Fornits
Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => The Troubled Teen Industry => Topic started by: Charly on October 28, 2007, 06:55:38 PM
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Anyone know anything about this place? It is "Christ-based" and looks really horrible.
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Choose a Program Especially for Your Teen
Choose a Program
Bonneville Canyon Retreat
Cedar Breaks Academy
Clearview
Glacier Mountain Academy
Gravity Matters
High Top Ranch
Integrity House for Girls
Resolution Ranch
Shepherd’s Hill Farm
Sorenson’s Ranch
Stonesoup School
Thayer Learning Center
TLC Summer Boot Camp
Shepherd's Hill Farm
Shepherd’s Hill Farm (SHF) is a co-ed therapeutic Christian program for troubled teens ages 13-17. This outdoor residential therapeutic program and school, located in Georgia, lends itself to an atmosphere conducive for learning and growing spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Program Description
At SHF, therapy is not something that is reserved for an office. Therapy is done everywhere and all the time. Thirty full and part time staff members are trained to look for “teachable momentsâ€
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They use a variety of proven therapeutic strategies, straight from the bible, to challenge faulty thinking and encourage positive changes in students’ behavior.
Some programs hide their abusive qualities to the point that some parents might be forgiven for not seeing it in advance.
This one... not so much.
If you can't see the problem here, give up any pretense of being a parent and eat a gun.
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I did a search with this search subject and it lead me in the back door to a bunch of these Christ-based programs. I am a Roloff homes survivor, and know from personal experience that these places are hell on earth.
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here's your 1st clue.
"therapeutic Christian program"
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At SHF, therapy is not something that is reserved for an office. Therapy is done everywhere and all the time. Thirty full and part time staff members are trained to look for “teachable momentsâ€
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they are a member of something called the christian camp and conference association. These guys look like a trade organisation for regular camps and churches. Does anyone know if they also have strong links to the industry. There is a chance they don't know about the industry
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http://www.fornits.com/wiki/index.php/S ... _Hill_Farm (http://www.fornits.com/wiki/index.php/Shepherds_Hill_Farm)
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Well, Jesus was a carpenter too, but it didn't exactly make him what he was, being the son of god did.
Though to be honest I respect the dude more for being a carpenter than the supposed son of god.
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http://shepherdshillfarm.org/faq.html (http://shepherdshillfarm.org/faq.html)
What kind of kids have been treated at SHF? ODD (Oppositionary Defiant Disorder), ADHD/ADD, anger-management, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, behavioral disorders, phobias, at-risk youth, struggling and troubled teens, emotional issues, learning disabilities, psychological problems, special needs, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, physical disorders, abuse, depression, negative peer culture (gang membership, etc.), and disciplinary problems.
Who cares for the residents at SHF? Agape counselors, administrators, teachers, therapists, psychiatrists, social workers, lay members.
How can I receive information on and keep in touch with my child? SHF progress reports, telephone calls and conferences, visitation, SHF newsletter, contact with staff, and e-mail.
Is SHF a non-profit organization? Yes, SHF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your tax deductible contribution may be sent to the contact address on this website.
How much does it cost to send my child to SHF? Expenses start around $58,900 per resident/per year (plus the varying costs of medical and special psychological services). This includes all lodging, education, food, entertainment, and hands-on therapeutic discipleship for one full year. SHF currently employs nearly two staff members for each student on campus. This is to adequately minister to the student needs of each student with the highest degree of efficiency.
Can my child receive a scholarship to attend the Discipleship Camp at SHF? Yes, scholarships are sometimes available via the SHF scholarship fund.
What if I can't afford to send my child to SHF? SHF offers Sallie Mae educational loans to parents. Please visit www.slmfinancial.com (http://www.slmfinancial.com) for more information. Our school code is 606160.
What religion/denomination does SHF adhere to? SHF is an interdenominational parachurch ministry. It is designed to be a tool used by the church to meet or bring individuals into a non-threatening environment conducive to lifestyle evangelism and discipleship for the purpose of building, strengthening, and expanding the Kingdom of God and the spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical condition of every student.
What type of security is at SHF? Agape counselors protect the children from physical, emotional, verbal, sexual, and spiritual abuse. 24-hour supervision and support is provided by these able and devoted mentors.
Who teaches the residents? Will they receive a quality education at SHF? SHF's private junior and senior high school, Shepherd's Hill Academy, is fully accredited by the Georgia Accrediting Commission. All teachers who teach at SHF must be state certified and board approved. Shepherd's Hill Academy meets the course requirments of the state of Georgia's Quality Core Curriculum.
Where is SHF located? SHF is nestled in the rural town of Martin, Georgia, located in the low foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains of northeast Georgia. Martin is approximately 85 miles northeast of Atlanta.
Emergency services? SHF has a full-time resident nurse and therapist on staff. All staff are first-aid and CPR certified. Additional certifications include Wilderness First Response. SHF also has 911 accessibility.
What makes SHF so successful in changing the lives of kids? We believe that foremost it is the surrendered lives of our staff to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The Bible is abundantly clear that God honors the lives and desires of those committed to do His will. The kids are engaged in God’s love, training, and discipline 24-7 by those committed to His will and ways. Modeling Christ’s character is of utmost importance.
How do kids survive in cold weather living in the woods? All shelters built by the kids are equipped with wood burning stoves. Everything we do here is action vs. consequences. Cold weather is a great motivator for kids to keep wood chopped and stoked. Emergency procedures are followed for extreme weather conditions.
Can boys and girls attend SHF who are not Christian? Of course. Biblical principles for raising kids aren’t limited to only those who label themselves “Christian.â€
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Hi,
I am a former student and survivor of Shepherds Hill Farm. The place is definitely hell on earth with tons and tons of abuse going on, or at least while I was there. I am going to return when I have more time and tell my story and list the abusive things that have happened. I just found out about this website, a friend of mine apparently put it on here. I also just found out about ISAC and will be contacting them, hopefully they can let me know if I have a legal case.
I will also update the wiki for SHF extensively when I have time.
SHF robed my family of all their money and my fathers (now deceased) life insurance policy even. I hope that ISAC can help me save some children from being abused by the Trace Embry and his goons and worshipers.
Thanks and thanks for making a website like this. :cheers:
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Why did you go to Shepherd's Hill Farm?
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I also just found out about ISAC and will be contacting them, hopefully they can let me know if I have a legal case.
Contact Angela Smith from HEAL, she is an attorney.
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Why did you go to Shepherd's Hill Farm?
I was a student at a boarding school in Stone Mountain, GA called Gables Academy. At the time Gables Academy and Shepherds Hill Farm were connected. The owner owned SHF and sent his trouble students and ones he couldn't handle to SHF. Of course if the parents wanted and had the hefty $58,900 annual tuition. One of the counselors Gables never liked me much, and one day near the end of the year I was sitting outside with a couple other students when said counselor and the pe teacher walked up. I heard the counselor that did not like me say to the teacher "hey watch this." he walked up to me and hit me in the temple with his flat fist. The other students and teacher pulled him away and I went inside. The next day the counselor begged me not to tell anyone as he would lose his job and his life and would be ruined and broke down crying. A short while after I was unexpectedly sent to SHF. As soon as I got to SHF, Gables cut ties with SHF and no longer had anything to do with them. I was at SHF for a little over 2 years..
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Why did you go to Shepherd's Hill Farm?
I was a student at a boarding school in Stone Mountain, GA called Gables Academy. At the time Gables Academy and Shepherds Hill Farm were connected. The owner owned SHF and sent his trouble students and ones he couldn't handle to SHF. Of course if the parents wanted and had the hefty $58,900 annual tuition. One of the counselors Gables never liked me much, and one day near the end of the year I was sitting outside with a couple other students when said counselor and the pe teacher walked up. I heard the counselor that did not like me say to the teacher "hey watch this." he walked up to me and hit me in the temple with his flat fist. The other students and teacher pulled him away and I went inside. The next day the counselor begged me not to tell anyone as he would lose his job and his life and would be ruined and broke down crying. A short while after I was unexpectedly sent to SHF. As soon as I got to SHF, Gables cut ties with SHF and no longer had anything to do with them. I was at SHF for a little over 2 years..
I should also add however that my dad wanted me to go to SHF. He knew I had been smoking pot and experimenting with other drugs at the time, and I think he thought I was doing more drugs then I was doing or something. I was mainly just smoking pot, he seemed to think I was a drug addict though. He was also a priest and I did not believe in God and called myself a satanist to piss people off. Trace is very very good with words and is an ex cop. I believe he talked my dad into believing I needed to be there and that it was helping me. I never told my parents the things that happened because Trace and his goons let us know that our parents knew what went on and agreed to it. Also Trace had our parents sign over parental guardianship to him and his wife. If we ever resisted or acted out we would be severely punished with some type of deprivation of the senses or punishment of them.
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Perhaps I should contact an attorney before I post my story here.
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Perhaps I should contact an attorney before I post my story here.
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You can stop writing false stories.
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Perhaps I should contact an attorney before I post my story here.
OR
You can stop writing false stories.
Excuse me? None of this is false. I already have one ex counselor who admits to nearly all of the abuse that happened at SHF. Usually abuse he handed out himself. Why do you think it is false and how do you want me to prove it? Go to shepherdshillfarm.org and you will see they are real and are in Martin, Ga outside of Atlanta.
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Perhaps I should contact an attorney before I post my story here.
OR
You can stop writing false stories.
Excuse me? None of this is false. I already have one ex counselor who admits to nearly all of the abuse that happened at SHF. Usually abuse he handed out himself. Why do you think it is false and how do you want me to prove it? Go to shepherdshillfarm.org and you will see they are real and are in Martin, Ga outside of Atlanta.
Pay no mind to the troll, Yahar. Of course your story has its place here. Thanks for posting all that you have already.
Another thread mentioning Trace Embry: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=29324 (http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=29324)
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I have updated the wiki and also sent my story to HEAL.
That list of abusive things that happened is a list I created and posted on the Richard Dawkins forum about SHF. I am going to tell other ex students about these websites.
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Excuse me? None of this is false. I already have one ex counselor who admits to nearly all of the abuse that happened at SHF. Usually abuse he handed out himself. Why do you think it is false and how do you want me to prove it? Go to shepherdshillfarm.org and you will see they are real and are in Martin, Ga outside of Atlanta.
Do you have evidence, excluding your word, that would confirm abuse?
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I have the word of other students who were there at the time. I also have the confession of an ex counselor who committed most of the abuse. I also have another counselor who was an eye witness. I am mainly trying to get the word out so that other ex students can come forward with their stories.
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I have the word of other students who were there at the time. I also have the confession of an ex counselor who committed most of the abuse. I also have another counselor who was an eye witness. I am mainly trying to get the word out so that other ex students can come forward with their stories.
How long ago did you graduate from Sheperd's Hill Farm?
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I have the word of other students who were there at the time. I also have the confession of an ex counselor who committed most of the abuse. I also have another counselor who was an eye witness. I am mainly trying to get the word out so that other ex students can come forward with their stories.
How long ago did you graduate from Sheperd's Hill Farm?
around 7 years ago, i believe.
