Fornits

Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => The Troubled Teen Industry => Topic started by: Antigen on April 30, 2004, 11:19:00 PM

Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Antigen on April 30, 2004, 11:19:00 PM: New Horizons Youth Ministries
http://www.nhym.org/nh-history.html (http://www.nhym.org/nh-history.html)

Concept
Why in the Dominican Republic? There are three reasons: atmosphere, culture shock, and distance.

http://www.nhym.org/ec-home.html (http://www.nhym.org/ec-home.html)

If it is believed that... elementary schools will be better managed by the governor and council, the commissioners of the literary fund or any other general authority of the government than by the parents within each ward, it is a belief against all experience.
Anonymity Anonymous (http://fornits.com/anonanon)
Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: cherish wisdom on April 30, 2004, 11:32:00 PM: Escuela Caribe sounds like another extremely abusive BMP. Terrorize and remove children from their entire support system including thier families. Hopefully this place will also be shut down. Antigen: How long has this place been
around - is it associated with teen help or another organization?

Atmosphere: It is necessary to have a sound and wholesome atmosphere to re-establish order in one?s life. The tranquil, quiet setting of Escuela Caribe is set far away from the pervasive influences in American society; the materialism, social ills, negative peers, and the power struggles in one?s family. Students are able to work , play, and grow in a peaceful atmosphere.

Culture Shock: Culture shock is a form of psychological disorientation produced by a sudden and complete change in one?s cultural environment. The effect is proportional to the contrast between the individual?s normal cultural milieu and that in which they are subsequently immersed. A change in climate, racial differences, geographical surroundings, mode of transportation, diet, friends, daily routines, coinage, and language all tend to make adolescents remarkably more dependent upon others for direction and emotional support. This also renders them more malleable and capable of new perspectives. This condition greatly enhances meaningful communication, offering young people extraordinary occasions for making enriching discoveries that inspire personal growth.

Distance: Time apart for a family can be very beneficial. Although it can be a painful decision, parents soon realize this time was needed in order to recoup and heal. While living in another country in a structured environment, teens start to appreciate mom and dad (absence makes the heart grow fonder). Students begin to share their parents? dream of being a united family again.

:skull: :skull: :skull: :skull: :skull:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applying computer technology is simply finding the right wrench to pound in the correct screw.
--Bastard Administrator
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 01, 2004, 09:34:00 AM: Check out the FAMILY VISITS info

http://www.nhym.org/cvs/summer/sp_parentvisit.shtml (http://www.nhym.org/cvs/summer/sp_parentvisit.shtml)
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Antigen on May 01, 2004, 10:34:00 AM: Quote
On 2004-04-30 20:32:00, cherish wisdom wrote:

Atmosphere: It is necessary to have a sound and wholesome atmosphere to re-establish order in one?s life.

That's almost funny, if it weren't so sinister. People I know who go to Dominican Republic go there to party! Prostitution is not exactly illegal there. Judging by the rest of the web site content, I'd guess that the admosphere in Dominican Republic is not exactly what these people would call wholesome or conducive to establishing order in one's life. So, do these kids have any contact at all w/ the local culture?

I agree w/ you. Red flags all over the place.

I don't know if or how these peopl may be affiliated w/ TeenHelp/WWASP. I was surprised to find that http://whoamidiscovery.com/ (http://whoamidiscovery.com/) is owned by former owners of a WWASP program; Mark & Cheryl Sudweeks. I would guess that some folks who used to post frequently and read avidly around here would be even more surprised to know that.

Applying computer technology is simply finding the right wrench to pound in the correct screw.
--Bastard Administrator

_________________
Ginger Warbis ~ Antigen
Seed sibling `71 - `80
Straight South (Sarasota, FL)
10/80 - 10/82
Anonymity Anonymous
It is wrong to leave a stumbling block in the road once it has tripped you.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: GregFL on May 01, 2004, 10:08:00 PM: Dominican republic wholesome.

heheheheh......BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. OMG, Im crying Im laughing so hard.

ps, leaving Wed for 5 days to Puerto Plata, spent 6 months there in the last 1 1/2 years, so don't say I don't know.

The DR wholesome........

hehehehheheheheheh...ah, this is just too much!

[ This Message was edited by: GregFL on 2004-05-01 19:09 ]
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 01, 2004, 10:25:00 PM: What WWASPS program were the Sudweeks affiliated with?

If you are talking about New Hope Academy or Pacific Coast Academy in Samoa, neither of those noe-defunct programs were ever part of the WWASPS organization. In fact, they were affiliated with Steve Cartisano, the granddaddy of wilderness programs.

FYI - the website run by the anti-Provo Canyon people does contain certain factual errors (e.g. Red Rock Canyon School is NOT where Katie Lank died, she died at Red Rock Ranch Academy which is now closed. Red Rock Canyon School is affiliated with Melanie Habibian and still operating.

Hope this helps ...

:smokin:
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: cherish wisdom on May 02, 2004, 02:05:00 AM: FOR A MERE $30,000+ DOLLARS A YEAR

YOU TOO CAN SEND YOUR CHILD TO
BEAUTIFUL WESTERN SAMOA
AND KEEP HIM THERE...COMPLETE WITH HANDCUFFS,
PEPPER SPRAY, MACE AND ELECTRICAL DISABLERS.

Does It look like Paradise? You Bet!

Is it?

Depends on who you talk to.

We are beginning a series today on "specialty schools for defiant teens" . These schools are what have been described to us as part of an explosive industry of largely residential schools who take "private placements" of children determined by their families to be troublesome.

These organizations tend to call themselves "Schools" when it comes to accreditation or licensing but market themselves as providing "treatment." In spite of this latter claim, the facilities frequently lack staff psychologists, psychiatrists or social workers though they may have a loose affiliation with an on-call physician. They use sophisticated and powerful marketing techniques, targeting their services to families who are in emotional disarray. Families who are in crisis.

They say: We will come and get your child.

Immediately. (or within 24 hours)

The results for their children vary as do their assessments of the programs. Many of the families who purchase their services decry standard methods of treatment and tell heartrending stories about the failure of traditional counseling or psychiatry to meet the needs of their children:

"My son had the best of everything. We sent him to counseling. We got reports. Some clinical Psychologists told us he was fine. Nothing wrong. Another gave us a terrible report. No one told us what to do."

Those sentiments on the part of parents are understandable. They have utilized every apparent available resource to no positive end for their child. However, there is an apparent incongruence between the marketing image of these facilities and the services they actually provide. This is illustrated by the quasi-therapeutic language used when identifying appropriate "students":

"Discipline: Facility seeking behavioral change through extraordinarily rigorous behavioral demands, some counseling or therapeutic content also available. (However, at an additional charge)
Retention of Involuntary Clients: A high staff ratio trained and prepared to prevent runaway and authorized to pursue and apprehend involuntary residents, but at some risk for the most determined. This is customarily called 'staff secure'
Valid Reason For Admission: adoption issues, family conflict, passively non-compliant, aggressively defiant -- will openly and intentionally defy authority and may be verbally abusive, other behavioral issues
Compatible With Admission, But Relevant Services Not Offered: needs travel guidance/assistance -- escort service"

A review of staff credentials to determine the professional experience of those to whom one has entrusted their child yields little comfort. For the most part, these "schools" operate without any licensed mental health professionals on their staffs and indeed, suggest that such individuals are overvalued. The program posits that the failure of conventional mental health professionals are what warrants their "new" approach.

However, the behaviors enumerated in the literature above can have a variety of causes: Organic brain syndrome, bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia and even hearing and visual disease. Teachers and lay people do not normally diagnose such aliments and for good reason. Any attempt to do so by anyone other then those trained in behavioral disorders is certain folly as well as illegal in many jurisdictions.

In the course of researching this story, we have interviewed over three dozen families. We will write about three of them here and quote several others. Although our evaluation of some of those choices may vary from what the programs or the families consider to be their reality, we hope that we will have treated them and their experiences with respect and honesty. We are grateful for the time they have spent telling us their stories. The three families we will follow have sons who attended one particular school, Paradise Cove, in Western Samoa. We chose Paradise Cove because it is one of the most sophisticated in terms of marketing technique, representative of the increasingly global nature of this business. Additionally, the pool of students is large enough to have a range of results to review.

PC is not in and of itself unique. It is one of a growing number of "schools" that are aggressively marketed to relatively affluent parents of children between the ages of 11 and 18 who are acting out, recalcitrant or underachieving. What is unique about Paradise Cove, is that it serves a greater range of families in terms of income and because it comes under the umbrella of a large US based organization known generically as "Teen Help". Teen Help is a marketing arm for "Tranquility Bay", a similar but co-ed facility in Jamaica, as well as campuses in Mexico, the Czech Republic, Montana and Utah.

From this point on we will refer to "Teen Help" as the generic name for the Teen Help family of businesses which are an interlocking series of limited corporations, limited partnerships, and family trusts, which all appear to be associated with three southern Utah businessmen: Robert Lichfield, Brent Facer and J. Ralph Atkin.

One of the many things that distinguishes the Teen Help programs, is the system of financial incentives and commissions it offers to parents of enrolled "students." Vaguely reminiscent of the practices in the medical profession that led to the Safe Harbor Laws, parents are compensated financially for recruiting the families of other "defiant teens." A call to a special 800 number yields marketing advice as well as current prices for marketing support materials such as brochures and videotapes.

This topic is a tough one. Parents want the best for their children. Resources for teenagers have diminished in the last twenty years due to a reduction in education spending, the rise of HMO's and an increased number of young people in the neediest cohort. The children of the baby boomers are reaching their teen years and their numbers will grow in the next decade.

What is a desperate parent to do?

Several hundred, perhaps thousands, of desperate parents have chosen Teen Help. In the following installments, we're going to take a closer look at what Teen Help promises to these people in their time of need and what they actually deliver once parents turn the care of their children over to them. Sit back and prepare yourself for an illustration of what can happen when for profit industries enter the world of the vulnerable.

This was taken from Intrepid Reporter...

Understand that legal and illegal are political, and often arbitrary,
categorizations; use and abuse are medical, or clinical, distinctions.

--Abbie Hoffman
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Antigen on May 02, 2004, 12:50:00 PM: Quote
On 2004-05-01 19:25:00, Anonymous wrote:

"What WWASPS program were the Sudweeks affiliated with?

If you are talking about New Hope Academy or Pacific Coast Academy in Samoa, neither of those noe-defunct programs were ever part of the WWASPS organization. In fact, they were affiliated with Steve Cartisano, the granddaddy of wilderness programs.

Someone quoted the ISAC site w/ that info. ISAC, any one of you, can you please either confirm or retract that info?

Doesn't really matter whether or not these people have ever been affiliated w/ WWASP. Miller Newton nor Art Barker nor Melvin Sembler nor Jim Jones have ever been affiliated w/ WWASP either.

I'd still like to know a little more about whomaidiscovery.
Every man has a property in his own person.
This nobody has any right to but himself.
The labor of his body and the work of his
hands are properly his.

--John Locke
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 02, 2004, 01:32:00 PM: I agree Ginger, in the big picture, it doesn't really matter, except that when it comes to the infamous Steve Cartisano, it seems only fair to make sure consumers know his track record in the wilderness therapy industry and later, offshore behavior mod programs like New Hope and Pacific Coast Academy.

As for this program, it is absurd to equate exiling a kid in a foreign country with a cultural experience.

The lessons are not being learned by parents ....
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Antigen on May 02, 2004, 01:55:00 PM: I agree w/ you entirely. In fact, I've been thinking about setting up a database to gather and organize this data.

And, btw, this is the major complaint that I keep hearing about ISAC. Not that their hearts are not in the right place, I think they are. Not that they're up to anything dishonorable, I think they're intentions are honorable. Just that they tend to be a little slipshod w/ their data and to accept info as fact w/o adequately checking and then to run w/ it.

Here's the kicker. I found the pages on Escuela Caribe while looking for info on Whitmore Academy. Whitmore is listed in the WWASP v PURE docket. I assume (but do not know for sure) that that means that Whitmore is one of the schools to which PURE refers kids.

I don't expect anyone who would know for sure to give me a straight answer, as I've been asking for many months and no one ever has before. So all of this is just conjecture and opinion, no actionable information, as Condi Rice might say. Just some food for thought.

Were the government to prescribe to us our medicine and diet, our bodies would be in such keeping as our souls are now. Thus in France the emetic was once forbidden as a medicine, and the potato as an article of food. Government is just as infallible,[sic] too, when it fixes systems in physics. Galileo was sent to the Inquisition for affirming that the earth was a sphere.... It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself.
Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 02, 2004, 02:42:00 PM: Well, I agree that ISAC has good intentions, but do not feel they have taken a hard enough stand against the cottage industry of ed cons and independent referral services who are profiting from the lucrative business of "referring" (sic) kids into the greedy hands of the teen hurt industry.

Make no mistake, this is the #1 threat to every single pre-teen and adolescent in America. These folks are professional predators, IMO.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 02, 2004, 02:58:00 PM: Personally, I think every single program that pays a fee to outsiders for referrals should be listed on a national database. This is highly unethical, and I fear that parents have no concept of the risk they are taking putting their faith (and their kid) in the hands of a program who pays outsiders (Independent Referral Agents) to help them meet their enrollment quota (aka "heads in the beds".

:eek:
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 02, 2004, 03:33:00 PM: A referral to the school from an educational consultant means an automatic admission? I thought once the referral was made it was between the school and the parent(s) and they had the final say if it would be an appropriate placement. I realize the ed cons do the initial screening and pick from their pool of schools, but that it didn't mean the school would automatically admit based on that.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 02, 2004, 04:46:00 PM: Are you nuts?

If the kid isn't so badly damaged as to be violent, or so mentally retarded as to be inconvenient, the primary requirement for admission is to have the unfortunate position of one's parents being gullible and possessed of an excess of financial liquidity.

It's a racket.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 02, 2004, 05:19:00 PM: Quote
On 2004-05-02 13:46:00, Anonymous wrote:

"Are you nuts?

If the kid isn't so badly damaged as to be violent, or so mentally retarded as to be inconvenient, the primary requirement for admission is to have the unfortunate position of one's parents being gullible and possessed of an excess of financial liquidity.

It's a racket."

Well said Anon!

::bigsmilebounce:: ::drummer:: ::cheers:: :rofl: :wave:
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 02, 2004, 05:23:00 PM: Quote
On 2004-05-02 11:42:00, Anonymous wrote:

"Well, I agree that ISAC has good intentions, but do not feel they have taken a hard enough stand against the cottage industry of ed cons and independent referral services who are profiting from the lucrative business of "referring" (sic) kids into the greedy hands of the teen hurt industry.

Make no mistake, this is the #1 threat to every single pre-teen and adolescent in America. These folks are professional predators, IMO. "

Excuse me, I should have said they have taken NO STAND.

:roll:
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 25, 2004, 07:44:00 AM: I teach at Escuela Caribe, and I believe your hostility towards our school is unmerited.

In regards to the "guilt by association" argument, Escuela Caribe is not related to Teen Help or any other organization. It is part of New Horizons Youth Ministries which runs our school here in the D.R., a campus in Merion, Indiana, and a summer academy in Ontario, Canada. We do not pay people to refer students to us; word-of-mouth is sufficient to direct interested parents to us.

I think you also misunderstand the type of students that we have here. These are not your typical well-adjusted (more or less) high school students. These students have already rejected a relationship with their parents and are involved in highly destructive activities (e.g., gangs, drug use or distribution, suicide attempts, living on the streets). Believe me, we want these kids to have a relationship with their family, and the "psychological disorientation" produced by "culture shock" is an important ingredient in helping the students to realize that they want to have a relationship with their family. We try to keep the environment as non-institutional as possible: students live in "houses" with houseparents. The key to success here is relationship and love. These kids (and families) have already had therapy (although we do that too), and it hasn't worked. We believe that it is through loving relationships that these kids will change. So we love them.

In recent years the moral situation in the D.R. has declined. However, our campus is not located on the tourist coast (where prostitution is still illegal, but tolerated), but up in the more conservative mountains. Students' interaction with the local culture is limited, but about once a month they will go on a service project, and once a week they might go into town for dinner or shopping. Students do not have unsupervised time to go out partying.

Hope this helps address some of your concerns.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 25, 2004, 08:49:00 AM: With all due respect, may we pleeeeeeease hear from a former student, perhaps even a graduate? Testimonals whether they be from owners, parents, teachers, admissions reps, or as in the case of the Bethel Girls Academy, even a neighbor down the road, simply do not hold any water.

As for the need to send kids to third world countries to shock them into appreciating "how good they had it at home", or as an integral part of a missionary style out-reach program, this is an argument that has been used ad nauseum by many programs such as yours.

