and relatives (link):

Quote from: Emily A.
The trauma this program caused my friend and all of the people with her severe PTSD. absolutely horrific, completely untrained staff. the entire camp is designed as forced, unpaid labor for the farm there. not allowed to sleep in the winter, forced to run all day without any meals, and constantly humiliated by staff about anything they deem not to their standards. tons of physical punishment through long runs for miles and miles without any breaks to go to the bathroom or eat. girls frequently defecated on themselves because they weren't allowed to use the bathroom. CPS should have shut this place down over a decade ago. staff oversees all visits with parents and tells the parents that no matter what their children say, they are lying about everything and the kids need to stay even longer. get ready to pay for decades of therapy and medication to recover from the trauma of this place.

Quote from: Tammy B
don't send them here! they are brain washers! they abuse your children! if you think they don't love you now or they are at a level to want to hurt themselfs now just wait, i heard girls were drinking bleach to off themselves, ever seen the movie holes, its like that but 100x worse because its real, they lock children alone for months at a time, they can't talk to anyone or each other, they let them get harmed and do nothing they are monsters! they don't give the children even a bed to sleep on! its torture! even inmates are given beds and medical care close this place tf down before you also get tied to the abuse here! these girls are not lieing to you! they have lawsuits on them! kids having ptsd and straight trama! listen to your children before its to late and they resent you or when they finally get the chance kill themselves because you made them feel so unloved being sent to "fake camp of hell"! manipulation over parents and gult tripping you will happen and your child will never be the same and never forgive you, all those 5 star reviews are fake they male them do that to get more girls (aka) more money they dont gove a fuck!

Quote from: Lexi M.
So today I decided to stop caring and post an honest review of this business. I was sent here in 2016, and I can easily say this made that the worst year of my entire life. This place changed my life in the worst way possible, causing me trauma and PTSD. This place is not what it seems. It's built on child labor and abuse. If you don't believe me, read all the other reviews, or simply research this place and read about how they are in court for this.

I can truthfully say that I would have rather gone to a prison than here. At least in prison, your allowed to make eye contact with and communicate with inmates. That's right, at Trinity you received physical punishment (example, 25 push ups) for making eye contact with a girl or talking to her without ASKING PERMISSION. You actually received physical punishment for the dumbest reasons; once, I had to do 50 step-ups because I mentioned that I missed Krispy Kreme donuts. Yep. And there reasoning was, "Your not in the here and now." You also could not stand up or sit down from your chair without asking permission. If you did on accident? 25 push ups, or 50, or whatever they felt like that day.

I was forced to eat food even though I was sick and this caused me to become more sick. I had woken up the night before with my stomach in intense pain. I received no medical assistance, and was sent back to bed. The next morning I still felt the same way and refused breakfast. They told me I had to eat and if i didn't, at the next meal I'd have to eat the meal I missed and the new meal. (if you refused many meals, as a punishment they made you eat a mix of cold kidney beans and cold black olives) So I ate the meal, and then projective vomited it outside the schoolhouse. Also, I should mention I never had control of any of the food I ate, and each girl had to eat the same amount of food, despite them all being different ages (youngest girl when I was there was 13, oldest was 19) I remember one girl, who was much younger than me, got so full from her dinner (she had already eaten most of it)and they forced her to eat it as she sobbed, telling them she felt ill.

I was assigned to take care of this horned goat, named Franny. So each night I had to take the goat off her leash/cable tie and put her in a pen, One night I got yelled at for putting her dinner in there so she would walk inside. A staff member decided to watch me to make sure I put her back correctly. The goat became angered with me, and head butted me repeatedly, until i fell to the ground. (The goat had head butted me in the past, which was always scary, but no one ever bothered to help me.) I became tangled in her cable tie, and it wrapped around my leg. The goat trampled me, then started running. When the goat would run, this would cause the cable to become taut around my leg. I don't know the name for it but it was like a piece of wire coated in plastic or rubber of some kind. So when she ran the wire tightened around my ankle, causing me intense pain. It also raised my ankle of the ground so I couldn't get up to free myself. I screamed for help, asking the staff member to help me. She stood there and told me to free/untangle myself so I could stand. I couldn't, I was too tangled, and each time I would try to get up the goat would run again causing even more pain and restriction. I just keep screaming for her to help, but she just hovered above me, watching.  Finally after she watched me a bit longer, and the wire had tightened several more times, the staff member unclipped the tie from the goats neck. My ankle was in intense pain, swollen and deeply bruised. The next day, I asked to be opted out of the run (we have to run from the living cabins to the schoolhouse, about 0.5 mile)since I was limping, my leg was swollen so it was hard to put in my boot, and I was in pain. They said no, you have to run. they told me I would be fine, since "it was just bruising and my actual leg was fine." Meanwhile, a girl with blisters didn't have to run.