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Not a whole lot out there in terms of news 'bout the place, though I did find the following piece. Lots of magical thinking going on here...
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Watch the Shepherd’s Hill Farm Promotional Video (http://http://www.shepherdshillfarm.org/video.html)
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IndependentMail.com ANDERSON, SOUTH CAROLINA
Couple's leap of faith brings youngsters hope (http://http://www.independentmail.com/news/2007/jun/29/couples-leap-faith-brings-youngsters-hope/)
By Heidi Cenac
Posted June 29, 2007 at midnight
MARTIN, Ga. — Price Road's pavement turns to dirt not long before you reach Shepherd's Hill Farm (http://http://www.shepherdshillfarm.org/index.html).
Morning fog hides the mountains in the distance, and the traffic on Ga. 17 is far enough removed that the only audible engine is yours.
A wood sign marks the dirt and gravel driveway into the Christian wilderness program's main campus.
The buildings are simple, but seem like paradise surrounded by rolling green pastures spotted with hay bales.
The office, the owner's home and the cafeteria -- an old Jiffy Burger restaurant -- are all located in trailers.
A church in Burke County, Ga., sent members to build the bathhouse; the other cement-block building is an auto repair shop where the owner is sharing his love of race cars with the students.
An old barn has been turned into a pavilion.
The former farmhouse is now a schoolhouse. And the chapel is located above the stables where horses provide equine therapy.
Owner Trace Embry recently started putting the story of Shepherd's Hill on paper, in hopes of eventually publishing a book about the transformations they've seen, aptly titled "The Miracles of Shepherd's Hill."
Shepherd's Hill itself is a miracle. When Trace and Beth Embry discovered this property, it was an abandoned drug den.
Like many of the students who live here, the property had been discarded because of its past. But with the Lord's help, troubled teens now come here from around the world to discover his saving grace.
"...the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations." Psalm 33:11 (NIV)
In the early 1990s, Mr. Embry and his wife sensed that God wanted them in ministry, so the couple sold their business and belongings. What didn't sell, they gave away. With the money, they moved their family from Chicago to Toccoa Falls College, and paid for the first three years of Bible college.
When they were running low on cash, Mr. Embry, a roofer by trade, would return to Chicago to work on the weekends — sometimes driving through the night to make it back for class.
At the time, all the Embrys knew about their calling was that they would need land and that they weren't starting a traditional church ministry.
So they spent their free time driving around northeast Georgia, looking at land.
"When we first saw it, we thought this is it. This is where God wants us," Mr. Embry said.
There was one problem. The property wasn't for sale. As the site of a major drug operation and brutal murder, it was tied up in the state's legal system.
But the Embrys never gave up, and in April 1994 they noticed a "For Sale" sign at the end of Price Road. The land they picnicked at and prayed over for nearly two years was finally available.
The couple found a phone booth and called the number to get someone to show them the property.
Mr. Embry explained that he knew he was supposed to buy the 80-acre property, but he wasn't sure how he would pay for it. His wife was earning minimum wage, he was a full-time college student, and they were raising three kids. All he could give the seller was a bad check for $200, to hold the land for a week.
The seller agreed, and they met again after a week. But Mr. Embry still didn't have the money.
When the seller asked Mr. Embry what he hoped to do there, Mr. Embry explained his dream: He wanted to build a place where kids could come to know God.
The man sent them to a bank in Lavonia, where they repeated their story to a banker. When they finished, he asked a few questions and told them they would close in a week.
"My wife and I looked at each other and said, 'What just happened here?' " Mr. Embry recalled.
The seller paid a down payment and covered the survey costs. The Embrys sold the trailer they were living in; other people "came out of the woodwork," they said, to help them raise the $4,000 to $5,000 they needed to make the deal work. They continued to pay small amounts until the property was theirs.
"...Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment." 1 Timothy 6:17 (NLT)
Long before the wilderness camp at Shepherd's Hill started, the Embrys were challenged in their own ability to rely on God's provision.
They moved into a farmhouse on the property with no running water, bathrooms or electricity. Federal agents had pulled the walls out looking for hidden drugs, so the family lived in a 14- by 14-foot room for most of 1994.
"There was nothing there," Mr. Embry said. "It was a shell of a house."
Friends from Toccoa Falls helped them make it habitable. Mr. Embry got a temporary job at McCord-Winn in Lavonia and his wife worked in the admissions office at Toccoa Falls College.
Between the house expenses and the kids, money was tight. At times they would sell old farm equipment for extra cash, but they never missed a mortgage payment, no matter what the circumstances.
"It was like the fishes and loaves. You didn't know how it happened, but it happened," Mr. Embry said.
Almost immediately members of their church started using the land for an equine therapy program. The Embrys also held day camps, taught classes and hosted outdoor music events at Shepherd's Hill.
With both of them working and fixing the house, they weren't giving their kids their full attention. Their vision for the property was starting to lose its shine. Mr. Embry said he felt God telling them to bring his wife home, so they could be the family example they were teaching people about.
They prayed for the faith to bring her home from full-time work, flexible hours so he could go back to school and more money to support their family.
"Overnight, God answered every one of those prayers," Mr. Embry said.
He worked as a subcontractor for the McCord-Winn plant when it ran out of money for temporary employees. The flexible schedule allowed him and his wife to home school their kids. When the factory work ran out, he started roofing houses again, traveling across eight states to work.
"We were like migrant workers," he said. The family traveled state to state, job to job, putting whatever money they earned back into the house and their ministry.
Tests from above continued to come, They battled with the Georgia Department of Transportation, which wanted to put a four-lane highway through the property. They also lost a real estate investment in Chicago Mr. Embry was counting on to fund his retirement.
When God told them to move out of the farmhouse, they refinanced the mortgage and moved into a mobile home. But there was still one crucial lesson to be learned.
The Embrys' fifth child was born with Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, a genetic error that causes malformations in most parts of the body.
The disease is estimated to occur only once in every 50,000 births; the mortality rate is about 34 percent in the first 2 years.
Most of the year 2000 is a blur of trips between hospitals, Mr. Embry said. Their son, Asa, lived only 10ƒ months and during that time, the family learned the true meaning of unconditional love.
Today, Asa is buried at the foot of a cross marking the spot where the Embrys prayed for the land, its ministry and their lives.
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Romans 12:2 (NIV)
Before Asa was born, Mr. Embry told his family to prepare themselves for blessings beyond their wildest dreams.
About two weeks after the child's death, a school in Atlanta called. Its officials had heard about the camps and equine therapy programs at Shepherd's Hill and wanted to send troubled kids to live on the property.
The Embrys converted the farmhouse into a school, and the wilderness camp was born. Among the first children enrolled was a student named Asa.
"It was like God was telling us we were doing the right thing," Mr. Embry said.
Since that first group of kids, many more teens have benefitted from the Embrys' leap of faith. Some of the youngsters struggled with drugs, others faced deadly diseases and mental illness. Some had been sold into prostitution before arriving at the farm. But at Shepherd's Hill they all share one thing: No one leaves the program the same as when they arrived.
Living in cabins they build themselves, the teens are without electricity, running water and most creature comforts.
A typical day starts with chores at 6 a.m. They attend school from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.; afternoons are filled with "accountability time," equine therapy, work at the camp site, or attending youth group at a nearby church.
"It's beautiful," said a resident named Charlene, 17. "The love that you get here is amazing."
(Editor's note: We are withholding the last names of Shepherd's Hill residents who are under the age of 18, to protect their privacy.)
Like many of the young women here, Charlene said she never would have pictured herself putting up rafters in a cabin that has tarps for walls. But living in the woods made her appreciate what she has, and Charlene said she was shocked to hear herself tell a therapist that she has everything she needs.
"Any teenager can use this place, not just those with a troubled past," said Brianna, 17. "Any kid can benefit from this."
The girls say they can feel God's presence on the farm. Brianna added that she's never been stronger in her faith than since she arrived at Shepherd's Hill.
The love of the staff and fellow campers is what makes Shepherd's Hill so different, said Saira, 15.
"No matter how much you mess up, they're like, 'You know we still love you.' Out in the world, you don't get that."
"He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted." Job 9:10 (NIV)
Rebecca Bombet's daughter was the third girl to enroll at Shepherd's Hill.
She was in psychotherapy to cope with signs of Asperger's Syndrome, an autistic condition that causes social problems, vulnerability to sensory overload, awkward posture and a tendency to take many figures of speech literally.
Ms. Bombet's daughter was on four medications and raging most of the time, before coming to Shepherd's Hill.
By the time she graduated, she was medicine-free, for the first time since age 6, and was making straight As in class.
When Ms. Bombet didn't have enough money to keep her daughter at Shepherd's Hill, she struck a deal with the Embrys and bartered her skills as a clinical nurse specialist.
Her daughter, now grown, has joined the U.S. Army. Ms. Bombet said she has been as blessed by the experience as her daughter.
At the end of the day, she and other staff members give away all the credit for the miraculous transformations they see at Shepherd's Hill.
"That's God running the show," Ms. Bombet said. "We really try to seek God in everything, and try to keep our egos out."
2009 The E.W. Scripps Co.
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Perhaps I should contact an attorney before I post my story here.
OR
You can stop writing false stories.
Excuse me? None of this is false. I already have one ex counselor who admits to nearly all of the abuse that happened at SHF. Usually abuse he handed out himself. Why do you think it is false and how do you want me to prove it? Go to shepherdshillfarm.org and you will see they are real and are in Martin, Ga outside of Atlanta.
Did SHF keep you prisoner against your will, Yahar. On thier site they claim to take participants only on a voluntary basis.
If they did keep you in false imprisonment, what were thier methods of preventing you from escaping?
Thank you
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Yes, they did hold me against my will as well as all of the other students. The closest thing away was a gas station over a mile away. We were told by Trace that he is an ex cop and if any of us somehow do manage to make it that far under 24/7 supervision he will just call the police and they will bring us back to the farm, and we would be punished more. I repeatedly told them I wanted to leave, and or go home. They told me no that my father gave them parental guardianship, so I was theres, and paid for me to be there. At one point I was supposed to go home and stay home however my father gave me a drug test, which I failed for THC. I refused to go back to the farm and cried and cried and cried. When I woke up in the morning two large men were in my room and I saw my dad drive off from the house. They told me they were bounty hunters hired to bring me back to the farm. They said I could come calmly or have my wrists and ankles cuffed. I went calmly figuring I better not fight cops. This combined with what Trace told us made the other students seem to believe they werent being abused. They even began to like being there after a while, and became born again and friends with Trace. I however thought what was going on was abuse but that somehow he was going through loopholes and that it wasnt illegal. I wasnt sure if it was that or that no one cared or believed me just like Trace said.
However, cars at the top near Traces house were able to be turned on by inserting a cross from a necklace into the ignition (was the rumor). We got a new student and I told him about the car in secret. That night he snuck to the top and either used the cross or hot wired the car and stole it. He made it to Atlanta before he was caught. When he was caught we were told he was sent to a similar program in Arizona that was more severe because it was the desert.