Raising a teenager is not a project that requires a "village" to complete. Forcing them to love Jesus as the answer to "entitlementitis" or a drug addiction is not rehabilitation, is is indoctrination.

Let children come to find Jesus in their own way, and in their own time. Chaining them to a program (no matter how "unrestrictive") is not true salvation, it is coercion.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 25, 2004, 02:47:00 PM: I just came back from DR where I spent a week helping to build a new school for JCS (Jarabocoa Christian School) I had the oppertunity to... 1. work with an Escuela Caribe administrator
2. Have a grande tour of the facility
3. hear testimonials of 4 senior students
4. work side by side for 3 hours with one particular student who was escorted to Escuela Caribe against his will.

1, 2 The administration is very professional. They are bright, caring and loving. Infact, one of the site admins was a past student. They follow all the rules of the US and Canada based programs so this facility could exist in the US. The environmnet is safe secure but not a prison at all. If they run away, the folks in the town all help look for them and return them.
The rooms are all very clean, students are very well fed and appear healthy and clean. The classrooms are moders with a computer lab. Yes they work hard on the site, and earn each level raises based on behavior, academic achievement, leadership and treatment of others. Yes they are taught about Christ, and many leave non-believers, and many do choose to follow Christ. A person sometimes needs to be broken, before they can commit to real and lasting change.

3. I attended Church at Escuela Caribe and whitnessed the testamonies of 4 students who when on a local mission trip to another part of the island. There they administered medical aid, and fed and played with children who literlally live in a local garbage dump. These four students are changed. They belive in God, they see how thier behavior affected others, and themselves. They see the selfishness in thier lives, and clearly are better for thier experience. I think they have an excelent chance of staying on the right side.

4. When buildng the school (JCS) sever teens came over to help. I worked with this teen for several hours. He really was a hard worker. We talked at legnth about how he was treated, what he had done to get there, how he has grown. I was amazed how strong his resolve was to be good, and change is life. He new his weaknes and is working hard to overcome it. I was very impresed and listened very objectively. I was looking for "programed answers" but I didn't get them. I think I spoke to the real thing when we talked. I was skeptical but not now. He was also grateful that his parents did it.

I think this school is an excelent facility for kids that are on the wrong path. They even work with the parents alot. I think the saddest part is that so many parents let it get that bad where they had to go to this extream. Sure some kids just go bad, but I feel that most of the time, it is preventable if the parents trained thier kids well. If I had the need, I would send my own child there.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 25, 2004, 03:15:00 PM: Quote
On 2004-05-25 11:47:00, Anonymous wrote:

[snip]

The rooms are all very clean, students are very well fed and appear healthy and clean. The classrooms are moders with a computer lab. Yes they work hard on the site, and earn each level raises based on behavior, academic achievement, leadership and treatment of others. Yes they are taught about Christ, and many leave non-believers, and many do choose to follow Christ. A person sometimes needs to be broken, before they can commit to real and lasting change.

[snip]

No, a person *never* "needs to be broken."

Not ever.

Breaking a person is the difference between conversion (to any religion) by voluntary persuasion and conversion by the sword.

The programs are the 12-step cult's radical fanatic fringe of conversion by the sword.

Any religion in the process of practicing conversion by the sword is an unlovely system.

Nobody "needs" to be broken. Conversion by the sword is, always and everywhere, no matter what religion practices it, WRONG.

A religion is any deeply emotionally held belief system about the nature of existence and what each person should do about it.

Some religions have as one of their tenets of faith that they are not a religion.

I want every 14 year old to know that he *right now* has the legal right to refuse to leave the United States regardless of his parents wishes or who his parents have hired to "escort" them.

I want every airline flight attendant or cabin personnel, and every skipper and crew member of every ocean-worthy boat, and every border patrol employee, to know that any 14 year old US citizen has the right to refuse to leave the country, regardless of his parents wishes or who his parents have hired to escort him.

I want every airline flight attendant or cabin person, every skipper and border patrol person, every escort employee, to know that if they assist in moving a person over 14 across international boundaries against that person's consent that they *will* be prosecuted in federal court for violating that teen's fundamental civil rights (in the case of government employees) or kidnapping (in the case of skippers, pilots, flight attendants, and escorts).

And yes, since the law says the 14 year old has the right to refuse, *if* the 14 year old refuses to leave the country, the escort forcibly taking him across the border is at that moment committing kidnapping.

I'm not a lawyer, but I'd bet money the justice dept. could make those cases stick---and certainly the teen has a cause of civil action, and has two years after his 18th birthday before the statute of limitations runs out for bringing that suit.

(I'm not a lawyer, this is not specific legal advice.)
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: krs1713 on May 31, 2004, 06:35:00 PM: hi i was a student at escuela caribe for one year.all of this talk about abuse and tourture is a matter of opinion...i am a female now 21,when my parents sent me i was 16. i will not sugar coat the experiance and say that i had the time of my life.i went through some of the most trumantic and emotionally trying times of my life during my stay...but to be fair to the staff they have good intentions,not to say that i beleive they are going about it the right way.i honestly still have nightmares about my time there ....there was no random physical abuse or sexual abuse of any kind.but the punishments were physically painful and at times to severe.examples-excessive exersises forced to sit in push up possoition untill your muscles were unable to function although you say the military does the same...no i joined the army after i left the school....the army was a piece of cake. and then there were swats if your offense was say lying your houseparent would take you for a meeting with admin and they would decide how many times you would be swatted with a long leather strap across the butt and back of the legs extremely painful and were talking pure humiliation for a teen of my age of 16-17.the students jokingly called the strap mr.brown but it was no joke....other than that excessive cleaning and hard labor,some macheteing in rainstorms and lots of yelling it wasnt to bad..oh yes and when you really make them mad you go into the q.r. were you have a mattress to sleep on and a bucket to piss in and i had the honor of wearing a strait jacket all night not able to pee at night so you can guess what happened there.we were taught to respect authority or pay immediate consequences and because of the way they did it i have a bigger authority problem now than when i went in.and i was more suicidal while i was there then i was before i went in but i grew up and i obey the law and appreciate my life and i didnt need teen spankings to do that.some times we just need to hit bottom before we go up and when i left there and screwed up my life even more thats when i grew up and i was not able to be forced to do that a minute sooner then i was ready to.So i mean no disrespect to the people at e.c. just the way they do things.and if you work there and are reading this you know everything i have said is true so please dont call me a liar cause you know it is.oh to defend the school we were allowed very little contact with the dominicans unless doing mission work so we were not further corupted by the culture in fact i think the d.r. is a beautiful place were i will plan to vacation as soon as i win the lotto :wave:
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on June 01, 2004, 12:10:00 PM: You say abuse is a matter of opinion. To some extent, that's true. It's a matter of society's opinion.

When the US first got started, it was basically legal for parents to kill their own kids.

In majority Islamic countries, if a woman or girl is raped and a father or brother kills her to "restore family honor" he'll get either no punishment at all or a slap on the wrist---they don't view murdering rape victims to be abuse.

In US society, many, many of the things you described would be considered abuse.

For example, I don't know of any US state (maybe Utah?) where hitting their kid with a leather anything wouldn't put parents in *severe* danger of having their kid taken away by child protective services and them being prosecuted for child abuse.

Cult-type environments like the programs frequently have people leaving the group not consider what was done to them be abuse, even though by the larger society's norms it *clearly* was, because by *group* norms (in this case, the program's norms) it wasn't considered abuse.

It's called groupthink. The program says it doesn't abuse you, but within the program, within the groupthink environment, it gets to define what "abuse" is-----until it collides with external reality when society finds out what the program's been doing to kids and has a cow.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on June 01, 2004, 12:21:00 PM: Is this program Escuela Caribe part of the New Horizons Youth Ministries?
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on June 01, 2004, 12:33:00 PM: 4. work side by side for 3 hours with one particular student who was escorted to Escuela Caribe against his will.

--------------------------

What's the name of the escort service that brought the so-called "unwilling" teen to this program that whips kids in the name of Jesus?
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on June 01, 2004, 10:20:00 PM: Bump ...
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Dre on September 22, 2004, 03:55:00 AM: I was sent to the DR in 1990---stuck there for 2 years. At the age of thirty, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and am finally getting the help I need---help I should have gotten fifteen years ago. I finally am realizing the abuse enacted on me and other students.
Any staff member who believes the program is not abusive is not "facing reality"---one of the many categories one was graded on daily. If I had not already been neurotic before I got sent there--this place reinforced the negative thought processes.
There were a lot of caring staff there, but unfortunately they were not well-trained to deal with students with issues---often only a bachelor's degree if that. There were also mentally unstable staff who tortured students.
Housefathers were given God-like control over students. Some girls were sexually abused the year I was there...we were all emotionally abused. We were given repetitive physical "consequences" (pushups, squats, situps) until we could not mover. I still have physical pain, years later.
my parents sent me there for my authority problem. I was not the only dysfunctional person in my family.
As a family we needed intensive counseling that we never received. My relationship with my parents is still compromised. I am still so angry about being sent there....though trying to work through it.
All contact was monitored---and we WERE locked up. WE also had to be within a certain distance of the authority figure to move (arms length on zero, incremental distances as you move up th elevels.) We had to ask to step in and out of every room, and were supervised at all times. It was extremely restrictive, humiliating and demoralizing.
Does this affect any one's opinion?
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Dre on September 22, 2004, 04:01:00 AM: Yes: Escual Caribe is part of NHYM.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on January 24, 2005, 08:01:00 AM: I was held there for 15 months. A lot of abuse, qand mind control. It means so much to me to know there are people out there who realize that this is wrong. For years, I felt no one cared and there was nothing I could do about what was done to me and nothing I could do to stop it from happening to others. I am in therapy now to deal with PTSD from there and disasociative problems that have risen out of it though.

We were immersed in the Domincan culture, though. We were in the mountains with very poor people. We weren't around the rich party going tourists, much, except on vacation. Then we stuck out like a sore thumb. I did love the beauty of the country and the traditional Dominican culture. That's one of the good things.
I have very mixed feeelings that stem from there. It's been a journey. It's been 14 years, but I think part of me is still there.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on January 24, 2005, 10:40:00 AM: Oh dear God, bless your heart. I was there too, and understand. I went through the same thing. There was a documented case of sexual abouse when I was there. It happened between a housefather and three girls in my house. It is very rare, but it has happened. I will keep you in my prayers. Just know there are others out there, and you are not alone.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on January 25, 2005, 10:45:00 PM: I just came back from DR where I spent a week helping to build a new school for JCS (Jarabocoa Christian School) I had the oppertunity to... 1. work with an Escuela Caribe administrator
2. Have a grande tour of the facility
3. hear testimonials of 4 senior students
4. work side by side for 3 hours with one particular student who was escorted to Escuela Caribe against his will.

1, 2 The administration is very professional. They are bright, caring and loving. Infact, one of the site admins was a past student. They follow all the rules of the US and Canada based programs so this facility could exist in the US. The environmnet is safe secure but not a prison at all. If they run away, the folks in the town all help look for them and return them.
The rooms are all very clean, students are very well fed and appear healthy and clean. The classrooms are moders with a computer lab. Yes they work hard on the site, and earn each level raises based on behavior, academic achievement, leadership and treatment of others. Yes they are taught about Christ, and many leave non-believers, and many do choose to follow Christ. A person sometimes needs to be broken, before they can commit to real and lasting change.

3. I attended Church at Escuela Caribe and whitnessed the testamonies of 4 students who when on a local mission trip to another part of the island. There they administered medical aid, and fed and played with children who literlally live in a local garbage dump. These four students are changed. They belive in God, they see how thier behavior affected others, and themselves. They see the selfishness in thier lives, and clearly are better for thier experience. I think they have an excelent chance of staying on the right side.

4. When buildng the school (JCS) sever teens came over to help. I worked with this teen for several hours. He really was a hard worker. We talked at legnth about how he was treated, what he had done to get there, how he has grown. I was amazed how strong his resolve was to be good, and change is life. He new his weaknes and is working hard to overcome it. I was very impresed and listened very objectively. I was looking for "programed answers" but I didn't get them. I think I spoke to the real thing when we talked. I was skeptical but not now. He was also grateful that his parents did it.

I think this school is an excelent facility for kids that are on the wrong path. They even work with the parents alot. I think the saddest part is that so many parents let it get that bad where they had to go to this extream. Sure some kids just go bad, but I feel that most of the time, it is preventable if the parents trained thier kids well. If I had the need, I would send my own child there.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
wheres is your name????? :???:
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on January 25, 2005, 10:51:00 PM: What's the name of the escort service that brought the so-called "unwilling" teen to this program that whips kids in the name of Jesus?

ABUNDANT LIFE ACADEMY (WE TORTURE KIDS IN JESUS NAME...)
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: chi3 on January 26, 2005, 05:27:00 PM: Does anyone know the name of the escort service Rick Strawn works for? or is he still doing this business? he was an atlanta cop.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on January 26, 2005, 05:28:00 PM: http://www.helpingteens.com/ (http://www.helpingteens.com/)
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on January 26, 2005, 05:30:00 PM: http://www.unmarriedamerica.org/emancip ... h-post.htm (http://www.unmarriedamerica.org/emancipation/problems/abduction/wash-post.htm)
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: crazycatliz on February 11, 2005, 12:02:00 PM: Quote
On 2005-01-25 19:45:00, Anonymous wrote:

"I just came back from DR where I spent a week helping to build a new school for JCS (Jarabocoa Christian School) I had the oppertunity to... 1. work with an Escuela Caribe administrator

2. Have a grande tour of the facility

3. hear testimonials of 4 senior students

4. work side by side for 3 hours with one particular student who was escorted to Escuela Caribe against his will.

1, 2 The administration is very professional. They are bright, caring and loving. Infact, one of the site admins was a past student. They follow all the rules of the US and Canada based programs so this facility could exist in the US. The environmnet is safe secure but not a prison at all. If they run away, the folks in the town all help look for them and return them.

The rooms are all very clean, students are very well fed and appear healthy and clean. The classrooms are moders with a computer lab. Yes they work hard on the site, and earn each level raises based on behavior, academic achievement, leadership and treatment of others. Yes they are taught about Christ, and many leave non-believers, and many do choose to follow Christ. A person sometimes needs to be broken, before they can commit to real and lasting change.

3. I attended Church at Escuela Caribe and whitnessed the testamonies of 4 students who when on a local mission trip to another part of the island. There they administered medical aid, and fed and played with children who literlally live in a local garbage dump. These four students are changed. They belive in God, they see how thier behavior affected others, and themselves. They see the selfishness in thier lives, and clearly are better for thier experience. I think they have an excelent chance of staying on the right side.

4. When buildng the school (JCS) sever teens came over to help. I worked with this teen for several hours. He really was a hard worker. We talked at legnth about how he was treated, what he had done to get there, how he has grown. I was amazed how strong his resolve was to be good, and change is life. He new his weaknes and is working hard to overcome it. I was very impresed and listened very objectively. I was looking for "programed answers" but I didn't get them. I think I spoke to the real thing when we talked. I was skeptical but not now. He was also grateful that his parents did it.

I think this school is an excelent facility for kids that are on the wrong path. They even work with the parents alot. I think the saddest part is that so many parents let it get that bad where they had to go to this extream. Sure some kids just go bad, but I feel that most of the time, it is preventable if the parents trained thier kids well. If I had the need, I would send my own child there.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

wheres is your name????? :???: "

THis is BS!!!!! They snowed you. When I was there they told us that the townspeople would bring us back with a machete to our back because they would get good money!

They manipulate and lie to parents, they did to mine, and they will admit it.

It is good to be broken before God, and to see how the rest of the world lives, and to see how your behavior affects others, but these people are so secluded that they get too wrapped up in their own power and influence. Pretty soon, it becomes about them and not about God. Some staff members do this without realizing, some do it on purpose because they have issues. Some students see through the crap, but all eventually are "programed", not changed.
God wants our wills to be broken. Not our spirits, not our minds, not our hearts.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: crazycatliz on February 11, 2005, 12:14:00 PM: Quote
On 2004-05-25 04:44:00, Anonymous wrote:

"I think you also misunderstand the type of students that we have here. These are not your typical well-adjusted (more or less) high school students. These students have already rejected a relationship with their parents and are involved in highly destructive activities (e.g., gangs, drug use or distribution, suicide attempts, living on the streets). Believe me, we want these kids to have a relationship with their family, and the "psychological disorientation" produced by "culture shock" is an important ingredient in helping the students to realize that they want to have a relationship with their family. We try to keep the environment as non-institutional as possible: students live in "houses" with houseparents. The key to success here is relationship and love. These kids (and families) have already had therapy (although we do that too), and it hasn't worked. We believe that it is through loving relationships that these kids will change. So we love them.