Overall outside of these events this place is just bad all over. The "staff", who watch you at every hour of the day, have no licensing and often just a college degree. You see a licensed therapist for one hour once a week, sometimes twice. You participate in "Holy Cowgirl" meetings, which is where everyone sits in a circle and comments about how you did since the last meeting, including negative comments. It was really unhealthy. I would get super anxious leading up to the meetings, knowing I was going to be analyzed and picked apart. They also didn't let you look in the mirror, or talk about your experiences, which makes you feel like you have no identity.

I saw Angie, the owner, ONCE the whole time I was there. She doesn't care about the trauma she has caused and is causing to so many of these girls. She actually thinks people are suing Trinity for the sake of money, and not for the fact that she changed their lives in the worst way possible.

Quote from: Maggie H.
I was sent to Trinity in October of 2011 and graduated the program in July of 2013. My struggles were with anxiety and depression primarily, as well as some behavioral issues. I won't downplay that I was having some very serious problems, but Trinity was NOT the solution. Trinity is a catholic based treatment center that uses a mixture of strict discipline and once a week therapy. Some of the "discipline" includes humiliating and degrading "challenges." For example, The Chair. The Chair is simple, you sit on a chair in the corner facing a wall for a minimum of two weeks without speaking to anyone, participating in any activities, or having any form of entertainment other than 3 hours of online classes a day. If you broke any of the chair rules, the punishment would be to eat a bowl of kidney beans and olives instead of a regular meal.

I got very behind in my school work at Trinity Teen Solutions, as did many of the other girls. Which is ironic, because we did school work 12 months out of the year, six days a week. We participated in online school, which served as a very poor education for two years. I had no physical teacher for TWO YEARS. When I finished my time at TTS, I struggled immensely during my last year of high school due to the poor education I received.

I could go on and on about the various things that I experienced at Trinity, but suffice it to say that I'm 23 years old and I still struggle with the memories that I have of this place, and I feel that if I spend too long ruminating over it, I'll end up in a very dark place. I have been diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which was something that I never struggled with before TTS. While I do understand that one needs a predisposition to exhibit this behavior, the expectation of perfection that was perpetuated at Trinity is what caused these symptoms to develop in me. I had to mentally ritualize in order to feel safe. In one particular instance while I was being assessed for their bi-weekly "Holy Cowgirl" assessments, I was so overcome with anxiety that I ended up vomiting.
Being there for so long, I obviously had a mixture of positive and negative experiences. In a way, I was forced to develop a positive attitude, because fighting the system would have gotten me no where. I feel that this review would be dishonest if I didn't at least mention some of the things that made my Wyoming experience more tolerable.

  • My therapist J.D. Although JD no longer works for TTS
  • The Animals
  • It is pretty there
  • We weren't allowed to be friends with the other patients while we were there, but afterwards I talked to these people over social media and have made some really great friendships

I felt that I did what I had to in order to survive this place. I became a different person while I was there, but not in a way that I liked. I hated the person that Trinity turned me into. And when I look back on my teenage self, I try to have some compassion for that girl, because I was doing the best that I could at that time. I needed to please the powers that be, we were constantly reminded that if we didn't behave and change, that we would be held there indefinitely. Before Trinity, I was very passionate about art and drawing, but that was stomped out of me. I was only allowed to draw on some Sundays, and given punishment if I was caught doodling during the week. None of our notebooks were private, so if I did doodle, I would inevitably be caught. So I had to stop. I only draw rarely these days out of some subconscious fear of wrongdoing or punishment. It just doesn't feel safe to me (OCD).

I supposed that I should mention the outcome. Trinity is a very controlled environment, you are not in any way exposed to the real world. We aren't even allowed to talk about our lives pre-TTS, not even in a therapy group. After Trinity, my relationship with my family was more broken than it was before. I had only seen my parents four times in my two years there. My former friends had moved on with their lives, and I've had a great deal of trouble establishing meaningful relationships with anyone. I was told to lie to people at school about where I was. So, within weeks, I had turned to alcohol. I've been struggling with alcoholism for the last five years. Again, I don't entirely blame Trinity for this, but they claim a high success rate, which is simply not true. I'm not sure how they are measuring their idea of a success rate, to be quite honest. I'm doing better now, I sought treatment as an adult at facilities that had a proper understanding of my mental illnesses and addictions, and were able to effectively treat these things. I am doing better now, it is in spite of Trinity Teen Solutions, not because of it.