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Also can you show me where it says it is for volunteers? That is absolutely 100% false. I and other students told them we would rather go to jail then be in their camp yet they kept us there. No one wanted to be there but the parents pay and we are told we, and all other minors have no rights at all. It is a business. I called Trace out while there that it was a scam for millions of dollars. He and the others assured us they get very little money. They tell us all the money goes to paying for the acers of land and things to run the school. They claim to note it all down so they can show the IRS each year.
$58,900 a year for them to beat me, tell me im evil need jesus, trace is great, feed me beans and beats, and live in a wood shelter in the woods i built with no electricity or running water? WTF didnt anyone else think this was complete bullshit?
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You went to the school because you smoked pot? I don't think you're being forthcoming about why you went there.
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shut up "mr. forthcoming" guest posting troll:feedtrolls:
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Ahem, my message should show :feedtrolls:
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You went to the school because you smoked pot? I don't think you're being forthcoming about why you went there.
This why it is so hard to believe the stories here. If people cant be upfront about why they were sent to the program how can we believe what they say "about" the program? We have to listen to such bull shit all the time. Why cant just one person come here and tell the truth? Just one to start!
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(http://http://ftp.mayfair.org/macademy/child%20abuse.jpg)
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(http://http://www.popularpages.net/pics/huge-black-cocks_4_3956_si.jpg)
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(http://http://www.iseekgirls.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/mc_robyn.jpg)
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You went to the school because you smoked pot? I don't think you're being forthcoming about why you went there.
This why it is so hard to believe the stories here. If people cant be upfront about why they were sent to the program how can we believe what they say "about" the program? We have to listen to such bull shit all the time. Why cant just one person come here and tell the truth? Just one to start!
I did not say I was sent there for smoking pot.
I was going to middle school in my hometown and made some silly comments/threats about the school to a girl. The girl told the school and I was expelled and arrested. The judge put me on probation and told me I had to be in school or I would go to jail, and homeschooling was not an option. At the time I had grown up with older friends who were trouble makers in the neighborhood. We smoked pot and drank, I also tried other drugs.
The only school that would take me due to my criminal record, was the boarding school Gables in Stone Mountain GA. I continued to smoke pot with my friends anytime I got to go home for a break. I also had to go to psychologists to show that I was not a threat or crazy, however this proved to my parents I was doing drugs because I failed drug tests.
After the counselor at Gables punched me and my parents did not press charges immediately like I told them to, I was sent to SHF and they cut ties. I believe my parents did not press charges because I was still on probation and my record was not clean so I had to be in school. I believe they sent me to SHF and cut ties with them so that they would have less of a chance of me pressing charges or something. I believe Trace convinced my parents that I was a drug addict and satanist in order to get him to send me there. This would have been very easy for Trace. My father already was scared because I did drugs, denied god, and hung out with people he thought were drug addicts and criminals (though they were just angsty pot heads). Trace is very good with words and is a preacher of sorts so he was able to connect to my father on that level because my father was a priest.
My mother however did not want me to go to SHF and this always worried SHF it seemed like. On Christmas one time my parents came from out of town to take me to Church and to take me to eat. Trace and his wife tried to talk them into not taking me anywhere because I thought the program was BS and always voiced it. My father was buying into it but my mother got angry and said "I will take my kid if I want!" Traces wife tried to guard the door and not let my mother leave, but my mom pushed his wife and walked out and told me to get in the car. Unfortunately however, I was brought back after going to Church and going to eat.
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(http://http://maledildo.com/Indian_pussy/hot_lick.jpg)
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I was going to middle school in my hometown and made some silly comments/threats about the school to a girl.
what threats did you make?
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Yes, they did hold me against my will as well as all of the other students. The closest thing away was a gas station over a mile away. We were told by Trace that he is an ex cop and if any of us somehow do manage to make it that far under 24/7 supervision he will just call the police and they will bring us back to the farm, and we would be punished more. I repeatedly told them I wanted to leave, and or go home. They told me no that my father gave them parental guardianship, so I was theres, and paid for me to be there. At one point I was supposed to go home and stay home however my father gave me a drug test, which I failed for THC. I refused to go back to the farm and cried and cried and cried. When I woke up in the morning two large men were in my room and I saw my dad drive off from the house. They told me they were bounty hunters hired to bring me back to the farm. They said I could come calmly or have my wrists and ankles cuffed. I went calmly figuring I better not fight cops. This combined with what Trace told us made the other students seem to believe they werent being abused. They even began to like being there after a while, and became born again and friends with Trace. I however thought what was going on was abuse but that somehow he was going through loopholes and that it wasnt illegal. I wasnt sure if it was that or that no one cared or believed me just like Trace said.
However, cars at the top near Traces house were able to be turned on by inserting a cross from a necklace into the ignition (was the rumor). We got a new student and I told him about the car in secret. That night he snuck to the top and either used the cross or hot wired the car and stole it. He made it to Atlanta before he was caught. When he was caught we were told he was sent to a similar program in Arizona that was more severe because it was the desert.
http://www.cafety.org/index.php (http://www.cafety.org/index.php)
http://www.heal-online.org/childtortureusa.htm (http://www.heal-online.org/childtortureusa.htm)
http://www.isaccorp.org/ (http://www.isaccorp.org/)
Several of the abuses you described are extraordinarily illegal. You need to contact the sheriff from the area, DHS, CPS, the FBI http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm (http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm)
Those groups will walk you through how to do it. Contact the above mentioned with a lawyer to get your case given more consideration.
And, Yasar, dont feed the trolls
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Yes, they did hold me against my will as well as all of the other students. The closest thing away was a gas station over a mile away. We were told by Trace that he is an ex cop and if any of us somehow do manage to make it that far under 24/7 supervision he will just call the police and they will bring us back to the farm, and we would be punished more. I repeatedly told them I wanted to leave, and or go home. They told me no that my father gave them parental guardianship, so I was theres, and paid for me to be there. At one point I was supposed to go home and stay home however my father gave me a drug test, which I failed for THC. I refused to go back to the farm and cried and cried and cried. When I woke up in the morning two large men were in my room and I saw my dad drive off from the house. They told me they were bounty hunters hired to bring me back to the farm. They said I could come calmly or have my wrists and ankles cuffed. I went calmly figuring I better not fight cops. This combined with what Trace told us made the other students seem to believe they werent being abused. They even began to like being there after a while, and became born again and friends with Trace. I however thought what was going on was abuse but that somehow he was going through loopholes and that it wasnt illegal. I wasnt sure if it was that or that no one cared or believed me just like Trace said.
However, cars at the top near Traces house were able to be turned on by inserting a cross from a necklace into the ignition (was the rumor). We got a new student and I told him about the car in secret. That night he snuck to the top and either used the cross or hot wired the car and stole it. He made it to Atlanta before he was caught. When he was caught we were told he was sent to a similar program in Arizona that was more severe because it was the desert.
http://www.cafety.org/index.php (http://www.cafety.org/index.php)
http://www.heal-online.org/childtortureusa.htm (http://www.heal-online.org/childtortureusa.htm)
http://www.isaccorp.org/ (http://www.isaccorp.org/)
Several of the abuses you described are extraordinarily illegal. You need to contact the sheriff from the area, DHS, CPS, the FBI http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm (http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm)
Those groups will walk you through how to do it. Contact the above mentioned with a lawyer to get your case given more consideration.
And, Yasar, dont feed the trolls
Make sure you are clean yourself before you call because it will trigger an investigation on everyone including yourself. They will check you out first before anyone else.
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Make sure you are clean yourself before you call because it will trigger an investigation on everyone including yourself. They will check you out first before anyone else.
Please ignore this type of thing and the trolls. You have nothing to be afraid of if you are telling the truth and it is worth it in the long run. Don't let the program win by letting their minions intimidate you into silence with hollow threats and childish behavior. You might consider submitting a statement to Isaccorp.org as well as the appropriate authorities. The reasons you were sent to a program are not relevant to their misdeeds, not is any current "bad" conduct, if any. Just stick with the facts and you'll be fine.
And a minor note to whoever is posting porn: it's rather pointless as it's not visible to guests, google, or registered users who have opted not to display images (default).
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Make sure you are clean yourself before you call because it will trigger an investigation on everyone including yourself. They will check you out first before anyone else.
Please ignore this type of thing and the trolls. You have nothing to be afraid of if you are telling the truth and it is worth it in the long run. Don't let the program win by letting their minions intimidate you into silence with hollow threats and childish behavior. You might consider submitting a statement to Isaccorp.org as well as the appropriate authorities. The reasons you were sent to a program are not relevant to their misdeeds, not is any current "bad" conduct, if any. Just stick with the facts and you'll be fine.
And a minor note to whoever is posting porn: it's rather pointless as it's not visible to guests, google, or registered users who have opted not to display images (default).
Thank you for this
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Make sure you are clean yourself before you call because it will trigger an investigation on everyone including yourself. They will check you out first before anyone else.
Please ignore this type of thing and the trolls. You have nothing to be afraid of if you are telling the truth and it is worth it in the long run. Don't let the program win by letting their minions intimidate you into silence with hollow threats and childish behavior. You might consider submitting a statement to Isaccorp.org as well as the appropriate authorities. The reasons you were sent to a program are not relevant to their misdeeds, not is any current "bad" conduct, if any. Just stick with the facts and you'll be fine.
And a minor note to whoever is posting porn: it's rather pointless as it's not visible to guests, google, or registered users who have opted not to display images (default).
Thank you for this
Yes, Antigen and Psy's commentary always position that of the industry shill in sharp relief: good and evil.
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FUCK
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F U C K
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I have updated the wiki and also sent my story to HEAL.
That list of abusive things that happened is a list I created and posted on the Richard Dawkins forum about SHF. I am going to tell other ex students about these websites.
A fantastic job updating the Wiki:
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Shepherds Hill Farm (http://http://wiki.fornits.com/index.php?title=Shepherds_Hill_Farm)
Shepherd's Hill Farm is a behavior modification facility marketed as a Christian Boarding School located on 2200 Price Road, Martin, Georgia 30557 [1]
This is a "wilderness therapy program" run by a christian fundamentalist and cult leader Trace Embry and his wife Beth Embry. Parental Guardianship is signed over to Trace and a $58,900 tuition a year is paid. At the entrance to Shepherds hill farm is the Embrys house and some other trailers. However about a mile or so down into the forest, away from the eyes of the public and of the parents, is the giant boys camp site, about half a mile or so away in the woods is the girls camp.
The children are forced to cut down and debark trees and build very large cabins to live in with no electricity, or any type of building knowledge, as well as for future students to live in. The students live in these cabins everyday out of the year and in all weather conditions (I did for well over a year)with one tiny wood burning stove per cabin. The wood burning stove adds little to no heat for the size of cabin. Parents were forced to buy their kids expensive sleeping bags for the winter if they wanted their kids to be warm.
The children have no communication with the outside world, or with anyone of the opposite sex. Phone calls home are very rare and visits even less so. All phone calls and letters going in and out are monitored and edited, and limited to 5 minutes. Kids are repeatedly told they are horrible people who will burn in hell forever if not saved and no longer sinful. Homosexuals are mocked and made fun of and made to look like terrible people to the students, as well as any religion other then Christianity. Kids are told that their parents are horrible people and have failed them and that Trace is now their parent. They are also taught in "science" class that evolution is a lie from satan and forced to watch Kent Hovind all day. Other classes included very basic math and reading from the bible.