Bunch of crap, my friend!
I had never drank, used drugs, ran away, skipped school, joined a gang, or had sex before I went down there. I had been abused by my parents and still wanted to work it out. Some rich parents sent their kids down there to send their embarrasing problems away. They couldn't handle a mentally ill son or daughter, so they wanted someone else to "put the fear of God in them".
And "culture shock therapy" is admitted mind control and has no lasting effects. Before long, after the students return, the effect wears off,if and when they become "deprogramed" by the grace of God.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on February 13, 2005, 02:28:00 AM: This school is very sick and manipulative. I was a student ten years ago and they used there power in a very sick way. I want to shut down this place. i have ptsd from that experience that place deserves to go down and I am going to make sure those kids dont have to go through that heidi I was there in 1996 anyone else
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on February 13, 2005, 10:24:00 AM: I was going on a cruise and got dropped off in the DR. It is a sick sad situation. Nobody deserves to be put in push up postion and and arms shaking in pain and three people director and all screaming in your face. That is very sick and ungodly. Being put on silence and not be able to speak. Note book support. I was put in the pit of trash and had bugs crawling up my legs. these people use christian as a way to get parents to trust. My parents regret and wish to change the past. How can you if any staff ever read this think this is ok. It is the staff that needs help to think this type of manipulation and using there power could help. HELLO I really believe it is a cult. I prayed to die. SICK STAFF Why else would it be in another country. illegal you think. This tears young hearts into fear and being scaried of people with any athority. That is not healthy. If you feel the same way speak out if everyone does it will be a start. But to except this is allowing them to still have the power. DO NOT SEND YOUR KIDS TO THIS BOOT CAMP hear that at least
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: crazycatliz on February 14, 2005, 01:34:00 PM: Hey guys! Speak up! Register, so we at least have a fake name to go with these stories. Or email me or something. Dre and I are the only alums with registered names.All us Escela Caribeians need to support one another! :wave:

I am so glad to hear that Others feel this way, and glad I'm not the only one who realized how sick it was. I just feel so sad that I have done nothing before now, and so many others have been and are still being hurt. It is a very sneaky cult.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Dre on February 16, 2005, 09:31:00 AM: At EC they use "therapy" called culture shock , more commonly known as brainwashing! it practices all the same tenets...

Former students working at treatment facilities is not a healthy sign.

Do you know why everything is so clean?
Because students clean ALL THE TIME....daily all surfaces are checked with a flashlight---
I am all for keeping things in order but there is no reason at all to check surfaces witha flashlight, or the degrees of hospital corners with a compass...

Maybe those students have a chance of staying on the "right side" if they get psychological help---which they will not get with the untrained staff at Escuela Caribe.

As a student at Escuela Caribe, you have to stay on high alert all the time---your flight or fight response is constantly aroused---known as hypervigilance....something that doctors are just now discovering shortens life spans....

I daily have to practice telling myself to calm down b/c I lost any sense of finding my off switch down there----

Students are not allowed to get upset, or to show their true feelings. If they were to become upset, they received physical exercises and shoving and sometimes the strap....

You do not know what that student really thought---b/c he is just talking for points..you always have to think about your points....You have a pointsheet that you are graded on every hour of the day. It is totally subjective, and as I have mentioned, neuroses inducing.

if that student were to say to you the truth that EC is awful---you would have told whoever was in charge and his life there would have been screwed....as a student you are trained to say the right things and ignore what you really feel---there is probably a reason why your first instinct was skepticism....

To really know what goes on, you would need to spend time in a house where you observe the daily routine...but they would never let an outsider do that....Your idea of the program would change were you to see a staff member knock down a kid who is "out of line."

I cannot even believe you would naively say you would send a child there----that is never an option---family counseling is the only way to solve problems----

my parents never tried counseling---I went to NHA from a short term facility. They were referred by Focus on the Family, who should have known better than to recommend this extremely abusive program.

Being locked up warped me---introduced me to situations I never would have considered....

It says so much about this country that long-term facilities are an alternative to child-rearing...that even though you brought a child into the world for a mere $3000 month you can be rid of your problem child as opposed to actually dealing with why your family is dysfunctional.

Sending a child away can be devastating to an adolescent's psyche. This is from one who experienced it.
[ This Message was edited by: Dre on 2005-04-22 18:31 ]
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Julia on February 22, 2005, 01:06:00 AM: I'm glad Dre turned me onto this forum.

I was at EC in the mid-80s. Psychological and physical abuse were par for the course then as well. I have more of an authority problem then ever after being in that hellhole, despite having an advanced degree and a professional career, and I totally turned away from organized religion. I still have nightmares about the place.

I agree that alums should have their own space to hash things out, so I created one:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Escuela_Caribe/ (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Escuela_Caribe/)

I'd hope that people post using their real names, but if they're embarrassed or working through some issues, I understand. I envision the message board as a place alumni can swap experiences and re-connect with classmates.

Cheers, Julia Scheeres
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on March 08, 2005, 10:50:00 PM: I was there for two years. That place is a complete failure for anyone after they get out. most of the students I know are on drugs, had a kid or kids before they were 19, gone to or are in jail, etc.
I was never broken down the same way many of the others were, so i faired a little better.
I really hope the place gets shut down. There is a book called "Jesus Land" by Julie Scheers about the place, and ive found a number of other people writing their story of the place, including myself. some are worse than others.
these is a group of former students just started on yahoo.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Escuela_Caribe/ (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Escuela_Caribe/)
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on March 08, 2005, 10:52:00 PM: in Escuela Caribe we were monitored 24 hours a day in an isolated mounatin enclave. talking about non christian music could warrant beatings with a leather strap.
it didnt help ANYONE, but the environment was completly within the control of the staff.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on March 08, 2005, 11:00:00 PM: I am a former student. Almost all the former students I know are involved in drugs or alcohol, many have kids (at 18, 19, 20) some are in jail or prison. I never became a Christian, and while I was there I decided to make something of myself in spite of them, which I have partially done. Still struggling with some bad habits I developed since then, but nothing in comparison to some of the other kids.
And the housefather at Thomas House there molested a number of the students in his house, and Mr. Redwine (the director) decided to right the situation by giving him a landscaping job instead.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on March 08, 2005, 11:03:00 PM: actually, you're wrong on that one. One student escaped and made it all the way to the US embassy, who sent him back to the school.
until 18, we are possessions of our parents.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on March 08, 2005, 11:05:00 PM: i didnt even get a mattress in the QR. all i had was my underwear and a tee shirt. in the winter.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on March 08, 2005, 11:09:00 PM: i get the same mixed feelings too, but the bitterness always wins out. I was there 2 years.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on March 08, 2005, 11:12:00 PM: are you the liz on LJ?
The director (redwine) told me that he actually has had a number of students brought in a machete point.
One kid who tried to run while i was there got hit with a car to bring him down, then of course, two weeks in the QR.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Escuela_Caribe/ (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Escuela_Caribe/)
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Dre on March 09, 2005, 08:40:00 AM: I attended the program Jan 90- Dec 91.

While I was there two girls in my house were preyed upon sexually by a staff member....he was dismissed.

Another member who had a porn habit and was close to the original molester Kerwin begged forgiveness. Phil let him stay on....when this 2nd staff member,RG, went to Marion, he got caught making out with a female student. Because he was in the States, he was actually prosecuted.

I am interested in knowing the details of molestation in the program. The psychological turmoil of being preyed upon by an authority member is indescribable!

Care to divulge any Thomas House details? Who was the staff member? What year did it occur?[ This Message was edited by: Dre on 2005-04-15 07:20 ]
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Dre on March 09, 2005, 08:50:00 AM: Quote
On 2005-03-08 20:05:00, Anonymous wrote:

"i didnt even get a mattress in the QR. all i had was my underwear and a tee shirt. in the winter. "

How long were you in the QR? Did they let you have bathroom "privileges"? What was the crime?

regarding all these posts on people not turning out well....

According to the National Institute of Health...
?Most treatment options have not been evaluated for efficacy or are simply ineffective?.Scientifically proven interventions are not available to the children and the families who need them.?

I drifted back into negative patterns when I returned home. Actually, I went further into the gutter than I would have considered before. According to When Interventions Harm: Peer Groups and Problem Behavior,? Thomas J. Dishion, Ph.D., Joan McCord, Ph.D., and Francois Poulin, Ph.D., interventions to reduce adolescent problem behavior backfire when peers with similar behavior problems are grouped together in the intervention. Partly this is because "The more sophisticated (teens) instruct the more naive in precisely the behaviors that the intervener wishes to prevent."
For me, my norm was deviancy. The more extreme the collective problems are, the more deviant behaviors result on the outside.

plus....when most kids come out...they have post traumatic stress disorder....the symptoms cause you to screw up...out of control emotions, dissociation, flashbacks, hyperarousal.....

Don't blame us kids...blame the cure!
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on March 10, 2005, 03:18:00 AM: Graham Higgs molested a least one, and its possible others, in Thomas house, in 2000-2001 at least, possibly before. He was moved to landscaping duty as a punishment.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on March 10, 2005, 03:24:00 AM: i was in the QR for three days. "bathroom priviledges?" Do you mean shitting and pissing in that little blue bowl in the corner?
judging by your terminology, am i correct in assuming you have an interest in sociology?
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Dre on March 10, 2005, 11:36:00 AM: Someone posting on the Escuela Caribe listserve
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Escuela_Caribe/ (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Escuela_Caribe/)
was talking about this.

He mentioned a lawsuit.

Was this Higgs character single (not married to the house MOTHER)?

How old was he?

How did it all come out? I was trying to explain to my husband (non-program) about things being so extreme down there that when stuff like that comes out you know it is true...the beatdown would be too severe to warrant a kid making it up.

The authorities running these programs are hollow men with God complexes![ This Message was edited by: Dre on 2005-04-15 07:22 ]
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on March 10, 2005, 02:20:00 PM: I found this forum by mistake and would like to share a few things.

First, I am almost 35 and am a business owner that lives abroad.
Second, I was in Escuela Caribe from the age of 17 till two weeks shy of 20.
I wanted to leave at the age of 18 but they told me that under Donican Rep. law I was not an adult till I was 21. Sounds real fishy.
Basically what can I do about this? I know there has to be some grounds for legal action, false imprisonment?
You can email me at [email protected]
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on March 11, 2005, 04:31:00 PM: Graham Higgs was married and had two kids. he was in his mid 30's i believe. not sure how it came out. i'll look into it.
id check the yahoo group escuela caribe. theres a few more ex students there, including myself. im trying to contact some of the guys that were in his house at present.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Dre on March 12, 2005, 07:47:00 AM: In a blue bowl? How christian!

That sucks! I never went to the QR...and I never got swats...but I sufferred from PTSD for years nonetheless...

I am sorry about yr experience. What was yr offense, if you don't mind me asking?

Yeah--I am interested in sociology, pychology, the humanities, EDUCATION...anything to get awareness out about how damaging teen "Treatment" is...

Check out the E.C. group on yahoo...
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on March 15, 2005, 12:02:00 AM: i ran on my first day.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on March 15, 2005, 12:03:00 AM: i ran on my first day.
(do you use 'christian' as a derogatory term, like they promote the use of 'gay' as derogatory?)
I do. eg. "being sick is so christian." we started it there. :smile:
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Dre on March 15, 2005, 03:27:00 PM: I'm being sarcastic in the above post....but I know what you mean...and it is related...

I never knew to be afraid of Christians until I truly experienced God's love Escuela Caribe style....

**We? you kept in touch with other graduates?

***On your first day? Crazy! How far did you get? I guess that is why you got put in the QR.

I never considered running. I knew it was futile.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on March 21, 2005, 01:54:00 AM: i knew i wouldnt get far. it was more of an attempt to test the boundries. I got to the fence, I was planning to kick hrough a dead spot, but was unaware that it was also tangled in barbed wire. so i just ran down the hill until they caught up to me on their motorcycles and circled me like a pack of rabid dogs, which i suppose is not too abstract of an analogy.
i wrote a little stroy about it. i dotn really wanna post a link here cuz i dont want that staffer who was on here to get it. i was there somewhat recently, and most likely i know him/her.
(And if you are here, IM GAY!!! YOU NEVER KNEW!!!! ONE MORE ISSUE YOU COULD'NT FUCK WITH ME FOR!!! BUWAHAHAHAHA!!!)
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: DavidJHupp on March 22, 2005, 04:48:00 AM: Quote
When I was there they told us that the townspeople would bring us back with a machete to our back because they would get good money!

We were told the bounty was a steak dinner.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: DavidJHupp on March 22, 2005, 05:07:00 AM: ...redacted
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: DavidJHupp on March 22, 2005, 06:10:00 AM: Quote
On 2005-03-11 13:31:00, Anonymous wrote:

"Graham Higgs was married and had two kids. he was in his mid 30's i believe. not sure how it came out. i'll look into it.

id check the yahoo group escuela caribe. theres a few more ex students there, including myself. im trying to contact some of the guys that were in his house at present. "

I was in the House in question with both the perpetrator and the victim(s?), so I think I can provide a little more information.

Part of "group therapy" at EC was a basicly "fill in the bubble" sexual/abuse history/laundry list. It covered everything from pornography to number of past partners to all fifty million ways to define sexual abuse. This questionairre was administered maybe once or twice a year, so as to cover new students.

The victim apparently had marked "no" to one of the sexual abuse questions the first time he took the test, and marked "yes" the second time around months later. This must have raised a red flag, because both house-parents mysteriously disappeared following their regularly scheduled time off.

It wasn't until a couple of months later that the whole mess was officially revealed to the other students in the house, including myself. I had no prior knowledge, but I'm sure that some student had their suspicions.

Fortunately, Colleen Higgs, Graham's wife, who apparently was completely innocent/ignorant (and also my favorite staff member there) returned without her husband, reprising her role as housemother until the new housemother could begin her job.

Really nasty mess.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Dre on March 22, 2005, 11:35:00 PM: Posted: 2005-03-08 20:12:00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While rereading this post...I figured out what you were asking.

I don't know what LJ is...enlighten me.

I do know the Liz who you are referring to. She rocks! We were in TKB together. We also are both from the South (minus the red state mentality).

Talk to me @ the other Escuela site on yahoo....My name is Deirdre.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on March 23, 2005, 01:23:00 AM: This is the first time I am leaving a post in here. I am a former student of Escuela Caribe. I just now read this post, would like to reply. Im not comfortable with leaving my personal info, Im still having issues and I want to be honest without feeling pressured.

1, 2 The administration is very professional.

They follow all the rules of the US and Canada based programs so this facility could exist in the US.

...With all due respect, it doesn't seem you can come to the conclusion about following all the rules by one day of helping them build something.
-----------------------------------------------
The environmnet is safe secure but not a prison at all.

...Do you realize we got locked in our rooms at night-all girls in one room (atleast thats how it was in our house). One time I got very sick and my fever was very high and I was hyperventilating. The girls were banging on the doors trying to wake up the houseparents but they couldn't hear us for a couple hours. Imagine if there was a fire.
------------------------------------------------
If they run away, the folks in the town all help look for them and return them.

...All those folks in town know about the reward when they return a runaway. To us,its a small amount of money. To them, its like hitting the lottery. They will return you at machete point. Why does it seem all of us former students know about the reward thing?
------------------------------------------------

The rooms are all very clean,

Um, how do you think they got so clean? It wasn't the staff. How is 10 hours of cleaning on our out-free day because we failed the very STRICT weekly house inspection?
------------------------------------------------

students are very well fed and appear healthy and clean.

....I think anyone would appear healthy after months and months of constant hard labor. Not that hard labor ever killed anyone but this is a little extreme. I was on pushup support (I had to do 7 pushups to walk into each room. Of course we've all had to ask to walk into each room. But I counted up one day,I did approx. 400+ pushups per day.)
And about the clean part--how can you really tell if we are clean if we are out working? How clean can COLD water get you? Most of us werent allowed to use the hot water handle- thats only for high narkers--oops, high rankers. I took a cold shower for 2 years--we lived in the mountains so it is mountain water cold! And we only had 10 minutes to have your shower taken, be dressed, with your hair brushed, area cleaned up and be downstairs. So we stayed under that cold water approx 3 minutes PER DAY.
-----------------------------------------------
A person sometimes needs to be broken, before they can commit to real and lasting change.