Quote from: Kari S.
PARENTS MUST READ***

When I was sent to this place in 2005 I was terrified, dressed in rags, and broke my back as I exceeded the child labor laws times a million daily. Not saying it was a total negative experience, although most of it was due to MOST of the people running the program. I was there for about 8 months and I had only gotten 2 school credits (this is a fact). Kids and teens get hungry because they are constantly growing; my point is that the girls do not have access to the kitchen so if we are laboring in the heat or the freezing cold we only have water no Gatorade no gronola bars nothing to feed our energy, so now this is why some girls "steal" food (if you even want to call it that since the parents are paying the program more than enough money to feed an army, I shot you not) so anyways when they would do that they would give them ridiculous punishments, such as eating cold oatmeal for all 3 meals for 3 days in a row, yuk. There were all kinds of crazy stuff they did. I personally was told that I had to tie myself to this other girl with a rope and we had to be tied together with a rope connected to our belt loops all day long until bedtime. This went on for 5 months. Then at one time, I had to care for that Saint Bernard dog you see in the pictures, only when bedtime came along I was not allowed to sleep in my bed, they made me sleep on the floor with the dog without a pillow or a blanket. I did not get the sleep I needed during that time and I still had to labor all day, that is if I wanted to eat real food. They ALWAYS use food as a punishment even though it says right there in the cowgirl manual that they will NOT use food as a punishment. These people like to contradict themselves, and if you think for one minute that Angie and Jerry (the owners) don't know what's going on think again because they do know and they don't care. I was upset one night and so I just started running down the dirt road, they came after me in the truck and slammed me down On The ground. Now after this happens the staff preceded to tie up my entire body in a thick heavy rope and threw me in the back of the truck and drove back up to the cabins. I didn't know what the hell was going on and then I over heard them talking about locking me in the shed and they didn't do that because there were nails sticking out of the walls and so they thought I was going to kill myself ( and that's something I would never do, I was simply PISSED) but can you blame me? First of all I already had been traumatized before I went to this place and they just made things worse for me. I'll tell you all something, ANYBODY can go and get a job that's meant for helping people, just to go for the money, and OR to make others miserable because they are miserable. There are a lot of crooked COPS, and many other titles. I really hope I can get through to many parents out there. One more memory is about this thing they put us through called "Pig Shifts" which means; after the mother pig gives birth, the girls are paired up and every pair has a set time each day or night or early AM to watch the piglets to make sure the momma does not crush them. Each shift would run 3 hours at a time. My pig shift was from 2am to 5am mind you that us two girls had to walk across a huge field about a mile and a half long in the middle of the night in the pitch dark knowing that a mountain lion was spotted by the neighbor, and we heard this from staff. Now we were not allowed to go to sleep until 9:30pm each night we had the option to stay up a little later but I was always so exhausted I had wished I could have gone to sleep earlier, especially with pig shifts and then laboring all day. One more thing I forgot to mention is that they like to make us run everywhere on top of the pig shifts, the daily labor, and the lack of nutrition. Another important memory I must share; we went hiking in the mountains (very beautiful) anyways, once we had gotten to Deep lake we were to put our food up into the trees before we would camp for the night as there are REAL BEARS where they bring the girls. So I had put my food in the sack to go up into the tree and we were about to go to sleep and I had forgotten that I had a small Gatorade packet in my pocket ( yes the one time we actually got this type on stuff on hiking trips) so I was worried because I didn't want to get eaten by a bear so I told staff right away and it was a simple mistake but they got mad at me, so then I went to burry it away from the campsite to be safe. Then the next morning because of what happened with me and that Gatorade packet the night before the staff refused to let any of us eat breakfast, and this was the day after a very long and strenuous hike. Thank you God Bless

Quote from: Kyrie O.
I definitely do not support or recommend this place to anyone. I am writing this review at 4 in the morning because I can't sleep because of all the terrible memories that I've had of this place and I just want to put out there do not send your kids there. It's a scam for money the girls are mentally abused and brainwashed by very intimidating staff the girls have no alone time which is extremely unhealthy there are terrible consequences such as Life review where are you sit facing a wall for however long staff said so there was a 13 year old girl who was on Life review for 6 weeks the amount of trauma and depression she could have got from that or has got from that is disgusting this is not a healthy Place whatsoever they break you down until you have nothing not even able to express yourself in any way it's a cult practically and for what so the owners can buy fancy cars and giant RVs the expectations staff put on us was practically impossible I was put on silent challenge where I couldn't talk or say any unnecessary things and I suffer from depression and being antisocial so I don't understand how that would help me in anyway there is definite favoritism it seems you have to put others down in order to make yourself succeed in this place it's all based on how brainwashed you are if you act like a robot for however long you're there you'll probably get out faster but that's not how humans work I was definitely mentally abused there by staff and it keeps me up at night the amount of anger that I feel is very difficult to handle if you want your child to be at peace don't send them here because it doesn't give you any peace it is not a peaceful place it is all false advertisement it's not a boarding school you do school in a run-down trailer and are cooped up not able to experience anything that the real world has to offer it's in the wilderness so girls can run away

Quote from: Anna A.
I attended Trinity back in 2012. Not only was this place not at all what they said they were but it caused more harm than good to the girls that went there. My parents realized what a scam it was after much manipulation from the owners and they removed me from this place as fast as they could. I was diagnosed with PTSD from being there by my therapist when I returned home. After thousands spent on therapy to help me overcome these traumas I can say in confidence DO NOT send your children to Trinity. Please consider other programs. My parents were just trying to find a place of healing for me but were horrified to find out how damaging it was instead.




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