Kids are punished for any type of "inappropriate behavior". Food deprivation is used in the form of what they call "special meals". Special meals consist of feeding the child a can of some type of cold green vegetable and one can of cold beans with some water. Students are told that this is a perfectly healthy vegan diet and not illegal or abuse. Kids lose pounds and pounds of weight after being on special meals for months. Some children were also taunted with candy bars. One student was forced to sit in a room with candy bars around him in a circle. He was told if any were missing in 2 hours he would be punished. He had already been on special meals for a couple months and looked like a skeleton. When we came back he had eaten a few of the candy bars, even though he cried and screamed he didn't. He was beat, yelled at and given more special meals. Trace made his parents even continue feeding him special meals over Christmas break, including Christmas dinner. "Regular" food is food from food banks and expired milk that the children cook over a stove in the woods at their camp site. They are forced to work for hours and hours in the extreme GA heat or in the extreme cold with rain or snow. They use spanking with a paddle, often leaving bruises for a week or more. Sometimes children are spanked in front of other students or in front of all students and employs. Kids are talked out of taking their medication, and no real nurse nor medical staff is on campus. I witnessed two children have seizures in which Trace and staff held down the student praying for demons to leave them instead of giving the child medicine or calling a medical professional. Sleep deprivation by being woken up in the middle of the night to work. Punished and humiliated publicly for not being able to complete the extreme exercise and manual labor. If a child is told to run a mile or do a number of pushups, and cant make it all the way the student must start over and do it again until finished , and is usually given more punishments in the form of spanking or special meals.
Children are humiliated in front of everyone. One girl was sent to SHF after being raped at her highschool. When the girl got to SHF, Trace asked her in front of everyone if she knew what a whore was. The girl responded "someone who sleeps around with everyone?", and Trace replied "Don't you think you fit the bill of being a whore?" She was then punished by being made to hold two heavy things out to her sides in the snow. If she dropped them down at all she had to start over.
Very much abuse goes on in this place. It needs to be investigated and shut down, otherwise Trace will continue harming children and putting families in debt for the rest of their lives. Trace was supposed to give me therapeutic help, and yet he just used me and the others for abuse and child labor and took all of my families money. I have spoken with other ex students all who have had to undergo years and years worth of psychological help to overcome wounds SHF left them.
They can detain an unknown number of youth of both genders aged 13 to 18.
They offer two residential programs with a length of one year and two years.
This school also offers to have "bounty hunters" pick up your child and bring them to the farm for you. I was picked up by two "bounty hunters" in savannah, GA and brought to the farm. I figured I better not fight the police, they wanted to handcuff me and ankle cuff me.
Program Structure
SHF Wilderness Program
This one year program functions on the basis of positive peer culture (pressure).
The teenagers lives in primitive shelters in the wood, that they build with no electricity or running water, nor proper building knowledge or supervision. Communication with parents is very little and monitored as well. Parents are assured SHF is a wonderful place, and so are visitors. However, parents and visitors are never shown the camps or what really goes on there. Everything they do and all abuse, is done in the name of Jesus and the bible. Trace sees himself as a saint and someone who performs miracles and saves kids lives. He is simply a cult leader with a following in his tiny town. [2].
The Next Step Program
This program can be an extention of the first program. The teenagers are moved to a campus where they can earn privileges like TV and video games, which they have missed the previous year. Also dependent on their progress they can earn the right to a (only happened once) driver's license and a (once)job in the local neighborhood. The students are still punished, and still monitored in the same way. The only difference is that they are allowed to sleep in a house with no heating or insulation, use electricity and watch very little tv. [3].
Education
While I was a student there they had a college student teaching classes. They were unaccredited but became accredited. However before and after the education was horrible. Children are taught evolution is an absolute lie, created by evil secularists. They are forced to watch Kent Hovind videos in "science class" and do absolutely no real science. They offered us elementary mathematics, and reading from the bible. I told my teacher what plate tectonics was and he thought I made it up. He finally believed me when one other student said she remembered hearing about plate tectonics in her public high school.
Living Condition
The first year the teenagers live in very primitive log shelthers that students build themselves with no modern comfort. They also work all day in the heat and extreme cold, in the mud and dirt. They receive only a couple 5-10 minute showers a week. Those who are transferred to the Next Step program live under more humane conditions.
External Links
Info pages
- Info: Program Homepage (http://http://shepherdshillfarm.org/)
Groups
- Gaoler group: the Official Shepherd's Hill Farm Group (http://http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=99030727510), facebook
Message bords
- Forum: Shepherd's Hill Farm- Martin, GA (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=23779), a thread on Fornits Webforum
- Forum: Copypaste from raid board (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=29324), a thread on Fornits Webforum
References
- The neighborhood around the facility on Google maps (http://http://maps.google.dk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=da&geocode=&q=2200+Price+Road,+Martin,+Georgia+30557&sll=55.869147,11.228027&sspn=6.959386,19.753418&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=2200+Price+Rd,+Martin,+Franklin,+Georgia+30557,+USA&ll=34.48507,-83.16821&spn=0.004988,0.009645&t=h&z=17)
- SHF Wilderness Program (http://http://shepherdshillfarm.org/wilderness.html), Program homepage
- The Next Step Program (http://http://shepherdshillfarm.org/nextstep.html), Program homepage
Categories: Georgia | Therapeutic Boarding School | Therapeutic Boarding School in Georgia
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Ursus, we need you on that Wiki.
No more bear shit about "anyone can edit it". Programmies try, regularly. They get reverted. We need information, reports, and evidence on that thing, and last I checked you were the reigning champion of all three.
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John or Yahar has a vendetted out and is trying to get anyone to listen. He was I think on
Scholarship somewhat and it wasn't even close to 58,ooo. I think back then. I keep in contact
With a lot of kids that went through and didn't have any of his complaints. It's just he's
Gone to the darkside now and anyone or anything Christian he can't stand. His parents chose
To pay them. They certainly didn't go looking for John. And I won't get into a war of words - just leaving
This comment and won't be back to spar.
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John or Yahar has a vendetted out and is trying to get anyone to listen. He was I think on
Scholarship somewhat and it wasn't even close to 58,ooo. I think back then. I keep in contact
With a lot of kids that went through and didn't have any of his complaints. It's just he's
Gone to the darkside now and anyone or anything Christian he can't stand. His parents chose
To pay them. They certainly didn't go looking for John. And I won't get into a war of words - just leaving
This comment and won't be back to spar.
you're to much of a coward to tell us your name. Youre full of lies just like the programs, dont expect anyone to believe you. Being against child abuse and fraud has nothing to do with "the dark side" thats star wars. Abusing children, neglecting them, and committing fraud is evil. You can claim it didn't cost that much but that is a lie. I guess you can argue with my lawyer eh?
Brainwashed fool.
There are sworn statements by ex students from SHF out now. I also keep in contact with students and I know of 4 who claim child abuse happened there. You are probably Emy. The child of the abusive nurse from SHF. Fuck off.
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you're to much of a coward to tell us your name. Youre full of lies just like the programs, dont expect anyone to believe you. Being against child abuse and fraud has nothing to do with "the dark side" thats star wars. Abusing children, neglecting them, and committing fraud is evil. You can claim it didn't cost that much but that is a lie. I guess you can argue with my lawyer eh? Brainwashed fool.
There are sworn statements by ex students from SHF out now. I also keep in contact with students and I know of 4 who claim child abuse happened there. You are probably Emy. The child of the abusive nurse from SHF. Fuck off.
This website does not gerate allot of traffic because people tell others to fuck off on a consistant basis.[/b]
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John or Yahar has a vendetted out and is trying to get anyone to listen. He was I think on
Scholarship somewhat and it wasn't even close to 58,ooo. I think back then. I keep in contact
With a lot of kids that went through and didn't have any of his complaints. It's just he's
Gone to the darkside now and anyone or anything Christian he can't stand. His parents chose
To pay them. They certainly didn't go looking for John. And I won't get into a war of words - just leaving
This comment and won't be back to spar.
Lol. If Yahar has "gone to the darkside now," where might that put you? The black hole of righteousness?
I can see why nobody would divulge any of their complaints to you. You don't exactly strike me as a wellspring of empathy or understanding...
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This website does not gerate allot of traffic because people tell others to fuck off on a consistant basis.
Mmm. Sometimes for good reason.
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It seems a the director of SHF edited the wiki. Did anyone back it up?
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It seems a the director of SHF edited the wiki. Did anyone back it up?
It can be reverted back to the previous version.
The vandalism:
Shepherds Hill Farm
For all you hurting parents, allow me to share with you the heart of Shepherd's Hill Farm. At SHF, our preeminent objective is to obey God each and every day in our own private and professional lives. As director, it is my main priority to encourage all our staff to live their lives congruent with the biblical model. What God does through his obedient creation never ceases to amaze me, our staff, and especially the parents of our residents.
The results are astonishing, as teens' lives transform before everyone's eyes. As hard as it is to believe, even the physical characteristics of the kids change as spiritual, emotional, psychological, and behavioral changes develop. It is, then, our goal to bring the entire family into stride with Christ's will and way. He is the glue that holds families and everything else together. We, at SHF, understand there is a spiritual dimension to the human experience that, if not addressed, negates the full effectiveness of any kind of therapeutic approach to healing.
When it comes to the transformation of troubled, struggling, or teens in crisis, our experience has proven that more is caught than taught. Kids submit to authority better when their authority figures are observed submitting to an Authority greater than themselves.
The constant stimulation of God's love, truth, nurture, and discipline in an authoritative, outdoor, or wilderness-type environment, trains a child's appetites to hunger for more wholesome activities. Our trained professionals are meek, but not weak. We understand the importance of discipline and its combined effectiveness with loving relationships.
Although Shepherd's Hill Academy's Christ centered approach to education operates as any other modern school, the primitive living conditions in the woods relieve kids of the many negative cultural influences that are bombarding them from every direction today. Peer pressure is turned inside out as kids are taught to think critically about the important issues of life. Our culture's faulty thinking patterns, that promote style over substance, are exposed for what they are.
Kids learn to discern and distinguish the difference between intelligence, knowledge, and wisdom–and how they all apply to life and reality. Kids get another chance at childhood, while learning how to properly approach and address the critical issues of adulthood. Peace and sanity return to the family as parents also learn to implement a more Christ-centered and biblically-based approach to raising teens in today's sex-charged, irreverent, entitled, post-modern and relativistic culture. SHF receives no government funding, and is uncompromising in our biblical approach to child-rearing.
My wife, Beth, and I understand the pain involved in sending a child off to an unfamiliar place. We had the unfortunate experience of having to make the decision to terminate life support for one of our own sons. The indescribable pain of ushering a child into the presence of the Lord, we believe, was allowed by God in order that we could more empathetically identify with parents who are forced to make a similar decision. Sending one's own child to a program like Shepherd's Hill Farm for a year is commonly described by parents as being like a death.
But, the good news is that, in the vast majority of cases, it proves to be a new birth instead. May the peace, wisdom, and will of God be with you as you seek His counsel for your family's best interest during this difficult time.