...Have you ever been broken? We were broken before we even got there. And whose standard of "broken" do we need to meet? Is it fair to have 1 person in charge of "breaking us"?
(our housefather). What if our housefather is not psychologically sound? Where is the checks and balances here? I would like to know. You cant just sit quiet and try to do everything right, it doesnt work that way. If you forget to ask before you walk into each room multiple times, it will probably be labeled "rebellious" or "passive" and you will be punished. You dont even have to do anything on purpose, trust me. Now I sort of wish I would have, atleast I would be blamed for something I did intentionally. Even if one person in the house did something and nobody would fess up, we would all get into pushup position until someone fesses up. And guess what, most the time nobody did. So we were in pushup position until our bodies started shaking and we our bodies physically could not hold up anymore. Then we were instructed to turn around immediately and start doing situps until our tails were raw.
--------------------------------------------

We talked at legnth about how he was treated, what he had done to get there, how he has grown. I was amazed how strong his resolve was to be good, and change is life. He new his weaknes and is working hard to overcome it. I was very impresed and listened very objectively. I was looking for "programed answers" but I didn't get them. I think I spoke to the real thing when we talked. I was skeptical but not now. He was also grateful that his parents did it.

...I have been in his same shoes. I cant say that we dont learn alot about resolving our issues. But I am saying this experience was far too extreme for me. There are many "program answers" but you have to know what you are listening for. Things and expectations were shoved into our heads every day over and over and over. It would be easy to come up with the "right answers". It doesnt mean we contradicted them, we just didn't really have a choice and we were speaking their words, not our own. Not that the things they were teaching us were all bad but what good is it if we are responding out of fear and not our own will? I feel alot of the staff are very caring and good people. However, I have seen people write that they are not well trained to deal with cases such as ours. I have to agree. Many of the staff were just into their 20s. Nothing against them but some of them really didnt have background in dealing with cases such as ours, although many were very good. Other staff had some power trip going on and would pinpoint their "favorites" and then the ones they like to pick at. Or they were just flat out wierd. And then there is a lot of really nice, good, clean-hearted people.
-----------------------------------------------
I think this school is an excelent facility for kids that are on the wrong path. They even work with the parents alot.

It may be excellent for some kids, but definetly wasnt for me. I can thank Escuela Caribe for some things, but I cant even start to explain some of the others. It feels like it was all a dream. I kind of have a bad taste in my mouth but I know some of the staff really meant well and helped us.
------------------------------------------------

I think the saddest part is that so many parents let it get that bad where they had to go to this extream. Sure some kids just go bad, but I feel that most of the time, it is preventable if the parents trained thier kids well. If I had the need, I would send my own child there.

...I really hate to say this, but there are alot of nuthead parents out there too who probably need the "program" more than their child.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: DavidJHupp on March 24, 2005, 12:32:00 AM: Hey Anonymous, are you in the Yahoo! group?

About being sick...

One Tuesday morning (an "in" freeday), when I was supposed to work "Restitution" (more about that later), I puked on the floor next to my bed. I had also puked the night before, but in the toilet.

So, what should a well trained staff member do? My housefather promptly accused me of gagging myself, and claimed to have a high-ranker witness to gagging noises. I was forced to go work after having puked twice and probably a fever, although my temperature was never taken.

After working (as much as I could while sick) for 10-15 minutes, Mr. Redwine showed up. (I think that Mr. Redwine was probably the most understanding disciplinarian on campus. I didn't deal with him too often, but he didn't seem sadistic/insane/bipolar like Mr. Grant.) He did some talking (don't remember if it was with me, the supervisor, or both) and I was allowed to return to the house to rest. I fell asleep fully clothed and slept like a rock until the late evening. Kinda felt sorry for whatever probably low-ranker had to clean up my puke on the floor.

Over the next couple of weeks I had recurring diarrhea and abdominal pain. Though showing clear symptoms of having giardiasis (giardia infection, probably from some contact with the local water. see http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites ... iardia.htm (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/giardiasis/factsht_giardia.htm) ), my housefather continued to accuse me of faking being sick. I still don't know if he was joking, but it didn't seem like it at the time.

By the way, to those of you who don't know, giardia is VERY common in the Dominican Republic. Students are warned never to drink tap water; if a student gets a giardia infection, they will probably get accused of intentionally drinking the tap water.

Eventually the school's RN took me to a doctor in town, who was also given urine and bile samples. Not surprisingly, I tested positive for giardia. I was prescribed about three different medications. My housefather still continued to give me flak about being sick, and I was treated exactly the same as though I were not.

------

Since I'm on the topic of bowel movements....

While I was at EC, and to some degree to the present day, I had a problem taking a "long" time when relieving myself. Initially, I was just timed whenever I used the restroom. Eventually, though, I was put on "bucket support". I'm sure everyone who has been a student at EC, at least more recently, know what bucket support is. If you don't, I'll enlighten you:

Bucket support means that whenever you have to use the restroom, you have to go in a bucket, then get a high-ranker to verify (would hate to be the high-ranker). You then dump your waste and wash out the bucket. I don't remember where I had to dump urine, whether it was outside or in the toilet, but I never had to dump feces (reason below).

At least at first, bucket support was only at the house. To deal with this, when ever I had to go #2, I just held it until I went down to school. That way, I only had to worry about going #1 in a bucket.

Somehow, somewhere down the line, Mr. Grant (head disciplinarian) caught on to my ruse. I was informed of his change in policy (i.e. bucket support at school) though an off handed reference that didn't even really register in my mind. So, when I relieved myself that morning immediately after arriving at school, I was promptly ushered to Mr. Grant's office for the usual swats (don't remember whether I got "Authority Problem" (6) or "Insubordination" (10)).

So I just held it.

For over 24 hours.

The next day, after school, I brought to the housemother's attention, through the proper protocol, my new medical issue: constipation. She gave me some sort of laxative and the housefather allowed me to use the toilet. Not surprisingly (maybe making up for lost time?), I took too long (or more like he didn't give me enough time), so I was back on bucket support.

I don't remember how the issue eventually diffused. Maybe it was when I moved from Thomas House to Huyck House.

I think I was stuck on bucket support (at least one of the times) for an incident that wasn't even my fault.

One free day, we had "team showers". Team showers, for those who don't know, mean that instead of each person having 10 minutes to shower and get dressed, or 12 minutes if they had to shave, the entire house has 30-35 minutes for everyone to do the same. Everyone goes in by rank. Because I was on zero level (though not THE low-ranker) I was last to be sent in (by the high-ranker) to take a shower.

I had like five minutes.

Hmmm.

So I was like a minute late. So the house father stuck me on bucket support. Again. God, I hated that guy.

--------

Now to explain "Restitution" to anyone who doesn't know.

If you break something, you have to pay to replace it. If you don't have the money, then you have to work on your freeday to earn money.

Makes sense.

Of course, everyone on zero level didn't earn any money for their daily work. For every level, you earned progressively slightly less obscenely less than US minimum wage.

If you didn't earn a high enough score on your chores (i.e. if you had a bad day, or if you were just plain bad at cleaning), then you weren't paid for that either.

Also, everyone had to work a certain number of hours a week, regardless of whether they were paid or not. Before going to bed, you had to ask the housefather how many hours you worked. Note this is not really how many hours you worked, but really how many hours of work the housefather thinks you got done. There was little/no distinction for age, physical ability, or skill (not that any of the work needed ability or skill).

If you didn't accrue enough hours, or forgot to mark down your hours, then you were CHARGED for the amount of work you failed to do. If you didn't have the money, then you had to work restitution. I think the money went into the house slush fund (for freedays, etc.).

Working restitution had relatively very good pay: ten pesos an hour (~60 cents) instead of one peso an hour (~6 cents) for a first level student. Having been on zero level except for two weeks of first level, for the entire 16 months I was there, I rarely had the luxury of being paid. On the other hand, it was not really how many hours you worked, but really how many hours of work the supervisor thought you got done.

The day I was picked up by my father to leave the Program, my housefather at Huyck House reminded me that I owed over 1700 pesos (over $100, at the time) of outstanding restitution to Thomas House. He suggested to me that I ask my father to write a check to them for the amount. I smiled/nodded, while thinking YEAH RIGHT! There was no way he could force me or my father to do anything, anyway.

-------

Throughout my description of Restitution, I have made various RD peso to US dollar conversions. While at the program, students are never told the exchange rate. Students who learn the exchange rate are STRICTLY FORBIDDEN from discussing the exchange rate or telling any other students about it.

Sounds fishy, doesn't it? Why shouldn't we know how little the money we weren't being paid for our work was really worth?

--------

Darn, I wrote a lot.

Comments/corrections welcome.

Later,

David Hupp[ This Message was edited by: DavidJHupp on 2005-03-23 21:34 ]
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Antigen on March 24, 2005, 06:53:00 PM: Damn, thanks!

Most of the dialog that I know of about the industry seems to be stalled at the "I was abused" vs "I was there and never heard of abuse" level w/ both camps being thoroughly, often self rightiously, convinced of their position.

This is the kind of matter of fact, day in the life info we need to get out there. Never mind whether or not anyone views their own experience as wonderful, horrible or anything in between. Let's talk about what happens in these places and let the reader decide what's good, what's bad and what's not precisely as advertised.

More, please... anybody?
Not a place upon earth might be so happy as America. Her situation is remote from all the wrangling world, and she has nothing to do but to trade with them.
--Thomas Paine
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Antigen on March 25, 2005, 03:26:00 PM: ::bump::
I would rather be exposed to the inconveniencies attending too much
liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.

--Thomas Jefferson, 1791, in a letter to Archibald Stuart
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Nihilanthic on March 25, 2005, 09:27:00 PM: Elmination control used as a means to break down children. Disgusting. Totally fucking disgusting.
Any policy that has Ted Byfield on the same side as many Rastafarians can fairly be said to have generated a consensus.
-- Ottawa Citizen August 28, 1997
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on March 26, 2005, 12:08:00 AM: Quote
More, please... anybody?

I finally took the time to organize my notes and type out my story about being at Spring Creek in Montana. I'm not lecturing about programs, just telling my experience as it was.

http://springcreeklodgeexperience.blogspot.com/ (http://springcreeklodgeexperience.blogspot.com/)
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Antigen on March 26, 2005, 12:52:00 AM: Amazing!

"?Nut to but? they?d tell us, no space was allowed in between kids, the front of your shoes had to be touching the back of the shoes of the kid in front of you when we stopped. If someone fell out of line, moved, or made a wise crack the Jr. Staff in charge of holding the line together, would take your points away, or the family father would. We spent countless hours standing out in the snow waiting for them to ?approve? of our line. "

Except for the snow, points (would be phases or responsabilities) and the family father, any Straightling could have written this. And I mean word for word!

You realize that Escula Caribe is not a WWASP school, right? It's actually one of the schools that some kids get sent to, their parents assured that it's nowhere near as bad as WWASP.

When I started as a federal narcotics agent, the budget that we were working with, it was less than $5 million a year, and there was only 125 agents for the entire world to work the narcotic trade that we were fighting in those days. Times have changed. The gluttony has grown.
--Nick Navarro, former Broward, FL Sherrif
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Deborah on March 26, 2005, 01:44:00 AM: Thanks for taking the time to share an indepth account of your experience. I hope parents will find it when researching the facility.

You said:
The parents tell us how we can?t manipulate them into bringing us home, which means they don?t believe you anymore. This is their way of breaking your spirit. You can write letters home saying you?ll kill yourself, and many do, but to them this is just ?manipulating? and the program already has your parents ready for that one.

***Had the girl who committed suicide at SCL received such a letter?

In the hobbit breakfast was a bagel and a banana on a paper place. Dinner was a handful of lettuce and black beans. No utensils, a small dental hygiene size cup of water. The staff loved telling you Montana law only required them to give us two meals per day, and only one shower per 72 hours, which meant no shower the entire stay up there.

***So much for USDA guidelines for nutrition. Ironically, Montana does not regulate RTCs. There is talk of the need for such, but much effort is going toward 'self regulation'.
http://strugglingteens.com/news/montana ... 50319.html (http://strugglingteens.com/news/montanalegistrive050319.html)
In other words, change is unlikely if they have their way.
http://www.fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.ph ... &forum=9&0 (http://www.fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?topic=8781&forum=9&0)
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Antigen on April 03, 2005, 03:45:00 AM: ::bump::
On the dogmas of religion, as distinguished from moral principles, all mankind, from the beginning of the world to this day, have been quarreling, fighting, burning and torturing one another for abstractions unintelligible to themselves and to all others, and absolutely beyond the comprehension of the human mind.
--Thomas Jefferson, U.S. President, author, scientist, architect, educator, and diplomat
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: BuzzKill on April 03, 2005, 11:22:00 AM: This does indeed sound all to familiar.

The one comment made: sometimes you have to break then down to fix them ( I paraphrase) has long been the very point I have tried to make on Why theses programs are so predictably abusive and negligent.
This statement: sometimes you have to break then down to fix them; is true if you intend to brainwash them into a "fixed" state. And to Break them down, you must create a Lot of stress of every sort. To do this requires all kinds of abuse and negligence.
And this IS NOT OK.

Spring Creek Lodge Blogger: http://springcreeklodgeexperience.blogspot.com/ (http://springcreeklodgeexperience.blogspot.com/)
I would like to "chat" with you. I didn't see any form of contact info on your site. Please consider writing me. Email is in my profile.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Thomas on April 07, 2005, 04:11:00 AM: we were paid about 4% of minimum wage, if my calculations are correct. at least in my state.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on April 10, 2005, 07:00:00 PM: What an absolute bunch of lies. I was a former student in the Dominican Republic and spent nearly a year there in the early 90's. Just to set the record straight, I was NOT a gang member, drug user, sex addict, prostitute, nor was I homeless or a run away. I don't know what possesed my parents to send me down there other than the fact that some of the great right wing, fundamental Christian evangalists such as James Dobson who are clearly in bed with Tim Blossom, the director of this school, get on radio and television and tell people what a great school it is.
I would challenge this teacher to place his right hand on a Bible and tell you that students at Escuela Caribe are not abused and broken. When a studend first arrives at Escuela Caribe, they are searched and all materials deemed innapropriate are confiscated immediately. This includes make up, jewelry of any kind, pictures or letters that they don't feel you need to have, etc. The student is then placed on level 0 for two weeks. While on level 0, students are not allowed to go ANYWHERE without the permission of their housefather. The student must ask to walk from the bedroom to the bathroom, in and out of the house, up and down the steps, etc. Students who can't comply with the "rules" are abused, plain and simple. I have vivid memories of students being left in push up position for hours on end and being spanked (beat) into submission by Phil Redwine with a leather strap. Students are only allowed to talk to their parents once every two or three months and on Christmas and their birthday. Even then, the phone call is only twenty minutes and your housefather is listening to the entire conversation on another extension and will terminate the phone call if the student says anything about the torture that is taking place. Of course, most students wouldn't dare to say anything of the sort to their parents because they are thousands of miles away and have clearly been brainwahsed by the staff of this institution anyway. All incoming and outgoing mail is read and if the staff doesn't like what is said, the mail is not sent or received.
I would challenge the teacher to tell this board about the quiet room and the students that are housed there. I will gladly answer any questions about this institution and can be reached at [email protected].
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on April 13, 2005, 04:24:00 PM: Our Friend just got sent there and we were wondering if we could do anything to get him back or at least contact him. His parents won't listen to us and his brother is already there. We know he has a history and we don't know everything but we know him and really want him to be ok. So please give us some advice. His parents are wrong but is it even possible for them to be right?
We'll check back.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Dre on April 13, 2005, 06:14:00 PM: There is nothing that you can do to contact him if his parents have him on a no contact list.

Is there a neutral person that could talk to the parents? Like a minister? Or a teacher?

If I were you I would show them this website, and the other website mentioned...maybe if they read up on all the crazy stuff that happens at EC they will have a change of heart.

I came out of that place traumatized. SO did a lot of others. It is a bad place.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on April 13, 2005, 06:59:00 PM: Dre is right, if his parents don't want you to contact him, you can't. I would definately tell them about our site on Yahoo. His parents are free to contact me at [email protected], as are you if you have any other questions. I was there for a year in the 90's and it wasn't good. Many of the people on our other board are now well educated adults. Maybe if the parents speak to some of us or understand what is really going on there, they will change their minds. My prayers are with your friend, he's going to need them.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on April 14, 2005, 12:14:00 AM: i can tell you a million stories about new horizons and escuela caribe. i was there from 85-90.... i still hold the "record" for longest stay......... and the record for longest uninterrupted stay in the "quiet room"
unofficially i was the staffs punching bag.... if any of your kids or friends are there.... dont hold out much hope.... they WILL eventually return but the poeple you knew will be forever changed and gone
want to talk to me about it? contact me on yahoo mssgr hysteria_motorsports or msn mssgr [email protected]
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on April 14, 2005, 04:41:00 PM: I do want to say... I am a former student who is very thankful for the program.. Their are others of us that feel that way.. My graduating class I keep in contact with each and everyone of them and we all feel that way... Alot of what is posted here is CRAP.. You all are speaking smack.. Things do happen .. For instance I was scape goated by house staff.. But as soon as Administration found out they were yanked from the house and left the program. I also know of another staff member that was fired last year to protect the students down there. Without the program alot of you all would have died, killed yourself, not delt with the abuse in your past ect... 90% of the girls sent down their have been sexually abused in their past.. overall 75% of the students are drug abusers/ gang members ect. you are not just sent there because your parents are overreacting. Their is a reason, and you are lying if you say you didnt know why before you left.. Alot of students do go back to bad habits.. Hell my best friend is drinking himself to death.. But in talking with him its because he regrets not dealing with some of his issues while he was in the program and feels guilty about it. I also know for a fact that thier are atleast 10 former students that are NOW staff members between all 3 programs.....
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Dre on April 14, 2005, 07:22:00 PM: Yo anonymous...if you want to defend the program so badly...why don't you use your name?

