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The Troubled Teen Industry / Re: Trinity Teen Solution and their stand on possible molestation charges
« Last post by Oscar 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.