In Christ's Love,
Trace Embry
Director
Shepherd's Hill Farm[/list]
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"The principles God uses through the Holy Spirit’s work here at SHF are supported by a two year study by the Commission on Children at Risk. The commission was birthed out of the Dartmouth Medical School, which produced findings, with empirical scientific evidence, supporting the very biblical principles by which SHF has operated from the beginning. The commission put together a book on their findings called, Hardwired to Connect–The New Scientific Case for Authoritative Communities. The book supports, with science, all that Scripture endorses through faith and obedience—including a study that produced empirical evidence for a human being’s biological need for a relationship/connection with his/her biological parents. This same study produced similar evidence for an individual’s need for a relationship/connection with his/her Creator as well!"
Taken from neww blog on their site any info on claims?
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Watching that little bitch Trace try to constantly revert back to his crap is funny, but annoying.
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Watching that little bitch Trace try to constantly revert back to his crap is funny, but annoying.
I'd say he's kinda like the Energizer bunny, banging his righteous godly drum...
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WAY OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE ABOUT 60 MILES FROM WHERE I'M AT, (NO. WEST GEORGIA).
GREAT PLACE TO DO YOUR BUSINESS OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT. SEEMS ALL THESE PLACES ARE
WAY OUT OFF THE BEATEN TRACK.
YA KNO THE MOVIE W/ THE BANJO, BACK IN THE 70"s W/ BURT AND THE BOYS. DAR DAR DURN DURN DURN DURN....
SUM'IN LIK DAT.
GOT A FREIND THAT HAS INFO ON THIS PLACE, I'LL GET OR HAVE HIM POST IT. :shamrock:
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Better question, what would it take to get the cops involved with this one?
Or is that part of Georgia just that corrupt?
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Better question, what would it take to get the cops involved with this one?
Or is that part of Georgia just that corrupt?
I a'reckon if yu in de God bis'nis yu ar wit de po'lic.....UM uh that rite.....Mr. Boss'man from Shepards Hill.
We go'in to find out a'bou yu, real quik now......I gar-en-tee just like dat cag'in cook rom naw'lins.
Gon'a get'cha .......dar dar durn durn durn.......ban'jo com'in......yeehawww.....gits sum son........
EH UMMMM Excuse me,
Damn near lost my mind....were in the process of getting info....not that it's my job...but hey I live
right up the road....so why not help. Danny
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:feedtrolls: :shamrock:
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Anymore info on this hell hole? This place needs to get shut down. I dont understand how the government allows these places to exsist.
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"The principles God uses through the Holy Spirit’s work here at SHF are supported by a two year study by the Commission on Children at Risk. The commission was birthed out of the Dartmouth Medical School, which produced findings, with empirical scientific evidence, supporting the very biblical principles by which SHF has operated from the beginning. The commission put together a book on their findings called, Hardwired to Connect–The New Scientific Case for Authoritative Communities. The book supports, with science, all that Scripture endorses through faith and obedience—including a study that produced empirical evidence for a human being’s biological need for a relationship/connection with his/her biological parents. This same study produced similar evidence for an individual’s need for a relationship/connection with his/her Creator as well!"
Taken from neww blog on their site any info on claims?
I'm afraid that's for real. Whether it's "sane" ... is another question entirely.
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Hey,
Pile of Dead Kids and Ursus can you folks give me some direction here on what is up with place.
I really do not live that far from Shepard. Would like to see poking around if I could help but want some
background first. Yes I have read the post here pretty good just wondering if there was more else where.
:shamrock: :shamrock: Thanks......Danny..
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There is this very long and informative testimony by an ex student who was there for 3 years.
http://www.heal-online.org/shepfarm.htm (http://www.heal-online.org/shepfarm.htm)
and the fornits wiki
http://wiki.fornits.com/index.php?title ... _Hill_Farm (http://wiki.fornits.com/index.php?title=Shepherds_Hill_Farm)
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http://http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/02/shepherds_hill_farm_is_a_hell-.php
and
http://http://realityismyreligion.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/shepherds-hill-farm-the-great-child-abuse-secret/
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Breaking News
Posted: Jun 11, 2010
Shepherd's Hill Farm
Martin, GA
Shepherd's Hill Farm Names Ordained Minister Chaplin (http://http://www.strugglingteens.com/artman/publish/ShepherdsHillFarmBN_100611.shtml)
Contact:
Trace Embry
Director
706-779-5766
http://www.shepherdshillfarm.org (http://www.shepherdshillfarm.org)
Walter Reed came to Shepherd's Hill Farm over 6 years ago to volunteer to play music at the dedication ceremony of the Shepherd's Hill Farm Chapel. He is now a full time staff member of three years, and has been recently appointed Shepherd's Hill Farm, Christian Boarding School's Chaplain. He received his ordination papers four years ago from the Word of Life Christian Center in Carnesville, GA. His brother-in-law, who performed the ordination, during the ceremony, told him "God called you 25 years ago; I'm just giving you the license to do it." Being an Ordained Minister and Chaplain is something God placed on Walter's heart over 22 years ago.
Walter ministers to the struggling teens at Shepherd's Hill Farm Christian Boarding School. He oversees the Chapel schedule for the resident teens and staff members of Shepherd's Hill Farm. The Chapel is the venue for music lessons, worship services, Bible teachings, individual prayer time and communion. Many other cherished events take place in the Chapel at Shepherd's Hill Farm Christian Boarding School and Wilderness Program for troubled teens.
Shepherd's Hill Farm is a Christian Boarding School; outdoor residential program located on an 80 acre wilderness facility in Martin, GA for troubled youth ages 13-17 struggling with a variety of negative behaviors. We are equipped with a completely devoted Christian staff that uses biblical principles in a loving authoritative community environment.
Copyright ©2010, Woodbury Reports, Inc.
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Copying out blckmetal's link from above (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=23779&p=368063#p358271) for posterity's sake; this one's from a science blog by PZ Myers:
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Pharyngula · Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
Shepherd's Hill Farm is a hell-hole (http://http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/02/shepherds_hill_farm_is_a_hell-.php)
Category: Religion
Posted on: February 27, 2010 9:39 AM, by PZ Myers
Got problem kids? Man, when they hit those teenage years they all get rebellious and willful, and start thinking independently, and often start doing things their parents would rather they didn't. This is one of the tough responsibilities of being a parent — you have to be willing to let your children grow into independent human beings.
But let's say you never got that memo, and you think your job is to raise children who are just like you: insecure, a little bit angry, shackled tightly into a fearful belief system that says all human beings are evil. Independent thinking is the last thing you want in your obedient little repressed child-slave! Well, there's help for you: Shepherd's Hill Farm (http://http://www.shepherdshillfarm.org/), an accredited Christian boot camp that will stomp his wild soul right back down into the mud of conformity and obedience.
It's way out in the middle of nowhere, so there will be no place for the wayward teen to escape to…and no one to hear them scream.
Shepherd's Hill Farm is a counseling center, so they will also take care of the mental health of your child. Trace Embry, the director, knows absolutely nothing about mental health and even gives dangerous advice against all the evidence, but you don't have to worry — he's a very vocal Christian. God will forgive him.
We have testimonials from (inmates) residents of the camp (http://http://www.heal-online.org/shepfarm.htm) about the other benefits of attending. Does your child have special medical needs, like seizures? They will take his medicine away, but their staff is well-trained in being able to simultaneously wrestle a child to the ground and pray for him. Is your child a bit on the hefty side? He will get 'special meals' — a can of beans, a bit of vegetable, and a piece of bread — until they reach that ascetic ideal. Your child will be 'brainwashed in the blood of the lamb,' so it's all OK — even the beatings serve to transfigure hooligans into robots for Jesus.
Don't worry that your child might fall behind in his classes. They teach science at Shepherd's Hill Farm!
In their "science" classes we were indoctrinated with the christian story. We were forced to watch Kent Hovind videos, as if he and all his "theorys" have not already been debunked.[/list]
He won't fall behind: he'll be propelled backwards, as if they'd strapped a rocket to his ass and aimed him right at the dark ages.
For all of this — the cans of beans, the non-existent medical care, the anti-education, the beatings — what do you think you should pay? Nothing? They should pay you? Wrong! You will cough up almost $60,000 a year for the privilege of tossing your child into the hands of a dumb redneck psychopath with a farm in the wilderness. It's a Christian wilderness, though. That's the added value you're paying for, and I'm sure it's worth every penny...if you're one of those parents who can't abide children with personalities or ideas of their own.
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Comments (http://http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/02/shepherds_hill_farm_is_a_hell-.php) left for the above blog entry, "Shepherd's Hill Farm is a hell-hole (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=23779&p=368070#p368063)" (by PZ Myzers; Feb. 27, 2010; Pharyngula blog), #s 1-20:
#1 Posted by: hje | February 27, 2010 9:50 AM
Is this a followup to the post on bloodsuckers?
#2 Posted by: Zeno | February 27, 2010 9:53 AM
I guess Catholic school wasn't so bad after all, now that I think back on
it (http://http://zenoferox.blogspot.com/2009/01/knock-knock.html).[/list]
#3 Posted by: Eileen | February 27, 2010 9:53 AM
I'm lovin the (rather ironic) link on the Shepherd's Hill page - license2parent.org. If there's anyone who should be tested before providing basic childcare, it's a religious fundamentalist.
#4 Posted by: Aquaria | February 27, 2010 10:02 AM
The Missouri Synod Lutheran school I attended is looking downright permissive--maybe even a hotbed of atheism.
I remember the pastor exchanging some of those complicated handshakes with kids as we left the required weekly indoctrination meetings--er, "chapel." I've no idea why he bothered with trying to understand us, rather than backhanding us with a Bible. What was he thinking?
#5 Posted by: robertdw | February 27, 2010 10:03 AM
The absolute worst part of this, to me at least, is that the parents who send their kids there really do care about their children and are trying to do what they think is right.
The fact that anyone can think that putting your children through that sort of abuse is the right thing to do is just terrifying. But it is a logical extension of a belief in a temporary life followed by eternal salvation or damnation. An excellent example how religious beliefs can distort the most positive of emotions into something foul.
#6 Posted by: MikeMa | February 27, 2010 10:03 AM
A belief system that requires beatings and vile mistreatment to gain or maintain adherents. What a petty little god they have.
#7 Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | February 27, 2010 10:05 AM
Spare the rod, spoil the child.
#8 Posted by: Walton | February 27, 2010 10:08 AM
This is truly awful.
Just more reason why we should fight the pernicious notion that parents "own" their children and have some sort of "right" to control, dominate and abuse them, or send them to abusive places like this. Children are not property; they are free individuals, and their rights and choices ought to be respected and defended - where necessary, by the courts.
#9 Posted by: jennyxyzzy | February 27, 2010 10:12 AM
Good grief!
Now, I know Shepherd's Hill Farm is a relatively fringe example, but I can't help wishing that some of those Christians that no doubt dismiss the owner of the Farm as not being a True Christian, would picket the Farm to protect the children, instead of, oh, I don't know, picketing abortion clinics, for example!
#10 Posted by: Rawnaeris | February 27, 2010 10:21 AM
Damn, this place makes the Jesus Camps I went to for one week every summer look like an absolute vacation.