. Without the program alot of you all would have died, killed yourself, not delt with the abuse in your past ect...

Did Tim Blossom get you to memorize that?

How are you supposed to "deal" with abuse when the only certification the counseling staff has is that they are Christian? They don't even have to have a college degree...check out the NHA job vacancies.

I was given some bad advice down there...

I also was physically and emotionally abused. It left me traumatized for years. I still have nightmares, and I'm 31.

Girls in my house were sexually abused by the housefather. I saw kids physically abused. I saw kids piss on themselves because their housefathers refused to allow them to use the bano.

Housefathers were given God-like status, and a lot of them abused that. They tortured kids.

90% of the girls sent down their have been sexually abused in their past.. overall 75% of the students are drug abusers/ gang members ect. you are not just sent there because your parents are overreacting. Their is a reason, and you are lying if you say...

Where did you get these statistics from? Why would you treat someone who was abused the way they mistreat students?

I knew one "gang member."

The treatment down there did not help me with sexual abuse issues. A certain female staff member tended to project her own issues to other students. Most of the staff were sexually inexperienced in addition to being untrained...and in general unhelpful to females with sexual abuse issues. I know a lot of women who struggle with the same sex issues afterwards that they did before, only they are magnified now because they were locked up in the DR instead of dealing with their issues.

Why the use of confrontational tactics/ humiliation/ harsh punishment?
Why does the program feel it necessary to restrict the movements of children? to make them ask to step in and out of the rooms? To give them pushups for not staying within an arms' length of the housefather? to treat kids like criminals?

Why did we have to work all the time? Why not spend some time developing hobbies? I had a hard time with all the free time for years...didn't know what I should be doing. I don't like television and now hate to clean (type 2 personality).

What is the purpose for all that? It's not Biblical...Jesus said "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Not everyone down there is corrupt...but the program as a whole is harmful to kids....I have been in contact with a lot of people from throughout the years (85-2003) who have been harmed by that place...who feel that the best lesson they learned is to trust no one...that the way to handle your emotions is to pretend you don't have them. This has wreaked havoc on my interpersonal life. I have had to undergo a lot of therapy to get to a better place.

Those lessons are suicide on the outside.

We didn't even get a decent education. You cannot argue with me on that.

I am sorry because I know you are really hurting. It is hard to face the truth...that our parents made a mistake and left us to the mercy of zealots.

Read up on the Stanford prison experiment (www.prisonexp.org (http://www.prisonexp.org)). It might help you understand why when programs are isolated...people conform to their basest instincts, just by the nature of the isolation.

If you want to discuss this in more detail...meet up with other survivors at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Escuela_Caribe/ (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Escuela_Caribe/)

Good luck!
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on April 20, 2005, 03:33:00 AM: I sure hope that before you would ever consider sending your child there, you would check with more past students. They put the past students on display that they want you to see. I suffered physical and emotional abuse there. I am not alone. Many past students have discussed their situations. Most were a hellish existance.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on April 20, 2005, 12:58:00 PM: Quote
On 2005-04-14 13:41:00, Anonymous wrote:

"I do want to say... I am a former student who is very thankful for the program.. Their are others of us that feel that way.. My graduating class I keep in contact with each and everyone of them and we all feel that way... Alot of what is posted here is CRAP.. You all are speaking smack.. Things do happen .. For instance I was scape goated by house staff.. But as soon as Administration found out they were yanked from the house and left the program. I also know of another staff member that was fired last year to protect the students down there. Without the program alot of you all would have died, killed yourself, not delt with the abuse in your past ect... 90% of the girls sent down their have been sexually abused in their past.. overall 75% of the students are drug abusers/ gang members ect. you are not just sent there because your parents are overreacting. Their is a reason, and you are lying if you say you didnt know why before you left.. Alot of students do go back to bad habits.. Hell my best friend is drinking himself to death.. But in talking with him its because he regrets not dealing with some of his issues while he was in the program and feels guilty about it. I also know for a fact that thier are atleast 10 former students that are NOW staff members between all 3 programs..... "

"Speaking smack"? Who talks like that? Is that program jargon or some teenage slang I'm too old for?

You imply a vastly overinflated risk of untimely death to "troubled teens." (which is cult propaganda they indoctrinated you with)

The National Institutes of Mental Health says programs like Escuela Caribe do more harm than good for patients with mental illnesses. Programs like Escuela Caribe do a very poor job of screening out those patients to keep them out of their program.

No matter how "thankful" you are, you don't have the right to okay a excessively risky and unethical treatment model for someone else---and forcing people into involuntary treatment to "deal with" having been victims of sexual abuse *IS* excessively risky and unethical as hell. (the idea that this is good or even okay is cult propaganda they indoctrinated you with)

You are acting like a cult member or cult survivor whose head is still in the cult, because instead of just admitting that other people have different feelings and opinions about what happened there, you're still spouting cult propaganda and making excuses for things they did that were unethical.

Also, frequently programs force self-disclosure and self-confessions that participants make up just to get left alone. The idea that 90% of the girls *really were* sexually abused or that 75% really were gang members or had done more than a bit of *casual* drug use is cult propaganda they indoctrinated you with. In just about all defunct programs, it turns out not to have been true. In just about all programs, survivors turn up saying they were socially pressured to confess things and made deep dark secrets up to stop the pressure OR that small amounts of casual drug use were inflated by staff and exagerated by staff to be huge drug problems.

You probably don't *feel* like you're making excuses for them, or like you still believe things they told you that turn out not to have been true, but you still are and you still do.

I'm not saying you *aren't* very thankful for the program.

I am saying they told you some stuff that wasn't true--or that they had exaggerated a whole lot--so you would make excuses for them, and since you still believe it, you still are making excuses for them.

They exaggerated the risk of suicide or other death---in what they implied, without really giving you hard numbers.

They exaggerated the risk that the sexual abuse survivors would either not get *ethical* help on their own later in life *or* would not figure out some way to cope with what happened to them on their own.

They exaggerated casual drug use into a bigger problem than it was and downplayed how many people would either stop it on their own once they were out of their teens *OR* would keep it at low casual use rates if they continued it.

They exaggerated the proportion of hard-core drug addicts or alcoholics that stayed in remission after their treatment as opposed to other treatments--again, probably just by heavy implication and without giving you hard numbers.

They exaggerated all these things to inflate your feeling that you and all the others there with you were in horrible danger, and your feeling that their efforts would reduce the danger to you and all the others by a whole lot, to get you to believe that the ends justified the means and get you to make excuses for them when they did unethical things----like forcing sexual abuse victims to "deal with" their past against their free choice and with counselors they wouldn't have chosen for themselves and who weren't qualified to treat people for rape trauma.

They misled you with a lot of carefully calculated half-truths to get you to make excuses for them and think "it was necessary" or "it was for their own good" when they did unethical things to you and the other kids there.

If kids were *really* not sent there when their parents were overreacting, and if there *really* weren't treatment options or other facilities much more appropriate to any problems those kids might have, *WHY* are the programs dead set against having an independent psychiatrist and an independent licensed social worker interview each child, and look at his or her whole history, before placement and be able to agree or disagree about whether that child needs to be in a facility or not?

If the child really needs to be in not only a facility, but in a facility taking that kind of kid under that particular treatment model, then a social worker and a psychiatrist would *surely* agree that the child needed to be there, wouldn't they?

I mean, if it's so plainly obvious that the parents are NOT overreacting, why would anyone think a social worker and a psychiatrist wouldn't be able to tell the kid was so fucked up?

So if these kids are really so fucked up and in so much danger, *WHY* is it that the programs are all scared shitless at the thought of having independent professionals review the kid and the kid's whole history to make sure the placement is necessary and appropriate?

I mean, the parents have positive drug tests from the hospital for all these major druggie kids, right? If the kid's a major gang-banger, she's probably been skipping school a lot and it shows up in attendance records, or has had a huge drop in grades---I mean, you can't spend all your time out gang-banging and still get your homework done.

If the kid has really been sexually abused, wouldn't there be notes in an outpatient therapist's records (most likely), or (in rarer cases) a police report, or the parents could point to another child or children who had been abused by the same perp, or a hospital rape-kit administered, or some kind of corroborating contact with *somebody*? Even maybe an ob/gyn report corroborating sexual activity?

If there are none of these things--not even an admission to the kid's own therapist or a statement by some other adult the kid confided it to--and the kid just "admits" a past of sexual abuse in a program, isn't there a chance the kid made up something to disclose just so they'd be left alone?

If the programs are so clean, why are they so adamantly opposed to letting a totally independent psychiatrist and a totally independent social worker review the case *before* admission? Or in the 72 hour evaluation period in a hospital that they can use in almost any state to hold someone for evaluation?

It seems to me that if you're going to get a passport and spend hundreds of dollars on a plane ticket and thousands of dollars a month to pay the facility, that you can spend $200 or so for that pair of evaluations.

It seems to me that if the programs *WERE* on the up and up like you say this program was, that the programs would be enthusiastically supporting each state providing a list of qualified independent psychiatrists and social workers available to do pre-placement evaluations, for a reasonable fee, consistent with an emergency inpatient admission.

If they're so necessary and honest and helpful, why are they trying so hard to hide in the shadows?

Timoclea
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Deborah on April 20, 2005, 01:16:00 PM: ***Programs like Escuela Caribe do a very poor job of screening out those patients to keep them out of their program.

Not only do they do a poor job 'screening', they actually profess to 'treat' these things.
Look at this brand new wilderness program and what they claim to treat:
http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?to ... rt=0#95280 (http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?topic=9158&forum=9&start=0#95280)
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on April 21, 2005, 01:45:00 AM: Quote
On 2005-04-14 13:41:00, Anonymous wrote:

"I do want to say... I am a former student who is very thankful for the program.. Their are others of us that feel that way.. My graduating class I keep in contact with each and everyone of them and we all feel that way... Alot of what is posted here is CRAP.. You all are speaking smack.. Things do happen .. For instance I was scape goated by house staff.. But as soon as Administration found out they were yanked from the house and left the program. I also know of another staff member that was fired last year to protect the students down there. Without the program alot of you all would have died, killed yourself, not delt with the abuse in your past ect... 90% of the girls sent down their have been sexually abused in their past.. overall 75% of the students are drug abusers/ gang members ect. you are not just sent there because your parents are overreacting. Their is a reason, and you are lying if you say you didnt know why before you left.. Alot of students do go back to bad habits.. Hell my best friend is drinking himself to death.. But in talking with him its because he regrets not dealing with some of his issues while he was in the program and feels guilty about it. I also know for a fact that thier are atleast 10 former students that are NOW staff members between all 3 programs..... "

I don't know when you were there. I truely hope it was recently and that things have changed. I was in the DR from 88-90 then in Canada and and Marion. I finally left in 92. You were only there a year, thank God for that. Maybe you closed your eyes to the situation of others around you, I don't know. When I first "got out" I was AFRAID to say anything poor of the school. They put fear in me that has lasted. I hope that if this is what you are going thru you will be able to work thru it better than I have been able to. Seems like if it were just 1 or 2 people saying bad things you could say we were talking "smack". However, I know of at least 25 people with similar stories. Hard to believe that people who haven't been there for 15-20 years would still care so much to find these sites as adults and say these things if it was just to talk smack.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on April 25, 2005, 05:14:00 PM: I found this forum, and thank god for everyones candid discussion- disclosure about this place. i have been through all three of the NHA re-education camps canada, Escuela caribe, and marion ind.
I witnessed, in the 2 yrs i was in the DR, a programm
filled with abusive bastards with serious illusions of god-hood. I myself went there as a 13 yo, who didnt smoke, didnt drink, didnt do drugs, and wasnt sexually active. When i showed up to the dr their goal was to crush anything you believed as reality, and force you < with severe pyshical consequences>
to except their reality.

If you didnt gobble up their bullshit and smile, as if they were god himself, then let me tell you a few of the consequinces. My favorite was the Quite
Room , where you were stripped to ur underwear
forced into a cement cell with metal bars, depraived of food, forced to crap in a tin can then you had to recite bible verses, and scrubb blackened cooking pots while kneeling on the cementfloor of the QR. This would last for days.

I also liked the special punishment of "running a casita", but it wasnt the half mile run up a 50 dergree hill, it was the 3 cement blocks on each shoulder, courtesy of mr Phil Redwine himself.

The one that fucked kids up to was the being on silence. thats total silence, try being one silence for 2 weeks, during which you pissed yourself numerous times, because you couldnt say anything "like may i please use the bano" and the staff conveniently ignored the words "bano please" that youve writtin on the tablet around ur neck.

I also loved the pyshical abuse heaped upon those who dared to hold onto any thread of reality beyond the programs. I experienced it first hand, i especially loved the routine lashings that mr Phil Redwine, oh, so loved to dish out regularly whenever he needed a "pick me up".I would love to meet him in a dark alley and re-arrange his attitude on the treatment of "kids", bet ur not so tough with my hi-tech boot on ur forehead Phil.

Anyway as far as the program helping kids, thats a load of bs. Of the people that i had knew there
92-95 and that i have looked up recently. a few are dead from unatural causes , a few are in jail for life terms, and others are just floating around trying to survive. I'm not saying that the NHA is responsible for everything that has happened to a lot us, but as far as a track record goes..substandard at best. Parents beware this place is not what Tim Blossom describes to you,
and when ur kids come bak a wee bit "twisted"
im sure they will really thank you.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Thomas on May 02, 2005, 10:17:00 PM: We are not lying about why we were sent there.
1)our parents were failures at their own goals.
2)they assumed a more militant and authoritarian Christianity would keep us in line.
3)we were living unchristian lives.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 10, 2005, 04:57:00 PM: I am Jon Burchel.

I was in the Dominican Republic and in Marion. The allegations of abuse which I have heard are all from people whom I also know to have been, and currently to REMAIN, in many cases (Gil Meyersdorf, Josh Sierk, Julia Scheeres) pathological liars, or supporters of them, even knowingly, because the lies they spew can help their agenda, which is to avenge an old gruge because they never grew up and REALIZED why they were down there in the first place, and what they needed to do to move on and live a better life than they had before.

They have this huge forum over at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Escuela_Caribe/ (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Escuela_Caribe/).

I joined, because a friend referred me and I thought it was an alumni group, you know, get in touch with old friends, reminisce about the fun we had and the comardarie, what not, the staff members we still miss to this day, and love....

But what I found was a bunch of pathetic whiners, mostly, and some well intentioned but misled innocents as well, but at the head of that beast over there, Julia Scheeres, bitter, hateful and raging and stuck on abuses she imagines but never experienced - I was there with the bat. Her and Josh Sierk are batty as hell, and are bent on revenge against their hated enemies. But the one who takes the cake over there is Gil. Read this below, an account of how Gil deceieved me for craven purposes and cruelly, to try to advance his pathetic agenda against the only people who ever could have helped him, most likely. Now apparently he lives in a fantasy world where he works for the Mossad and deals in anti-terrorism work. Yet, his email exchanges with me revealed him to be vastly ignorant of most basic network security knowledge, and as he demonstrated himself to be capable of any degree of deception, I no longer trust ANYTHING he says about himself, AND ESPECIALLY those lies he and his pals have spewed about the place that saved my life.

I love New Horizons, and thank them, even though they are made of humans, and every human makes errors. When they did, though, they were corrected, addressed. They were fair, and full of integrity.

Here is my testimony against Gil to that forum, which was removed by Julia and Josh and he immediately thereafter, and I have remained banned ever since while Gil spews lies that he has been hacked and I am spoofing the whole thign. I offered legal proof of the entire exchange, including originating computers, timestamps and content. He didn't bother to respond, merely attacked me again. Josh attacked also, interestingly, without bothering to request any sign of the proof I offered freely (and still do). Julia, she is the White Queen over there, the head of their politburo, and made the "call" to just ban me AND remove the relevant posts... Such a nasty affair, rather just move on (well, except from those percieved abuses they made up from decades ago).