Brainwashing is a favorite of xtain groups though. Took me three years to realize I'd been brainwashed at one of those camps. That's when I became an atheist.
#11 Posted by: Noni Mausa | February 27, 2010 10:28 AM
$60,000 a year? Doesn't that rather limit their client base? That rules out the lowest three quintiles, maybe four, unless people can somehow get a bank loan, or sell their house... or use up the kid's college savings.
But the $60k isn't all.
"How much does it cost to send my child to SHF? $58,900 per resident/per year
(plus the varying costs of medical and special psychological services). This includes all lodging, education, food, entertainment, and hands-on therapeutic discipleship for one full year. SHF currently employs nearly two staff members for each student on campus. This is to adequately minister to the student needs of each student with the highest degree of efficiency."
Wait a minute, hold on ... the "varying costs of medical and special psychological services?" As administered by who? will your family insurance cover it? and is there any limit to those costs? Yikes.
I bet they want to be paid upfront too.
Noni[/list]
#12 Posted by: Noni Mausa | February 27, 2010 10:32 AM
PS I had a look at the farmsite, and must say it doesn't look like a "hell hole." It looks like Dick and Jane and Susan's grandparent's farm, frankly. And only 85 miles to Atlanta, easy walking distance.
Noni
#13 Posted by: Aquaria | February 27, 2010 10:39 AM
That rules out the lowest three quintiles, maybe four, unless people can somehow get a bank loan, or sell their house... or use up the kid's college savings.
The kid quoted near the end of PZ's post said that his dad borrowed against a life insurance policy. He did' his family was left with next to nothing.[/list]
#14 Posted by: Aquaria | February 27, 2010 10:42 AM
Died, even, not did.
#12:
If you read the actual testimonials, the parts shown to the public, in person and online do not represent where the children live. The children are forced to build huts for themselves with axes and handsaws. The homes are tucked into the back of the property.
If you'd followed any of the other links, you'd know that.
#15 Posted by: Pacal | February 27, 2010 10:45 AM
only 85 miles to Atlanta, easy walking distance.
Walk 50 miles and tell me it's "easy walking distance"[/list]
#16 Posted by: Noni Mausa | February 27, 2010 10:52 AM
Pacal, I guess I needed to include a /sarcasm notation after this.
Having said that, an 85 mile walk in the mild climate of Georgia is a toddle, when facing the alternative. With such motivation, I could do 30 miles the first day, and I am a confirmed net-potato.
Less, of course, if I felt I needed to travel by night.
Noni
#17 Posted by: Legion | February 27, 2010 10:56 AM
Because we believe Holy Scripture to be the final authority for truth, life, and family living, our philosophy is to heed God’s mandate and principles for child-rearing revealed within.
Plus this...
...no staff member will force-feed his or her faith on any resident. And, nobody at SHF will discriminate against a resident who chooses not to have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
= contradiction.[/list]
#18 Posted by: raven | February 27, 2010 11:00 AM
A matter of time until one or more of the kids end up dead. These xian camps for "troubled" kids routinely end up killing them.
Some of the kids who end up in these camps are "troubled" whatever that means. Some of them are just too intelligent, gay, or have realized that their parents and their parent's toxic religious cult are seriously screwed up.
The Mormons are famous for their network of camps for their wayward kids. They call it the Mormon Gulag.
Protecting the Rights of TeensThere is a network of experts and families forming around the GULAG that is ... Children at the camp were afraid to tell the police how the staff tortured and ... Those who don't will end up dead like Nicholas Contreraz, or imprisoned like ... In search of a Mormon School for "Troubled Teenagers" I found a lot of ...
[/list]
#19 Posted by: PenguinFactory | February 27, 2010 11:13 AM
This place's name is a combination of "Silent Hill" and "Shepherd's Glen", so anyone who plays survival horror games will know it's bad news.
#20 Posted by: raven | February 27, 2010 11:18 AM
BOOT CAMP FOR KIDS: Torturing Teens for Fun and Profit -- Cruelty ...House Passes Legislation to Stop Child Abuse in Teen Boot Camps and other Residential .... Christian discipline? 2 arrested in alleged dragging of girl behind van at boot camp, ..... Tightening up on the stranglers--142 youths dead in one decade ... The slow, painful, pointless death of Nicholaus Contreraz, age 16, ...
One source says 142 kids have died in these camps in a decade.[/list]
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Comments (http://http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/02/shepherds_hill_farm_is_a_hell-.php) left for the above blog entry, "Shepherd's Hill Farm is a hell-hole (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=23779&p=368070#p368063)" (by PZ Myzers; Feb. 27, 2010; Pharyngula blog), #s 21-40:
#21 Posted by: ckitching | February 27, 2010 11:19 AM
Sounds like the perfect place to work if you're a sadistic sociopath who likes to brutalize the weak and powerless. I'm sure they claim they can beat, um, cure "The Gay" out of children, too.
It's a wonder that Trace hasn't been killed by one of his 'students' by now if even half of those stories are true.
#22 Posted by: Draken | February 27, 2010 11:34 AM
[Trace Embry] would also say "Besides who would believe you, a troubled drug addict teen or me, an owner of a successful program and an ex cop and preacher?"
I'd go for the drug addict anytime.[/list]
#23 Posted by: onethird-man | February 27, 2010 11:38 AM
Our ability to think and reason is rooted in the spiritual nature of our being. As teens understand the spiritual origins of our nation and the world, they are challenged to choose and think for themselves about the reality of the inevitable issues of life such as origin, meaning, morality, and destiny, in light of truth as it relates to facts, and not just theory. As the teens acknowledge the validity of being created with a purpose, in the image of an almighty and loving God, as opposed to a happenstance evolution from a lower life form, expectations for themselves can only increase.
...from the last part of the wilderness program. The gist? "We know they are thinking for themselves when they totally agree with us and do not argue."[/list]
#24 Posted by: vertalio | February 27, 2010 11:41 AM
Makes me hanker for a little place in the woods, oh about a half-mile from Shepherd's Hill, with a nice garden and a Maypole and a still.
Think I'd get visitors?
Talk about souls ripe for the FSM's harvest...
#25 Posted by: tnkrbl | February 27, 2010 11:52 AM
I do have a child with a severe and persistent mental illness. Wilderness camps and "scared straight" programs are not an effective form of treatment. It's a model that simply does not work. At best, kids will learn how to function in an institution. When they get home, they generally fall apart again. Kids need their families and families need their kids. That being said, I do understand the desperation that comes with enduring years of intense stress and turmoil. The mental healthcare system is notoriously difficult to navigate and parents need better access to resources.
#26 Posted by: Jordan | February 27, 2010 11:58 AM
I'm sure the girls that have to endure the Hephzibah House would find Shepherd Hills quite a treat.
#27 Posted by: RickR | February 27, 2010 12:48 PM
This includes all lodging, education, food, entertainment, and hands-on therapeutic discipleship
I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.[/list]
#28 Posted by: Haruhiist | February 27, 2010 12:53 PM
Does your child have special medical needs, like seizures? They will take his medicine away, but their staff is well-trained in being able to simultaneously wrestle a child to the ground and pray for him.
Ok, so why aren't there complaints about this with the government? Or, if there are, why is the government not doing anything? Wouldn't this fall under medical neglect or something?
Combined with all the other stuff, why are institutions like this legal? It boggles the mind almost as much as the thought that parents would willingly send their child there...[/list]
#29 Posted by: Athena | February 27, 2010 1:18 PM
It sounds like Christ's concentration camp (CCC). What is really maddening is that fundies haven't a clue as to the normal developmental stages of children. I also wonder about their pathological need for control.
#30 Posted by: raven | February 27, 2010 1:25 PM
Ok, so why aren't there complaints about this with the government? Or, if there are, why is the government not doing anything? Wouldn't this fall under medical neglect or something?
That is silly. The government is waiting for a few kids to get killed. It is inevitable. There seems to be something in the bible about not learning from history until you have repeated the mistakes a few hundred times.[/list]
#31 Posted by: timrowledge | February 27, 2010 1:51 PM
Well we all know what shepherds do, right? Raise a herd of dumb animals in order to make a profit when they are sent to slaughter.
Really, could you think of a worse metaphor to use as an image of your god?
#32 Posted by: Molly, NYC | February 27, 2010 2:02 PM
I keep seeing ads for these places in rather tony shelter mags. (
Sunset used to have quite a lot of them.) Took me years to figure out why.
It's that the kind of control-freak parents who really mind that their kids don't go with their parent's chosen life-styles read these magazines. For those parents' purposes, these kids are banished because for reasons akin to banishing an old sofa because it doesn't go with the curtains.[/list]
#33 Posted by: immichaelyoung | February 27, 2010 2:13 PM
A little internet sleuthing reveals that Sheperd's Hill Farm is located in
Franklin County, Georgia (http://http://www.franklincountyga.com/modules/news/). Franklin County has a branch office (http://http://dfcs.dhr.georgia.gov/portal/site/DHS-DFCS/menuitem.8237042e9dbda3aa50c8798dd03036a0/?vgnextoid=a57d8cf9b3b4ff00VgnVCM100000bf01010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=c1b92b48d9a4ff00VgnVCM100000bf01010aRCRD) of the state Division of Family and Children Services, which is the agency which investigates claims of child abuse.
I point this out so that if someone has direct particular evidence of abuse, they can urge an investigation to the agency with the power to conduct one.[/list]
#34 Posted by: Brownian, OM | February 27, 2010 2:17 PM
My folks considered sending me to a
private religious school (http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_John%27s_School_of_Alberta) with corporal punishment (but with snowshoeing! Yay.) when I stopped doing homework (meh!) and stole a bottle of potassium permanganate from the school (stupid and bad!) in Grade 8.
Good thing for me my folks were kind of cheap and virtue ain't free.[/list]
#35 Posted by: emote_control | February 27, 2010 3:01 PM
If Dan Savage's Youth Pastor Watch is any indication, there's probably some sexual abuse going on there too. Sex offenders flock to youth ministries like moths to lamp posts.
#36 Posted by: jcmartz.myopenid.com | February 27, 2010 3:21 PM
I wonder if they perform exorcisms, too.
#37 Posted by: Keanus | February 27, 2010 3:40 PM
"Schools" like this are apparently ubiquitous, with the common thread being some form of fundamentalist Christianity. I Googled Embry and came up with any number of critical (and that's being nice about them) testimonials about SHF's practices. One
site (http://http://www.heal-online.org/childtortureusa.htm), whose veracity I can't vouch for, but which appears credible, at least on this, lists dozens of such "schools" or "camps". If all valid, they do indeed form a gulag comparable to anything the Soviets ran.[/list]
#38 Posted by: deadwildroses.wordpress.com | February 27, 2010 3:53 PM
Up here in Canada, specifically Winnipeg Manitoba, we seem to be
starting our own little patch of hell (http://http://deadwildroses.wordpress.com/2010/02/27/yfc-the-christian-rubberstamp-dipped-in-aboriginal-blood/), minus the rural setting.
A mendacious christian organization has bamboozled two levels of government into putting public funding into a rec centre that will be used for spreading jebus's word to at-risk First Nations children. It is quite reprehensible, but not to the standards set by the SHF christian gulag.[/list]
#39 Posted by: Knockgoats | February 27, 2010 4:02 PM
Well we all know what shepherds do, right? Raise a herd of dumb animals in order to make a profit when they are sent to slaughter. - timrowledge
But, to be fair, they usually fleece them repeatedly before slaughter![/list]
#40 Posted by: ckitching | February 27, 2010 6:03 PM
wrote about that (http://http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/02/canada_is_sharing_in_christian.php) a couple days ago.[/list]
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Comments (http://http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/02/shepherds_hill_farm_is_a_hell-.php) left for the above blog entry, "Shepherd's Hill Farm is a hell-hole (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=23779&p=368070#p368063)" (by PZ Myzers; Feb. 27, 2010; Pharyngula blog), #s 41-60:
#41 Posted by: SmartLX | February 27, 2010 6:24 PM
Old news, but related: in Australia, Gloria Jean's Coffee has very quietly withdrawn its financial support of Mercy Ministries, the exorcism camp for "wayward" (including lesbian) teenage girls. MM hasn't shut down, but it's practically underground now.
So my reason for boycotting GJ isn't there anymore, but I still try to avoid them because they continue to support anti-condom missionaries in Africa.
#42 Posted by: DLC | February 27, 2010 8:07 PM
Some kids do need some tough love.
A bit of discipline, some structure.
Of course, I don't mean this lunacy.
Even if reported by kids with sour grapes, this shepherd's hill facility seems like a disaster waiting to happen.
#43 Posted by: Rorschach | February 27, 2010 8:28 PM
Everytime I think I've heard about every bit of madness out of the USA by now, PZ comes up with something else that makes my mouth go agape.
How can this Guantanamo for kids even be legal ? Withholding medical treatment ? Is there no overseeing authority in that state that regulates who gets to play "teacher" with children ? I find this all very unbelievable.
Try this anywhere in the first world, you be shut down after a day, and off to jail you go.
#44 Posted by: Gyeong Hwa Pak, Das unzufriedene Pikachu | February 27, 2010 8:42 PM
This place's name is a combination of "Silent Hill" and "Shepherd's Glen", so anyone who plays survival horror games will know it's bad news.
Silent Hill was founded by a religious cult that fused Christianity with a pagan religion. (Most Christian sects nowadays have pagan elements in them.) According to SH4, children were punished for not adhering to the cult rule. (Say, there was a baby that died because of that.) In SH5, people were "recruited" through torture and children were sacrificed to their God. SH6 is not about a cult, but one can draw a comparison of how God is an idealization of a person imagination and need of a savior in much of the same Harry was to Cheryl.
/horror nerd[/list]
#45 Posted by: bulletproofcourier | February 27, 2010 10:51 PM
Hope this issue gains momentum and the cult camp is closed and criminal charges follow.
The parents of child victims should be held accountable too. They knew exactly what would happen to the kids they pawned off.
#46 Posted by: DLC | February 28, 2010 12:18 AM
Rorschach # 43:
yeah, and nobody could keep their daughter locked in a secret dungeon under their home and father several children with her, either.
Sorry, but bad things get done all the time and go undetected.
#47 Posted by: Rorschach | February 28, 2010 12:21 AM
Sorry, but bad things get done all the time and go undetected.
Your analogy needs a crutch.
How is paying 60000.- a year for someone to "educate" your child in any way shape or form similar to Incest ?[/list]
#48 Posted by: Jadehawk, OM | February 28, 2010 12:54 AM
yeah, and nobody could keep their daughter locked in a secret dungeon under their home and father several children with her, either.
dude, no.
Unless Fritzl was advertising what he was doing, and his children were allowed to leave, told their story, but STILL nothing were done about it, THEN this comparison might work.[/list]
#49 Posted by: mick.long | February 28, 2010 1:04 AM
So the only way you can sell Hovind's lunatic ideas is to imprison the young and vulnerable and subject them to gitmo - style torture and brainwashing, figures!
#50 Posted by: Miki Z | February 28, 2010 2:23 AM
Under "Who is the shepherd?" they are very clear:
The sheep on the shoulders of his master is a wayward sheep. This is a sheep that not only wonders from the flock into dangerous territories; but, it wonders habitually.
Emphasis mine, spelling theirs.[/list]
#51 Posted by: krypton | February 28, 2010 3:50 AM
Okay, I understand that my position on this is extreme and possibly inappropriate, but I feel that Trace Embry is the most qualified candidate for the death penalty that I've heard of in years. Honestly, I've not been so infuriated by a blog post in a long time.
Truly, if Evil should be punished, it should be punished without impunity. Trace Embry fits the definition of Evil quite nicely. If nothing else, I would very much like to see Mr. Embry rot in prison for all eternity. He's lucky I've no power whatsoever. If it were up to me, his fate would be most unpleasant. He should thank his lucky stars that I have no political or legal influence in this world. If so, I would make it my mission to see him destroyed. No apologies. I am his enemy in every respect.
May the weight of this world crush you to powder, Mr. Embry. You deserve nothing less, you evil, petty jackass.
#52 Posted by: Q.E.D | February 28, 2010 6:43 AM
The root cause of this problem is US deference torReligious and for-profit institutions (usually corporations).
1) Because this is a Private school it is being permitted to do things to children that would never be countenanced in a public school. The US allows private and public for-profit institutions (usually corporations) to get away with behaviour that would otherwise be investigated and prosecuted.
2) Because this is a Religious Institution - same as above.
In the US if you want to do serious financial crime and/or abuse children, set up a ministry and incorporate!
#53 Posted by: Miki Z | February 28, 2010 7:28 AM
Part of the registration for the school is also to sign a power-of-attorney when you drop off your kid. Possibly, you can see this before you pay your money, but I could not find a copy nor do they offer one as part of the enrollment packet -- it says specifically that it will be available (and a notary there) at dropoff.
#54 Posted by: eviltwit | February 28, 2010 9:06 PM
Religiously-sanctioned child abuse. Disgusting.
#55 Posted by: anon | March 6, 2010 9:10 AM
I am the ex student who helped bring the truth about SHF to light. Great article and thanks for helping to save innocent kidse. It's hard to think about and deal with these things, but I feel it must be done in order for it to be stopped.
#56 Posted by: anon2 | March 7, 2010 7:45 PM
I am a former employee of the Stephen's County Department of Family and Child Services (DFCS). This farm is located on the border of Franklin and Stephens County. Stephen's county DFCS is the office in charge of investigating this institution.
Because of privacy rights I can't share too much about the nature of the allegations of child abuse occurring there. Yet, I can say that as long as I worked at DFCS not one allegation was substantiated, even after rigorous inquiries by some of it's best investigators.
I say this not to dismiss some of the reasonable frustrations that people might have with an institution such as this. I simply wanted to enlighten this blog w/ factual information concerning how the state has dealt with the allegations from people who don't like or agree with the farm's methods. Furthermore, I think a good thing for all of us to remember is that in all situations it is dangerous to rush to judgement... even with "seemingly" fundamentalist christians. Every story that includes conflict has more than one side to it.
#57 Posted by: S P | March 31, 2010 12:21 PM
Interesting that this "Science Blog" does not seem to make an effort to evaluate the validity of the one-sided story (he quotes another blog from a former resident ("inmate"). Nowhere in the article was there an indication that a trip was made to see the facility, that anyone from the school was contacted, or that any other former students who have successfully graduated were contacted. Not very scientific, or journalistic...of couse the word Blog by nature means it is widely variable in content, so I get it.
I am a parent of a current student at SHF. I am Christian. My son is not. 'Making' him a Christian is not my goal, rather helping him control his anger and multiple other issues is the goal. Every two weeks we have a phone call or a visit. We just returned from a 3 day visit/conference. He still hates it there, and I understand that, but it has nothing to do with the allegations raised in the blog. We had unmonitored private time on multiple occasions, and he has not expressed that there is anything unseemly, illegal or immoral going on. He can separate that from what he disagrees with and does not like, which I respect. He has had 'special meals' multiple times, and has been paddled. This is a kid who would tell us instantly if he thought it was torture or being administered wrongly. He has not. We get off-campus visits and also have home visits as the end of the program nears, to facilitate a return home. I never thought we would reach a point where I would have to hand my son off to someone else to get him the skills he needs to cope with life, but I am there. I would never have sent him without doing the research on the facility, visiting it, and interviewing the staff. I would pull him out in a heartbeat if I suspected there was danger or abusive behavior (or brainwashing) going on. This is a Georgia accredited school, with a Christian counseling aspect that we like - what controls or belief-systems are in place at a non-Christian military or boot camp type school that are better, that help control the environment? If my son does not come out as a Christian, that is his decision, and it is not our goal. Our goal is to have a family that can function together and a safe environment at home where he can live with us until he is 18 and makes his own decisions (legally). Wasn't going to happen the way things were going.
For those quick to jump to conclusions based on the blogs you have read, I'd encourage you to look at the whole story.
#58 Posted by: stevieinthecity#9dac9 | March 31, 2010 12:27 PM
I feel sorry for your son.
#59 Posted by: a_ray_in_dilbert_space | March 31, 2010 12:34 PM
#60 Posted by: Gyeong Hwa Pak, Das unzufriedene Pikachu | March 31, 2010 12:48 PM
Not very scientific, or journalistic...of couse the word Blog by nature means it is widely variable in content, so I get it
For all those who accuse this blog of having no science content (like SP up there), did you actually look at the front page? There were 4 post relating directly to science.[/list]
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Comments (http://http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/02/shepherds_hill_farm_is_a_hell-.php) left for the above blog entry, "Shepherd's Hill Farm is a hell-hole (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=23779&p=368070#p368063)" (by PZ Myzers; Feb. 27, 2010; Pharyngula blog), #s 61-68:
#61 Posted by: stevieinthecity#9dac9 | March 31, 2010 12:55 PM
SP ignores the fact there's no evidence that the "camp" has any ability to get anyone the skills they need to cope.
They are not educators or trained therapists.
They are christian bullies. Paddle that anger out of him.
Brilliant.
#62 Posted by: S P | March 31, 2010 4:05 PM
Stevieinthecity has not checked into the staff, apparently, as you would see that there are two trained therapists on staff now. The head of education is a retired school administrator with nearly 40 years of experience. I don't know what the place was like in the beginning, so I can't speak to the staff then, nor to the content of their education, but I am more qualified to speak to it than any person who has only read this blog as a source of information, then pulled their ideas from it.
To Gyeong Hwa Pak, I was actually speaking only specifically about the blog regarding Shepherd's Hill Farm, not the overall site. Certainly Mr. Myers has a science background and may write other articles pertaining to science, and he is welcome to an opinion about anything he likes, but this specific article has gone to no apparent length to investigate any claim by former students/residents. I contribute to this discussion because I think an informed opinion beats one formed from looking at a single side. If you are slanted against anything labeled 'Christian', or 'religious', you are very narrow in your view as well.