Here's the original post:

This is my final post in your forum. I do wish you all the best (those who did not deceive me at least)!

I cannot believe it! The level some people will stoop to.

Last night, I was moved. I read quickly a note the housefather on here had written, that he was going to bed and had put the kids down. It was touching to me, I remembered how it was, the camaraderie of the house, something I have never had much before or since, sadly for me. :`( But anyway, boo hoo.. So I was writing an email privately to thank the house father for his work there and also for his commitment to be in the forum, which I think is good and kind, and shows he is committed to the kids who are gone, not just the kids he is serving now. But somehow, I got the wrong address?

Normally, when I email to the wrong address, the person will email back, tell me I got it wrong.

But no, Gilly Gil didn?t do that. He asked me who I thought he was. So I said, innocently, ?the house father?. And he proceeded to ensnare me in a long conversation as though he were the house father. Many of his initial responses in email were consistent with what I would expect a house father to say, encouragement for my walk with God, etc.

But then he started talking about what must be done to stop these people. My advice to him, my ?dastardly plan? to ?thwart you guys?? It was to allow things to proceed exactly as they are, and trust the truth is found out on its own by God?s hand. Pretty nasty stuff, huh? Oh yeah, lest I forget, I also suggested? hide the kids? that New Horizons might establish an official alumni site open to all former staff and students period, and where the only rules are no profanity, basic decency (none of which I EVER violated in here, despite your continual cries that I attacked you, I just made arguments contrary to your positions generally, I have reread all my posts, but never mind the truth, right, if it is inconvenient for your agenda?)

But I guess Gil wasn?t satisfied with that. He replied that yes, this was already being worked on (whatever that meant) by someone else, but they needed me for a special job, they had been praying for someone. Well, this seems just right up my alley, New Horizons needed me for work, and I have retired for the most part now, and do not much but play around and surf the web and work out, so have hoped and prayed fervently for some purpose in my life, something to do you know, that could matter, beyond just for myself. So I thought this might be God giving me an opportunity to serve. Of course, then, I replied, YES, whatever they needed of me, I would love to help the program. But I admitted, I didn?t know how I could help them. I told him my wealth is limited and I cannot make large donations if I intend to live out my days in peace without going broke, so what could I do? I told him I am ok with words, good at arguing, and persuasive sometimes, maybe I can testify in court if they bring lawsuits against the program which are frivolous, I volunteered to do that, to write letters of recommendation for the program reflecting my own experience, whatever!

But still, old Gilly Gil wasn?t satisfied? He probed further, was elusive in his language, trying to ensnare me. I will post the entire transcript of our exchange last night if anyone doubts it, and I can prove it all, the records are in the network permanently and irretrievably, much to Gil?s lame realization, only too late.

Now, in these emails to the ?house father?, I was being emotional as I tend to be, you know? I confessed my sin, told him I was not sure I could actually serve the program in any productive way, as I am mired in my sins, which I have mentioned previously, and am unable to do much but please myself it seems, as far as for God. I was speaking from the heart. Apparently Gilly Gil thought that was cute, because he kept on going.

He told me I should start deleting my emails between us. This raised a red flag, or should have, but it was by then late, and I figured, maybe I am ignorant, there are people who are seeking to do harm that are more serious and dastardly than anything I had imagined, who knew? At any rate, this gullible fool me did not hesitate long enough, I consented, started deleting the emails (from my local machine, luckily, only). I didn?t really take it seriously, I mean, I know how the net works, but I thought, if it makes him happy that I did, maybe that is fine, I will honor his request.

But then he started saying how they wanted someone to strike God?s wrath on ?these people?. So I was very disturbed. I immediately replied I did not understand what he could mean, what he could be referring to, that God would never have me violate the law, etc. But I agreed, sure, within the bounds of the law (meaning in the arena of ideas, as we live in a civil society and everybody knows that), I would do all I could to thwart what in some cases I see as being unjust attacks on those who are doing God?s work.

Immediately, of course, he backed off, he realized my character could not be tricked by his stupid ploy, and it was pointless. He then just proceeded to try to make me feel as though New Horizons was rejecting my service, because I didn?t ?make the grade?, just told me they were very concerned about me and would pray Satan did not take me back, etc., that he could not believe I would imagine they would ever suggest such a thing as violate the law (what else could ?deliver God?s wrath? have meant, jerk?) and then stopped replying to all my emails suddenly. I was distraught, he had told me in the previous emails that they were ?rejoicing? over finding me to help them in some unique way for which only I appeared to be qualified. I figured they were dazzled by my blazingly brilliant intellect, wanted me to do something with that. I was disappointed, they just were looking for a hit man or something??! Buddha on a stick!! What was I to think? I loved these people and thought they were righteous? I finally just went to bed.

In the morning, still, no reply from old tricky Gilly Gil. I was very sad. I thought I had blown my chance to serve in some unique way, but also, I was confused, why would the people I had trusted try to ensnare me in some evil apparently, doing something to harm people who disagreed with the program or whatnot. But then it hit me, in the very beginning, Gil had asked who I thought he was. I just said, ?the housefather?, and trusted the person I was speaking to was not a pathological liar. Obviously that was a serious mistake, and I was very naïve? I checked the email out, ran through the history of more posts than I had previously (there are thousands of them, you can?t expect I have read every single one on my first couple days, I just read recent ones at first, but quite a few of them, just was not following closely who was who, didn?t realize I would need to be careful, you know). I realized Gil is opposed to the program. I realized he was no house father. He was tricking me cruelly and callously and cravenly to try to ensnare and twist the truth, a deceiver in every way!

I proceeded to verbally tear old Gil a new asshole via emails, if you?ll pardon the term (but I was not the first member of your esteemed forum to introduce this language, recall, just the first one to be chastised for my style of writing and insulted over and over and condescended to with shallow apologies that admitted no real offense, only perception or ?lack of patience for fools?). To which he replied lamely that his email ?appeared to have been hijacked?, and to follow that with threats that I have ?violated several laws? and he will try to prosecute me in Canada and ?inform the authorities?. Ok, Gilly Gil, whatever you say? He even said I had agreed to commit terrorist acts! Hahaha Obviously not realizing I have a full transcript of our entire conversation, and have no reason to fear whatsoever.

If anyone doubts, I can post the entire pathetic conversation with timestamps, IP addresses, for proof, I am happy to, I could even get Google to provide a sworn affidavit that it is not altered from what is stored in their server cluster if anyone demands it, sure. :wink: Would just take some time, and I?m not paying for it if it costs anything, you will have to pay, as the inquisitor.

But this should go a long way to illustrate for any of the willing, that the people most opposed to the program in here may be willing to do things, even distort the truth or lie outright, or hurt someone?s feelings without even caring (as Gil did mine with his petty deception) in order to advance an agenda against perceived abuses which are petty compared to actual abuses going on all around us in the world every day, just to try to get revenge, I still allege that is the real motivation for much of what I have seen here. Allison is an exception, some others, but the dominant negative posters appear bent on revenge, IMHO.

So curse me, sure. ?Stand up for yourself? all you want Josh, I am not trying to attack you anyway, I never did once. It was all of you who attacked me, while sidestepping all my arguments, dismissing them as boring or clutter in your glorious pristine email inboxes. You are all whitewashed sepulchers, I swear, nothing ever changes in this world, not in 6000 years?

But the world is changing soon, and I will welcome a better day when it arrives. You will all benefit from it too, deserve it or not, if you live that long. J

Gil, you are FAT and UGLY in that picture of you which you posted. Figures somebody that ugly would grow up to be a pathological liar.

Jon
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 10, 2005, 05:04:00 PM: I'm not a user of this system, but I am not afraid to tell you I am Jon Burchel, in the DR as a student in 90-91, in Marion in 91. See my post above.

All the claims of abuse are being made by anonymous posters...

If you expect ANYONE to believe you, you should put your money where your mouths are and sign affidavits, or at least put your pathetic NAMES on your posts?! Hell people!

I was never abused, I never witnessed abuse except for one borderline situation, and that house father was fired and disgraced when the facts came to light (because I later went to another staff member who promptly reported it up the chain of command in the program's hierarchy of authority, as he should have)

Pathetic jokes, these bitter people who refused to grow when they had the chance, now they are calcified in 13 year old minds, most of them...

Jon Burchel
UNAFRAID AND TELLING THE TRUTH AND PROUD OF IT
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 10, 2005, 08:11:00 PM: Hey John, hows it going? I think I might know you, are you from North Carolina currently living in Vancouver? I am a colleague in the tech industry... good to see you are doing well.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 10, 2005, 10:43:00 PM: Yes, that's me. :smile:
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 10, 2005, 10:45:00 PM: Dre, I know you, it is Jon Burchel, we were there together the whole time, and you know damn well you were never abused nor ever saw any. You are so overblown, you just have to have a pet cause, nothing has changed since way back then. Grow up girl! Move on, the program wasn't fun, but it was good for us, and even for you, although you'd never admit it...

Sheesh! Some people...
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Jewels on May 11, 2005, 12:56:00 AM: Jon, I am a member to the group and know how you acted. I was nothing but friendly to you. You and I never argued. However, this attack to Dre is unfounded. Dre and I were never close, but we were in TKB together. I did witness the encounter she mentioned. She was new and I was on 2nd level I think. She also witnessed some of the things I went thru at the hands of the same housefather. I will never say all staff was bad. However, you didn't live in the house with her so you cannot say what she went thru with her housefather.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 11, 2005, 09:04:00 PM: Quote
On 2005-05-10 19:45:00, Anonymous wrote:

"Move on, the program wasn't fun, but it was good for us, and even for you, although you'd never admit it..."

That is one of the dumber statements I've come across on these boards. Although, there are many.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 12, 2005, 07:35:00 PM: jon, i am to tell you that i am not hiding..my name is Thomas H. i was in both the dr, and the sister school in marion ind. I read your ranting and raving above and it seems that you are going to need some serious therapy to help you come to grips with what you actually experienced at that place, denial is the first step isnt it.. i dont know when you where there but as far as saying these personal accounts are unfounded is pretty judgemental and shows your own "calcified opinion" in the fact that you atest that everyone is lying.. ! do honestly think that grown adults are going to have nothing better to do with their time than make
unfounded accusations about a place where children are possibly mistreated? i think you need to take a moment for a reality check.
i mean hmm when ther is smoke there might be a fire..its worth investigating, or does that thought petrify you, having to re-live the situations that occured down there and possibly admit that you were a victim, but in order to do that you would have to admit you were powerless at the time...which you obviously have issues with admitting. but anyway i am glad you posted the other website, as a former student i look forward to meeting others there who did go through similar
experiences. anyway jon good luck, and i hope your life isnt as seathing with hatred as you post is.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Jewels on May 13, 2005, 03:15:00 AM: I am so tired of the nightmares. It seems that they are a never ending jumble or short movies. I continue to dream of having to run after the motorcycle up Pico. I don't dare be more than an arms length away. The "monster" driving is laughing. When I catch up he sprouts wings, it is impossible to stay close. I end up running speed drills at the peak. Then I am doing pushups while he keeps his foot on my back pushing me down. Tonite I woke up my body aching like I was really running etc. What I wouldn't do for a good nights sleep without my ex-housefather invading my dreams. Will this ever end????
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 13, 2005, 03:25:00 AM: :sad:
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Timoclea on May 13, 2005, 10:05:00 AM: Yeah, the nightmares come less often as you deal with the problems and go on.

I had different reasons for my nightmares, but BTDT.

Keep dealing with the problems and the nightmares will eventually lighten up.

Hang in there.

Timoclea
Neither in my private life nor in my writings, have I ever made a secret of being an out-and-out unbeliever.
--Sigmund Freud, Austrian-born psychologist
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Antigen on May 13, 2005, 01:08:00 PM: I think that's true, Tim. As I started to better understand the what fors and whys of the whole thing and get affirmation that I wasn't the only one in the room who thought the whole thing was entirely messed up, the dreams became less frequent.

On the down side, the Program is not a new and unique sort of human behavior. If you understand it, you'll see aspects of it in other of life's trials and travails. So then I started having Program type dreams mixed w/ elements of somewhat related current events. :roll: Those ones are not recurring or haunting, though. One viewing is enough to illustrate the connection and I don't have the same dreams over and over.
I am married, not Buried !
-- Steve Webb
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 13, 2005, 10:52:00 PM: "I think you also misunderstand the type of students that we have here. These are not your typical well-adjusted (more or less) high school students. These students have already rejected a relationship with their parents and are involved in highly destructive activities"

This is pathetic. I was in the program from 97 to summer of 98, both Canada and the DR. I was a smart kid, who started varsity in 2 sports his freshman year. I got sent to hell for a blunt roach..... Where unqualified people make up "issues" so they can get your parents money for long as possible.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Antigen on May 14, 2005, 01:02:00 AM: Quote
On 2005-05-13 19:52:00, Anonymous wrote:

Where unqualified people make up "issues" so they can get your parents money for long as possible."

No, understnd this. That's not why they make up ussues. The lowlife ground level bots don't get the payoff. And they are the ones who make up your issues. They believe, because they have their own issues. What they get from the parents, somitimes in the form of cash money, is adulation. That's the blood life of these vampires.

How can we take that away?
Religion is a byproduct of fear. For much of human history, it may have been a necessary evil, but why was it more evil than necessary? Isn't killing people in the name of God a pretty good definition of insanity?
--Arthur C. Clarke, author
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Dre on May 14, 2005, 01:34:00 PM: This is in response to whether or not abuse occured.

Worst Abuse I witnessed:
2 girls molested in my house by a house father.
1 girl who pissed on herself because the same housefather thought she was being "manipulative" when she asked to use the bano (for nine hours straight).
Another girl physically forced into pushups up and down by a 300 pound man----leaving bruises on her sides the next day
Hours spent in push-up position myself, sometimes with fellow students for house punishment..once cuz a spatula was misplaced (horrors!)..muscles screaming for a break, but only a fool would give in...hurt to laugh for days.
As a highranker having to physically inspect lowrankers to make sure their privates were soaped...this edict came down because one of the girls apparently did not wash herself well (might have had something to do with 3 minute showers)...so all were punished. It was sexually humiliating on both sides. The hf who assigned this duty later became assistant director.
Students with obvious mental health issues who had their problems addressed as character flaws...and remained on low levels the entire time they were there...

these are only the worst scenarios.

I guess abuse is relative to the individual's "reality"...however when my parents sent me away for 3000/mo they assumed I would at least get adequate medical care...did not happen...I entered "the program" very ill and still had to go thru all the daily drills..My sickness was ignored. That alone was traumatizing, and that occurred before the above situations further traumatized me.

There are many instances of students not receiving adequate medical care documented on this site and the other.

[ This Message was edited by: Dre on 2005-05-16 19:00 ]
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 14, 2005, 07:08:00 PM: I was a student in 96, 97, and 98. I was sexually abused before I was sent to the Dominican Republic when I was still in Marion by a housefather that had just come up with a group of DR kids.It was the first summer they kept the Marion school open (96). Honestly, it was horrible to have something like that happen when you are told to trust those people. I told my 4th leveler and she didnt believe me. In fact, she 'told on me' in her nightly comments. His wife, the housemother, went crazy. Honestly, it was so horrible. No one believed me and I didnt know what to do. The program just became a worse hell than it previously was for me. Now here is where it gets interesting. The investigators said with my past, there was no way he would be convicted on just my word. So, Tim Blossom went to the jail and convinced Rob to admit what he had done to me, in spite of what that would do to the program's reputation. He knew I would have never been right or gotten help if everyone thought i had lied. Things were never the same at Marion after he confessed. I was treated weird by everyone so I went to the Dominican Republic. They also took the fact that I had been sexually abused by my housefather out of my file so no one in the DR knew it was me. I later found out Eric, my DR housefather did know. Anyway, I was reading all these accusations and wanted to put in my two cents. I would not be a college graduate (or even a high school graduate for that matter) with a lot going for me had I never been in the program. Dont get me wrong, I still have nightmares constantly about the program and dont think they will ever fully go away. But I do know that it got me out of a lot of trouble even if I dont agree with thier methods.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 14, 2005, 07:57:00 PM: Quote

Another member who had a porn habit and was close to the original molester Kerwin begged forgiveness. Phil let him stay on....when this 2nd staff member,RG, went to Marion, he got caught making out with a female student. Because he was in the States, he was actually prosecuted.

I was just reading this after my initial posting just below and I almost wish I had read this before saying anything. He was NOT 'making out' with a female student. I know... I was her. Please check your facts before you say things as seeing that posted makes me very upset!
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Timoclea on May 14, 2005, 11:57:00 PM: I'm very sorry that that happened to you.

Timoclea
In order to live free and happily you must sacrifice boredom. It is not always an easy sacrifice.
-- Richard Bach
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Dre on May 15, 2005, 10:12:00 AM: The incident I am referring to happened to someone I knew who entered the program in 91. Maybe there was more than one incident? I don't know.

I am very sorry that happened to you. I will admit that as far as RG being a molester what I know is secondhand. I sincerely apologize for offending you and for possibly getting the facts wrong.

Being in the DR where we had no voice and where girls were preyed upon in my house was very frightening for me. I had a string of abusive hfs that stayed for short periods of time. Attracting qualified (well non-abusive...b/c the housestaff do not have to be certified) people is one of the program's downfalls. That NHA kept on someone who had a history of looking at pornography (1990) and later made him a hf in a female household particularly when so many girls had sexual abuse issues was blatantly irresponsible...and it is no wonder that later on this man molested someone. I regret that it happened to you.

I am glad that you were helped by the program. Not everyone was. Once again I am very very sorry about your experience.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: JB on May 15, 2005, 12:06:00 PM: No, it's okay. Like I said, it was very hard for me up until the point he admitted it b/c everybody thought that I was lying. Maybe that is why I overreacted when I read that comment. I understand how rumors go, especially in a place like the program where no one can speak freely. And I had NO IDEA that RG had a history in the program with those things. That angers me to a whole new level that they let him stay. I guess the program will never cease to amaze me!

I have been reading everybody's comments and other than RG, I feel like I must have been lucky in my hfs. No one else did anything like that to me. In fact, two of the staff in the DR got married when they left, and about a year after I was out, I was alone on Thanksgiving, so they invited me to fly out and spend it with them, which I did. Although the program did help me, I DO understand how everyone feels. It was the absolute worst experience of my life, even if necessary. I kept in touch with a few people and watched them fall apart after we got out. And I still kinda blame the program for it.

I still have dreams where I am back in the DR and I can't get out. Do any of you dream that you are back there as opposed to flashbacks? Some family and friends suggested I go to Jarabacoa and visit the school and voluntarily 'leave' as theraputic so to convince myself that I can't be trapped there anymore. However, I really dont think I could be there again. Does anybody else think they COULD go back, even just to visit?
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Jewels on May 15, 2005, 10:50:00 PM: I think I could visit. Just for that reason, I could leave at any time. I have even considere taking a vacation to the DR and visiting with my family. I know they would only let us see what they want us to, so I wouldn't expose my family to something abusive. Don't think I will ever be able to afford it, but have thought of it.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 16, 2005, 08:35:00 AM: I think your reaction is completely natural. You were being preyed upon by an abuser, and even your highranker did not believe you. You read a story that appeared to make light of your abuse, and you became angry. It is okay.

No wonder M freaked out (in 96)---she knew what was going on. She had seen it before.

When I found out they kept on an abuser, it made me even more disgusted with the program. There are no checks and balances there...a student is powerless. I remember being just miserable there with different abusive hfs...and my reaction was similar when I found out they kept him on after having a warning (pornography---not a Christian value!). I was very angry. When I knew RG he was just a teacher...not a hf in a girls' house. Putting him in a girls' house was blatantly irresponsible...hence you were abused, as well as others. That never should have happened. It made me very sad to hear of it...and sadder when I actually read a post from someone who had experienced abuse from him firtshand.

I would love to go back to the DR and visit the country. I know I would be persona non grata on campus...but I think it would be great to sneak up the backside of the mountain to the pine forests. The pine forests were my favorite place.

I used to have bad nightmares a lot. they have tapered off as I work through my issues. It is part of having Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which many students struggle with.

Alot of staff there were (are?) good. Understand I am not blatantly saying that there are no caring staff. But the way the program is set up there are no checks and balances ( no unmonitored phone calls, mail or visitors) so abuse occurs. Same thing happened in the stanford prison experiment in 1970(?). If a staff member has an unstable personality (many of those), the students pay the price.

Plus they label us students as rebellious or bad...which gives unstable members the amoral latitude to hurt kids. It also does a number on your self esteem.

The program is also a boot camp facility, which research says does not work. No wonder many kids bomb out when they return home.

That's the main problem with teen (mis)treatment. Most of what they use to treat us is not research driven. And because we were children we had no rights.

There are more people on the other site....
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Escuela_Caribe/ (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Escuela_Caribe/)
There have also been problems there too...disagreements b/w group members, etc., but I know there are several people there from your time. You might want to check that out. It is good to reconnect with old friends.

Some people there were really hurt by the program and are blatantly against it; others praise it. At times people are intolerant. I think we all have problems communicating---it is only natural after being banished to a 3rd world country during adolescence, which is a critical developmental stage in one's personality. So basically it is not a perfect place, but it is a place where former students can check in and discuss their experiences. There are several students from your time there.

Hope to see you there.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: JB on May 16, 2005, 05:09:00 PM: Thanks for the kind words! Yeah, MG was a very nice woman. I had actually gotten pretty close to her in the few weeks I had been there. Another thing that you said about how she had seen it before makes sense b/c she DID believe me and kept yelling at him. Again, knowing now about his prior behavior totally fits into everything. I am still very angry with the fact that they let him stay AND moved him to a girls' housefather. That was extremely innappropriate! I have been thinking of this more lately and another thing that struck me as funny was I remember being so upset and concerned that they would take my 'grace week' away from me! Priorities right?

I would love to go to the DR again, i just dont know if i could. I studied spanish in college and will be getting my global business minor. I have always been interested in the culture since i was there. I look over my pictures all the time. I also took my journal from the DR when i left and read through that all the time. But those are more candid since we had to turn them in to our counselor. I remember one time i drew a picture of our work week and us digging ditches and picking and all that. I had a session about my bad attitude because of my cartoon!

Yeah, I saw that yahoo group link and i went to look at it. It said that you have to sign up and be approved so I went ahead and applied and am just waiting for a response. I did notice a few names that I knew from my time there and am excited to possibly talk to people again!
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Dre on May 16, 2005, 09:52:00 PM: You had a session? Swats? for drawing a cartoon?

That is so ridiculous!

Yeah, journals were a joke because you knew not to be real in them cuz if you were then you could get in trouble...at least that was what I sensed so my journals are just vague descriptions of day to day activities, with me occasionally skirting around issues that bothered me, but not really. It was hard for me to be censored like that because I journaled since I was young...I did not write for years after I left the program, basically until I went into therapy a few years ago.

Of course, having journals read
(and being possibly punished for their content) completely destroys any sort of therapeutic value one could muster from such an activity.

MG was a nice woman. I hear she is remarried; I hope happily.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Jewels on May 17, 2005, 02:10:00 AM: Could we ever be honest? Our journals would betray us, but so would the other people around us. Not that they necessarily wanted to, they had to to improve there own situation. Even when I tried to be honest I knew it couldn't be the whole truth. The ONE time I tried to talk openly, it backfired. I think I did open up in Canada, but only with a select few. You were damned if you did and damned if you didn't. If you were honest you had a "bad attitude" if you weren't, "you weren't facing reality".
:silly:
enough to drive a person crazy
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: JB on May 17, 2005, 08:42:00 AM: MG remarried? That would be great for her. I hope she is happy. She really didnt deserve the situation she found herself in.

Yeah, my journals are day to day events and complete crap. But so are all my letters in and out. They are stupid. I was constantly being told to rewrite letters to my family for one reason or another.

So, i like the other yahoo group too. I just got into it yesterday. This is funny. I havent spoken to anyone in years and now i check both places before i even go to work!

Have a Great Day Everyone!
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 17, 2005, 02:21:00 PM: "These are not your typical well-adjusted (more or less) high school students. These students have already rejected a relationship with their parents and are involved in highly destructive activities (e.g., gangs, drug use or distribution, suicide attempts, living on the streets). Believe me, we want these kids to have a relationship with their family, and the "psychological disorientation" produced by "culture shock" is an important ingredient in helping the students to realize that they want to have a relationship with their family. We try to keep the environment as non-institutional as possible: students live in "houses" with houseparents. The key to success here is relationship and love. These kids (and families) have already had therapy (although we do that too), and it hasn't worked. We believe that it is through loving relationships that these kids will change."

I was in the DR and Canada, I got sent there for smoking weed, which i still enjoy doing from time to time. I never had any prior counseling. I am 25 now and just completed my masters degree. I fronted my way through the program and completed so much school work my parents pulled me so I wouldnt graduate high school from a boot camp. I was pretty much a perminent zero leveler, who was given so many bullshit "issues" to work on by unqualified staff members. Shit, I was forced to teach myself calculus there when I was 16 and I got disciplined (swats and casitas) for falling behind with 8 terms a month. The program is a scam, that gives unresponsible parents a way to even be more unresponsible. It might work for some extreme kids, but definetly not the majority that go there
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Jewels on May 22, 2005, 11:34:00 PM: On my way to church this morning. I couldn't help but think of sitting in church in the DR and listening to the cock fights just down the road. My kids didn't get it ... they don't even know what a cock fight is.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Antigen on May 23, 2005, 12:23:00 AM: Quote
On 2005-05-17 11:21:00, Anonymous wrote:

""These are not your typical well-adjusted (more or less) high school students.

Oh? Do tell

Quote
These students have already rejected a relationship with their parents

Who may well be lunatics and/or assholes.

Quote
and are involved in highly destructive activities (e.g., gangs, drug use or distribution, suicide attempts, living on the streets).

e.g. moodiness, acne, shyness, depression (see above) or just listening to devil music or making new friends.

Quote
Believe me, we want these kids to have a relationship with their family,

Believe you?! Your actions speak so loud, I can't hear what you're saying!

Quote
and the "psychological disorientation" produced by "culture shock" is an important ingredient in helping the students to realize that they want to have a relationship with their family.

We'll treat the little fucker so bad while they're down here, they'll feel priviledged to sleep on a straw mat at the foot of your bed if you want!

Quote
We try to keep the environment as non-institutional as possible: students live in "houses" with houseparents.

The environment? Or just the language? Noninstitutional? How about non-pow-camp? :rofl: It's not like I've never heard anything about the place!

Quote
These kids (and families) have already had therapy (although we do that too), and it hasn't worked. We believe that it is through loving relationships that these kids will change."

Loving relationships? What about all the scrubbing and labour? Give me a friggen break!

Quote

I was in the DR and Canada, I got sent there for smoking weed, which i still enjoy doing from time to time. I never had any prior counseling. I am 25 now and just completed my masters degree. I fronted my way through the program and completed so much school work my parents pulled me so I wouldnt graduate high school from a boot camp. I was pretty much a perminent zero leveler, who was given so many bullshit "issues" to work on by unqualified staff members. Shit, I was forced to teach myself calculus there when I was 16 and I got disciplined (swats and casitas) for falling behind with 8 terms a month. The program is a scam, that gives unresponsible parents a way to even be more unresponsible. It might work for some extreme kids, but definetly not the majority that go there "
"I predict, Sir, that you will die either by hanging or of some vile disease."
"That all depends, sir, upon whether I embrace your principles or your mistress."
--Disraeli to Gladstone
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on May 24, 2005, 01:23:00 AM: Past students have set up a web site so others can visit and learn more about the abuse at New Horizons Youth Ministries.

NHYM is currently trying to get this site off due to the fact that they feel the truth is slander.

Please visit http://www.nhym-alumni.com (http://www.nhym-alumni.com) and take a peak at what happened to some.

Gil
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: crazycatliz on June 01, 2005, 09:17:00 PM: Thankyou, antigen, that is just what I needed to hear. :smile:
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: crazycatliz on June 01, 2005, 09:22:00 PM: That is very meaningful, but how are we supposed to believe you if you are anonymous?
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: crazycatliz on June 01, 2005, 09:31:00 PM: Jon, you know me. It's Elizabeth. Email me about it if you want. I was abused. Dre and Jewels saw it happened. We saw other things at the house, too. You must have had a good house father. You know, some things go on at the house that no one else knows about. Did you ever think of that? These aren't lies. :exclaim:
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on June 08, 2005, 01:50:00 AM: I thought she worked for Falcon Ridge as Director
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: clnethery on June 10, 2005, 01:31:00 AM: So, everyone else is lying then, is that it? All the students (and the one who is writing the book), that's just fiction, uh? They just don't have anything better to do with their time, 15 some years later?

You aren't honestly suggesting that a visit, in the capacity of a visitor allows you the same perspective as being a child taken away from country, family, friends, etc...are you? I am married to a former student. I have seen FIRST HAND the horrific damage the program has done, how it has affected my husband, emotionally, physically, spiritually. It is devastating. I am infuriated by people such as yourself who speak so irresponsibly about something you obviously have extremely little knowledge of. Do you know what children need? Love. Compassion. Discipline. Structure. Empathy. None of this was apparent to my husband, who suffered for 21 months. Let me tell you one thing that my husband did gain from his experience. He knows how to be a loving, good father. How did he learn this? Certainly not from the program. It is because of the abuse he suffered at the hands of so-called "professionals" or "Christians," that he is more determined than ever to never allow our boys to be hurt in the horrific way he was. If you have such conviction about New Horizons, why don't you have the character to give your name?? :wstupid:
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on June 10, 2005, 12:22:00 PM: Quote
On 2005-06-09 22:31:00, clnethery wrote:

"So, everyone else is lying then, is that it? All the students (and the one who is writing the book), that's just fiction, uh? They just don't have anything better to do with their time, 15 some years later?

You aren't honestly suggesting that a visit, in the capacity of a visitor allows you the same perspective as being a child taken away from country, family, friends, etc...are you? I am married to a former student. I have seen FIRST HAND the horrific damage the program has done, how it has affected my husband, emotionally, physically, spiritually. It is devastating. I am infuriated by people such as yourself who speak so irresponsibly about something you obviously have extremely little knowledge of. Do you know what children need? Love. Compassion. Discipline. Structure. Empathy. None of this was apparent to my husband, who suffered for 21 months. Let me tell you one thing that my husband did gain from his experience. He knows how to be a loving, good father. How did he learn this? Certainly not from the program. It is because of the abuse he suffered at the hands of so-called "professionals" or "Christians," that he is more determined than ever to never allow our boys to be hurt in the horrific way he was. If you have such conviction about New Horizons, why don't you have the character to give your name?? :wstupid: "

Is this Chris N.wife in Chicago? If so tell him to get in contact with Gil.
Also, the people that support the school and do not give there names are usually staff members and hopefully they will see that they are abusing children.

The new website about NHYM is back online feel free to drop by. http://www.nhym-alumni.com (http://www.nhym-alumni.com)

peace,
Gil
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: crazycatliz on August 29, 2005, 12:57:00 PM: Jon, you do not know what you were talking about. you were notup in that house with us at night. Deirdre saw ME be abused as well as others, so give it up!

--Elizabeth :flame:
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on December 22, 2005, 01:47:00 AM: The website "The Truth About New Horizons Youth Ministries" has moved:

~~http://nhym-alumni.com/ (http://nhym-alumni.com/)~~

http://http://nhym-alumni.org/

Please update your bookmarks!
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on February 23, 2006, 12:57:00 PM: just e-mail me at [email protected]. I'm beginning to use this address just to disseminate info about the evil which goes on at Escuela Caribe and the other NHYM locations. My girlfriend is a survivor of 2 1/2 years there, and is still recovering from PTSD 10 years later. It has become my life goal to shut them down. Please write to ask me anything, or to help in the upcoming fight. I promise to answer all inquiries.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on February 26, 2006, 07:41:00 PM: i would have to agree that bitterness does win out, i was there for two years as well and although some of the staff were really cool, i feel that the way things were handled sometimes was humiliating and wrong.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on February 26, 2006, 07:52:00 PM: hi, i just read your blog. You might want to be careful what you assume about everyone who is sent to new horizons. I was never into drugs or alcohol or any of that stuff. I was also a virgin. don't believe me, thats ok because i know the truth. I was sent away by Aunt when I was sixteen years old. I was homeschooled my whole life and lived with my four older cousins. I couldn't get along with my relatives, so I was sent away to NYM. I got up on the level system quickly. I was sent to the D.R. right before my eighteenth birthday when I was on fourth level! Talk about tramatizing. I do think that there are some who fit the catagory, but unfortunately there are some who don't belong in the category of troubled youth. I feel a bit cheated of child hood and am obviously dealing with this, probably why I am on this website. haha. suggestion, don't judge before you know who you are dealing with.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on March 16, 2006, 11:29:00 AM: I just read "Jesus Land" about Julia Scheeres's time at Escuela Caribe, and it's quite haunting. I recommend it!
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Para on April 27, 2006, 01:17:00 PM: Gil:
Kontaktieren Sie mich. Sie gut? Wo sind Sie? Erwidern Sie auf Deutsch oder Englisch. Ich hatte in Bayern gelebt.
Ihr alter Klassenkamerad von Escula Caribe,
Nick
[email protected]
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on September 19, 2006, 03:59:54 PM: Having been a "student " in this "outfit", one day, having been 21 years ago , decided to click on Escuela Caribe and literally ached
to read the Alumni Q&A on www.nhym-alumni.org (http://www.nhym-alumni.org). Now I am an Aliumni with a Q&A that is posted ( at this time: 09 /19/06, still waiting) describing some of my events that happened.
At this particular time at the end of this month , there is to be a Founder's Day , commemorating Gordon Blossom , the one who deceived me about this "program" and are going to picket with concerns as to the physical and emotional abuse , humiliation, demoralization, etc that this oppressor bestows. I have major concerns as to the interior of this outfit as they express pictures of happiness, unity, etc- contrary to what actually occurs on the exterior, and some of the aftermath(s) have literally caused drug overdoses, and other things that makes a former, relapse.
I hope they do shut down, only to be replaced by an organization/ church that is accountable and is known for being a "true church", because the populus getting in touch with this organization will again have opinions that can be attributed to the Jim and Tammy Fay scandel, Waco, and other examples contrary to the "true" God that we try to represent.
I am doing something to try to hopefully bring fruition and give a better ending to this saga of conflict and controversy ,so it may be a scenario that brings people to a further personal understanding . I would appreciate those prayers of those who do believe and know what I am talking about and maybe help in supporting this cause once it hopefully gets to a point where it is revolutionizing . To end , this is what I really think of the place.... :evil:

Quote from: ""cherish wisdom""
Escuela Caribe sounds like another extremely abusive BMP. Terrorize and remove children from their entire support system including thier families. Hopefully this place will also be shut down. Antigen: How long has this place been

around - is it associated with teen help or another organization?