#63 Posted by: Twentyfathoms | April 18, 2010 9:50 PM
I was raised in a "Christian" community, baptist fundamentalists. What I discovered through my journey is that my parents did what they thought was right based on biblical beliefs. The problem with those beliefs is it leaves no room for reason. I witnessed abuse on other kids by "good christian" adults and pastors of the community. There was verbal, psychological and physical abuse on a regular basis that was sanctioned by the "administration". No one has the right to abuse a child, be it in the name of God or any other name. I walked away from that life when I was 20 years old and have never returned, I am now 44 years old. I have raised my children to be good, kind, considerate people. To SP with the angry child, my heart goes out to you, I have one myself. The only thing you can provide is love, understanding and guidance. I have 4 children, only one has been a problem, but he is my problem. The biggest problem with "child experts' and homes for "wayward children" is that there is no vested interested in your child, it comes down to the almighty dollar. I am not slanted against Christianity or religion as long it is kept in it's place, as a part of your life not your entire life. SP I wish you luck with your child and hope his homecoming is joyful one.
#64 Posted by: TC | May 27, 2010 10:06 AM
I've got to hand it to Mr. Myers! He's very good at taking facts out of context, placing them in his own context, and using those facts against the original author! Some of Mr. Myers' facts can be considered true, IF you read them in their original context. However the true meaning of those facts ARE NOT how Mr Myers' portrays them; in the context that he uses them, THEY ARE ENTIRELY FALSE! His colorful analogies and metaphors are quite crafty - but they're all just a bunch of rhetoric designed to inflame the reader to the point that they think he knows what he's talking about and consequently believe his statements. He has NO CLUE!!!
Shepherd's Hill Farm IS Christ centered, in EVERY facet of its program. They recognize that only through a relationship with God, can a child (or an adult, Mr. Myers) battle against his/her troubles/weaknesses. If you're not a Christian, you will work to find facts that can be twisted to be used against Shepherd's Hill Farm, and you will succeed, at least you think you will. If you are a Christian, then you will recognize what's truly going on here. I encourage you to throw out Mr. Myers' pathetic reasoning and search for yourself: visit Shepherd's Hill Farm, find out for yourself. I did. I saw NO SUCH EVIDENCE of what Mr. Myers claims (in his context). I sent my son there. He has since graduated from the program and now has a healthy relationship with God. As a result he is successfully battling he troubles/weaknesses that, in the past, led him down a self-destructive path.
If Shepherd's Hill Farm can turn a child away from his self-destructive patterns and point him towards a healthy relationship with God and consequently into a good citizen, making his/her own choices, then I'd say they're quite successful. If you prefer to let your child continue to have a "wild soul" and be self-destructive, end up in jail, or dead, or worse cause the death of others, then accept what Mr. Myers says, and let your child battle his troubles on his own, and without a relationship with God.
I pray you make the right choice… find out for yourself! Don't take mine or Mr. Myers' opinions as your sole research in making your decision regarding your child and Shepherd's Hill Farm.
#65 Posted by: yeah.. | May 27, 2010 10:33 PM
Hi TC
If what PC says makes people angry it is probably because they are not brainwashed by the SHF cult like you are. The things that PC has said here are not out of context, they are true. I am the original author. I am an ex student of SHF. You really have no idea what this, and other places like it will do to your childs mind and body. The mental pain I suffered because of SHF for so long is hard to put into words. SHF is not operated by Christians, but by wolves in sheep clothing who take advantage of the weak and the vulnerable.
The fact is the Government has received thousands of reports of abuse, neglect and fraud about the "troubled teen industry". I highly suggest you watch the CAFETY Capitol Hill briefings. They contain testimonies from ex students of wilderness camps, parents of children who died in wilderness camps, mental health professionals, lawyers, and Greg Kutz, who is the managing Director of Forensic Audits and Special Investigations for the US Government Accountability Office describes reports from two GAO investigations into the troubled industry for teens. Here's a link to all of the videos-->
http://www.saferchildren.net/wilderness ... lhill.html (http://www.saferchildren.net/wilderness/capitolhill.html)
My parents paid a tuition that is as high as some Ivy League schools. Was I left with a good education, morals, self esteem, or anything else? No, not even close.
Homosexuality we were taught is an abomination, and unnatural. Homosexuals will go to hell for "going to brown town on each other" to suffer with those of other religious beliefs.
In school we did very, very little work. We watched Kent Hovind videos, and "Hell's Bells" (about Satan controlling the media and everything secular). My teacher did not even know what plate tectonics were. He swore I made the whole thing up when I described it to him.
My family used to be fairly well off. However, Trace used his Christian powers to have my father give him all of our money for tuiton. My mother can hardly afford to feed herself now. I was in my eyes, my mother, family and friends eyes abused in the name of science and mental health. I have kept in contact with 5 other ex students (as many as I can find). All who claim to have been abused at SHF and claim they were not helped in any way. If you look at Peter Harris blog about this you will see an ex student by the name K. Hicks left a comment detailing his account at SHF and the abuse he was subjected to.
When I was there they had one nurse who lived on campus in a trailer far from where we lived. The staff who were with us 24/7 were college students with no training or qualification. What good is one brainwashed nurse when you are running a facility that is supposed to treat children with severe mental issues? The children are also encouraged to stop taking their medication, and to be skeptical of science, doctors and medicine.
These children do not need a self appointed guru cult leader teaching them the ways of jeebus. They need real help, from real doctors, with real degrees, who use real science, that is backed up by peer reviewed medical journals.
For all this money in my eyes I was abused, stripped of my identity and basic human rights, starved, beat, humiliated, made to live in unsafe living conditions in a wood hut I built with no electricity, or running water, or contact with outside medical services, or legal services. Children have rights and freedoms too. They are people and we have to protect them from these places.
Now granted for fairness sake I will say this. I was a student there years ago in the early stages of the camp opening. The camp may have changed some over the years or may not have. I do not know. I do know what went on there during the years I was a student there. I believe that the time that the other students, and I suffered there counts for something. Even if it has changed for the better.
In solidarity with all the oppressed around the world,
Ex student'(s) of SHF.[/list]
#66 Posted by: Link (http://https://me.yahoo.com/a/0b1o7bZ5ydUEy_fCTk7qL272BoeYYLfkCrpxRJsCqeMRJEQ-#72e80) | May 30, 2010 12:28 PM
My 17 year old is currently enrolled at Shepherds Hill Farm. Reading through these blogs, I can't seem to find a first hand account of abuse, neglect, brainwashing, etc... except of course #65). Some of you seem to be extremely educated in your writings and opinions, however why would you choose to make such statements and arguements on a program such as Shepherds Hill Farm if you have no first hand knowledge about it? Is it because it is Christian? If it is, enough said. I'm not blogging to defend the Christian faith. If I didn't want my son to learn about the faith, I would of enrolled him in a secular program. I just thought it important enough to put what first hand accounts I've had with Shepherds Hill Farm. Yes, my child lives in the woods in a cabin he helped build with his own two hands. He used his brain, some muscle and learned a whole lot about construction and engineering. It's a strong and study cabin made to withstand GA's heavy rains and winds. He actually takes much pride of this cabin and what he was able to build and accomplish. #65, you're correct in saying that there's no running water or electricity at the campsite. You have to walk up the hill if you want any of that or a shower. Actually you don't spend much time at your cabin. It's mostly school, eating, and chores then maybe some down time. Swimming, basketball, softball or just hanging out playing cards with one another or doing homework. I would have to say that most of the kids are on some form of medication for one reason or another. Including my son. He has never not received his meds. (They're refilled every month at the local parmacy.) I've been there to witness the kids taking their individual meds as well. So, no it doesn't appear that anyone is being deprived of any of their meds. As far as no medical treatment, well, I can only say that my child has been to the doctor more times there than at home. He's taken to the doctor for a simple cold. I get to take my child on home visits, speak with him weekly using Skype and take him on family vacations. I would have to assume that if it is as horrible as written about, he would not go back under any circumstances. Yes, he would receive a special meal should he choose to. If he fights, lies, steals, abusive towards others and swears. I have those same rules in my workplace. My consequence wouldn't be a special meal, it would be termination. #65- claims you were beaten? How? With the paddle? My son has been there over 1 year and hasn't received the paddle. What do you have to do to receive that consequence? My son has been taught and given every opportunity for success in the real world. So much more than I could ever have offered him. He is living a clean and sober life, learning to respect himself as well as others. Focusing on college and taking responsibility for his own actions and establishing his goals, both short-term and long-term. This would of never been accomplished back home. I've listed to GAO investigations, however, they didn't mention anything about Shepherds Hill Farm. In fact, the speaker went on to say there are some good residential camps and they are not there to target them. I would catorgorize Shepherds Hill Farm as one of the "good" ones.
#67 Posted by: rsspug | June 19, 2010 12:34 PM
I have a 13 year old son soon to be 14 at Shepherds Hill Farm. He entered the program in October of 2009. I did a lot of homework before I sent my son to a Wilderness Program. I have to admit there were some of them out there that I was not comfortable with, but this was not the case with at Shepherd's Hill. While of course no program is perfect as nothing is in life is this program has changed my son’s life. As a parent it is quite a step to send you son/daughter to any type of program let alone a wilderness one for help especially one that costs approx $58,900.00 for a years worth of tuition. If I were to believe all of the allegations and false information I have read that was written about Shepherd's Hill Farm in this and other blogs I might have made the biggest mistake in my life and not sent him for the help he needed. Help that no matter how hard I tried I could not on my own or with the help of local counseling programs provide for him, I do not know what caused him to go off track at such an early age, but I believe that based on his actions I would not have had to worry about saving the dollars I spent helping him at Shepherd's Hill Farm for college because he would have not made it that far, either he would have ended up in jail or worse yet dead. Pretty drastic words from a parent, but at least I accepted the fact that he needed help and I got it for him. So if any of you are doing your research on Shepherd's Hill Farm and you are reading all of the negative information about the program from people who know very little about the program please be cautious as to the validity of the information posted. Do your homework, visit the campus, talk to Trace and Beth Embry, talk to the staff, and ask the office for referrals of past students and their parents. They have an open door policy.
#68 Posted by: daveb | September 7, 2010 11:28 PM
ARTICLE AND COMMENTS ARE NOT TRUE! I know a number of parents who have had their teen in this program, and some that still do, and this article and its comments have no basis in truth. It is an atheist ranting against anything (anything) Christian, and others chiming in beause they hate Christians. That's all! It is sad that people have a public platform to make such false, hateful and spiteful comments. I guess all we can do is pray for them. Like Paul, who killed and persecuted Christians, maybe someday God will also show them the light. On the other hand, I also wish there was an ACLU-type advocacy that would take on cases like this and sue each of them on the part of Shepherd's Hill for libel and defamation. Perhaps people would reconsider before defaming a good organization that's just trying to help youth and their parents. I guess these people would prefer to see these troubled kids end up in jail, addicts on the streets, or dead. I know that my son would have been if we hadn't gotten him into a similar program.[/list]
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See also Peter Harrison's piece on Shepherd's Hill Farm and anhedonia, "Shepherds Hill Farm – 'The Great Child Abuse Secret' (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=30944&p=378235#p374149) " (from his most excellent Reality Is My Religion (http://http://realityismyreligion.wordpress.com/) blog), in the following thread (third post in):
ANHEDONIA (Trace Embry's interpretation thereof)
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=30944 (http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=30944)[/list]