Atmosphere: It is necessary to have a sound and wholesome atmosphere to re-establish order in one?s life. The tranquil, quiet setting of Escuela Caribe is set far away from the pervasive influences in American society; the materialism, social ills, negative peers, and the power struggles in one?s family. Students are able to work , play, and grow in a peaceful atmosphere.

Culture Shock: Culture shock is a form of psychological disorientation produced by a sudden and complete change in one?s cultural environment. The effect is proportional to the contrast between the individual?s normal cultural milieu and that in which they are subsequently immersed. A change in climate, racial differences, geographical surroundings, mode of transportation, diet, friends, daily routines, coinage, and language all tend to make adolescents remarkably more dependent upon others for direction and emotional support. This also renders them more malleable and capable of new perspectives. This condition greatly enhances meaningful communication, offering young people extraordinary occasions for making enriching discoveries that inspire personal growth.

Distance: Time apart for a family can be very beneficial. Although it can be a painful decision, parents soon realize this time was needed in order to recoup and heal. While living in another country in a structured environment, teens start to appreciate mom and dad (absence makes the heart grow fonder). Students begin to share their parents? dream of being a united family again.

:skull: :skull: :skull: :skull: :skull:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applying computer technology is simply finding the right wrench to pound in the correct screw.
--Bastard Administrator
Title: ABUSE AND YOUR CLAIM ABOUT ANONYMITY
Post by: Anonymous on September 19, 2006, 05:26:01 PM: I AM TELLING YOU "MY " NAME AND YOUR THINKING OF ANONYMITY.I WAS A STUDENT FROM 79=83 AND WAS "DECEIVED " BY THE FOUNDER. I HAD ISSUES AT HOME , BUT THOUGHT THE DR WAS A GIFT FROM HEAVEN "WRONG"
MAYBE YOUR GETTING EXTRA CASH UNDER THE TABLE TRYING TO BE SUPPORTIVE , BUT AS PHIL REDWINE TOLD ME ONE DAY "I DIDN'T HAVE TO BE IN THE DR!". I DIDN'T "CONFORM " AKA "FRONT" SO I WAS TARGETED BY THEM AND WAS ABUSED BECAUSE OF NOT "CONFORMING" TO THEIR CULT LIKE WAYS. I "CONSTANTLY" DEALT WITH THE HUMILIATION, ETC. SO I DON'T "REALLY : KNOW WHERE YOUR AT , BUT YOU SOUND LIKE YOU PLAYED THEIR "GAME" AND WON. THESE PEOPLE WHOM YOU SPOKE ABOUT ARE "NOT LYING" AND HAVE ANOTHER TO PROVE THEIR AUTHENTICITY . SO 'BIRD'S UP' TO YOUR THINKIN' , DUDE!
Quote from: ""Guest""
I'm not a user of this system, but I am not afraid to tell you I am Jon Burchel, in the DR as a student in 90-91, in Marion in 91. See my post above.

All the claims of abuse are being made by anonymous posters...

If you expect ANYONE to believe you, you should put your money where your mouths are and sign affidavits, or at least put your pathetic NAMES on your posts?! Hell people!

I was never abused, I never witnessed abuse except for one borderline situation, and that house father was fired and disgraced when the facts came to light (because I later went to another staff member who promptly reported it up the chain of command in the program's hierarchy of authority, as he should have)

Pathetic jokes, these bitter people who refused to grow when they had the chance, now they are calcified in 13 year old minds, most of them...

Jon Burchel

UNAFRAID AND TELLING THE TRUTH AND PROUD OF IT
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on September 19, 2006, 05:31:10 PM: Kids don't deserve no goddamn rights, cuz they ain't no better than a bunch of fuckin NIGGERS! If mine ever try to "assert their rights" I'm gonna drag 'em out to the woodshed and tear up their uppity little asses!
Title: Your racist comment
Post by: Anonymous on September 19, 2006, 05:43:53 PM: Schmuck!

Quote from: ""N@zi""
Kids don't deserve no goddamn rights, cuz they ain't no better than a bunch of fuckin NIGGERS! If mine ever try to "assert their rights" I'm gonna drag 'em out to the woodshed and tear up their uppity little asses!
Title: LAST COMMENT
Post by: Anonymous on September 19, 2006, 05:55:10 PM: PS.... LOVE THAT COMMENT YOU SAID ABOUT GIL AFTER ALL YOUR ADVOCATING....DID THEY TEACH YOU THAT TOO.STILL SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE ON A MENTAL POINT SHEET!
quote="Guest"]I am Jon Burchel.

I was in the Dominican Republic and in Marion. The allegations of abuse which I have heard are all from people whom I also know to have been, and currently to REMAIN, in many cases (Gil Meyersdorf, Josh Sierk, Julia Scheeres) pathological liars, or supporters of them, even knowingly, because the lies they spew can help their agenda, which is to avenge an old gruge because they never grew up and REALIZED why they were down there in the first place, and what they needed to do to move on and live a better life than they had before.

They have this huge forum over at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Escuela_Caribe/ (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Escuela_Caribe/).

I joined, because a friend referred me and I thought it was an alumni group, you know, get in touch with old friends, reminisce about the fun we had and the comardarie, what not, the staff members we still miss to this day, and love....

But what I found was a bunch of pathetic whiners, mostly, and some well intentioned but misled innocents as well, but at the head of that beast over there, Julia Scheeres, bitter, hateful and raging and stuck on abuses she imagines but never experienced - I was there with the bat. Her and Josh Sierk are batty as hell, and are bent on revenge against their hated enemies. But the one who takes the cake over there is Gil. Read this below, an account of how Gil deceieved me for craven purposes and cruelly, to try to advance his pathetic agenda against the only people who ever could have helped him, most likely. Now apparently he lives in a fantasy world where he works for the Mossad and deals in anti-terrorism work. Yet, his email exchanges with me revealed him to be vastly ignorant of most basic network security knowledge, and as he demonstrated himself to be capable of any degree of deception, I no longer trust ANYTHING he says about himself, AND ESPECIALLY those lies he and his pals have spewed about the place that saved my life.

I love New Horizons, and thank them, even though they are made of humans, and every human makes errors. When they did, though, they were corrected, addressed. They were fair, and full of integrity.

Here is my testimony against Gil to that forum, which was removed by Julia and Josh and he immediately thereafter, and I have remained banned ever since while Gil spews lies that he has been hacked and I am spoofing the whole thign. I offered legal proof of the entire exchange, including originating computers, timestamps and content. He didn't bother to respond, merely attacked me again. Josh attacked also, interestingly, without bothering to request any sign of the proof I offered freely (and still do). Julia, she is the White Queen over there, the head of their politburo, and made the "call" to just ban me AND remove the relevant posts... Such a nasty affair, rather just move on (well, except from those percieved abuses they made up from decades ago).

Here's the original post:

This is my final post in your forum. I do wish you all the best (those who did not deceive me at least)!

I cannot believe it! The level some people will stoop to.

Last night, I was moved. I read quickly a note the housefather on here had written, that he was going to bed and had put the kids down. It was touching to me, I remembered how it was, the camaraderie of the house, something I have never had much before or since, sadly for me. :`( But anyway, boo hoo.. So I was writing an email privately to thank the house father for his work there and also for his commitment to be in the forum, which I think is good and kind, and shows he is committed to the kids who are gone, not just the kids he is serving now. But somehow, I got the wrong address?

Normally, when I email to the wrong address, the person will email back, tell me I got it wrong.

But no, Gilly Gil didn?t do that. He asked me who I thought he was. So I said, innocently, ?the house father?. And he proceeded to ensnare me in a long conversation as though he were the house father. Many of his initial responses in email were consistent with what I would expect a house father to say, encouragement for my walk with God, etc.

But then he started talking about what must be done to stop these people. My advice to him, my ?dastardly plan? to ?thwart you guys?? It was to allow things to proceed exactly as they are, and trust the truth is found out on its own by God?s hand. Pretty nasty stuff, huh? Oh yeah, lest I forget, I also suggested? hide the kids? that New Horizons might establish an official alumni site open to all former staff and students period, and where the only rules are no profanity, basic decency (none of which I EVER violated in here, despite your continual cries that I attacked you, I just made arguments contrary to your positions generally, I have reread all my posts, but never mind the truth, right, if it is inconvenient for your agenda?)

But I guess Gil wasn?t satisfied with that. He replied that yes, this was already being worked on (whatever that meant) by someone else, but they needed me for a special job, they had been praying for someone. Well, this seems just right up my alley, New Horizons needed me for work, and I have retired for the most part now, and do not much but play around and surf the web and work out, so have hoped and prayed fervently for some purpose in my life, something to do you know, that could matter, beyond just for myself. So I thought this might be God giving me an opportunity to serve. Of course, then, I replied, YES, whatever they needed of me, I would love to help the program. But I admitted, I didn?t know how I could help them. I told him my wealth is limited and I cannot make large donations if I intend to live out my days in peace without going broke, so what could I do? I told him I am ok with words, good at arguing, and persuasive sometimes, maybe I can testify in court if they bring lawsuits against the program which are frivolous, I volunteered to do that, to write letters of recommendation for the program reflecting my own experience, whatever!

But still, old Gilly Gil wasn?t satisfied? He probed further, was elusive in his language, trying to ensnare me. I will post the entire transcript of our exchange last night if anyone doubts it, and I can prove it all, the records are in the network permanently and irretrievably, much to Gil?s lame realization, only too late.

Now, in these emails to the ?house father?, I was being emotional as I tend to be, you know? I confessed my sin, told him I was not sure I could actually serve the program in any productive way, as I am mired in my sins, which I have mentioned previously, and am unable to do much but please myself it seems, as far as for God. I was speaking from the heart. Apparently Gilly Gil thought that was cute, because he kept on going.

He told me I should start deleting my emails between us. This raised a red flag, or should have, but it was by then late, and I figured, maybe I am ignorant, there are people who are seeking to do harm that are more serious and dastardly than anything I had imagined, who knew? At any rate, this gullible fool me did not hesitate long enough, I consented, started deleting the emails (from my local machine, luckily, only). I didn?t really take it seriously, I mean, I know how the net works, but I thought, if it makes him happy that I did, maybe that is fine, I will honor his request.

But then he started saying how they wanted someone to strike God?s wrath on ?these people?. So I was very disturbed. I immediately replied I did not understand what he could mean, what he could be referring to, that God would never have me violate the law, etc. But I agreed, sure, within the bounds of the law (meaning in the arena of ideas, as we live in a civil society and everybody knows that), I would do all I could to thwart what in some cases I see as being unjust attacks on those who are doing God?s work.

Immediately, of course, he backed off, he realized my character could not be tricked by his stupid ploy, and it was pointless. He then just proceeded to try to make me feel as though New Horizons was rejecting my service, because I didn?t ?make the grade?, just told me they were very concerned about me and would pray Satan did not take me back, etc., that he could not believe I would imagine they would ever suggest such a thing as violate the law (what else could ?deliver God?s wrath? have meant, jerk?) and then stopped replying to all my emails suddenly. I was distraught, he had told me in the previous emails that they were ?rejoicing? over finding me to help them in some unique way for which only I appeared to be qualified. I figured they were dazzled by my blazingly brilliant intellect, wanted me to do something with that. I was disappointed, they just were looking for a hit man or something??! Buddha on a stick!! What was I to think? I loved these people and thought they were righteous? I finally just went to bed.

In the morning, still, no reply from old tricky Gilly Gil. I was very sad. I thought I had blown my chance to serve in some unique way, but also, I was confused, why would the people I had trusted try to ensnare me in some evil apparently, doing something to harm people who disagreed with the program or whatnot. But then it hit me, in the very beginning, Gil had asked who I thought he was. I just said, ?the housefather?, and trusted the person I was speaking to was not a pathological liar. Obviously that was a serious mistake, and I was very naïve? I checked the email out, ran through the history of more posts than I had previously (there are thousands of them, you can?t expect I have read every single one on my first couple days, I just read recent ones at first, but quite a few of them, just was not following closely who was who, didn?t realize I would need to be careful, you know). I realized Gil is opposed to the program. I realized he was no house father. He was tricking me cruelly and callously and cravenly to try to ensnare and twist the truth, a deceiver in every way!

I proceeded to verbally tear old Gil a new asshole via emails, if you?ll pardon the term (but I was not the first member of your esteemed forum to introduce this language, recall, just the first one to be chastised for my style of writing and insulted over and over and condescended to with shallow apologies that admitted no real offense, only perception or ?lack of patience for fools?). To which he replied lamely that his email ?appeared to have been hijacked?, and to follow that with threats that I have ?violated several laws? and he will try to prosecute me in Canada and ?inform the authorities?. Ok, Gilly Gil, whatever you say? He even said I had agreed to commit terrorist acts! Hahaha Obviously not realizing I have a full transcript of our entire conversation, and have no reason to fear whatsoever.

If anyone doubts, I can post the entire pathetic conversation with timestamps, IP addresses, for proof, I am happy to, I could even get Google to provide a sworn affidavit that it is not altered from what is stored in their server cluster if anyone demands it, sure. :wink: Would just take some time, and I?m not paying for it if it costs anything, you will have to pay, as the inquisitor.

But this should go a long way to illustrate for any of the willing, that the people most opposed to the program in here may be willing to do things, even distort the truth or lie outright, or hurt someone?s feelings without even caring (as Gil did mine with his petty deception) in order to advance an agenda against perceived abuses which are petty compared to actual abuses going on all around us in the world every day, just to try to get revenge, I still allege that is the real motivation for much of what I have seen here. Allison is an exception, some others, but the dominant negative posters appear bent on revenge, IMHO.

So curse me, sure. ?Stand up for yourself? all you want Josh, I am not trying to attack you anyway, I never did once. It was all of you who attacked me, while sidestepping all my arguments, dismissing them as boring or clutter in your glorious pristine email inboxes. You are all whitewashed sepulchers, I swear, nothing ever changes in this world, not in 6000 years?

But the world is changing soon, and I will welcome a better day when it arrives. You will all benefit from it too, deserve it or not, if you live that long. J

Gil, you are FAT and UGLY in that picture of you which you posted. Figures somebody that ugly would grow up to be a pathological liar.

Jon

[/quote]
Title: Re: Your racist comment
Post by: Anonymous on September 19, 2006, 05:57:41 PM: Kike!
Quote from: ""Anti Nazi!""
Schmuck!
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on September 19, 2006, 05:59:41 PM: What the hell was all that?
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on September 19, 2006, 06:32:31 PM: Good question.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on September 19, 2006, 06:40:39 PM: [Jeopardy]What is diseased programmie ranting?[/Jeopardy]
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on September 19, 2006, 06:54:22 PM: Quote from: ""Milk Gargling Death Penal""
[Jeopardy]What is diseased programmie ranting?[/Jeopardy]

:rofl:
Title: Re: Your racist comment
Post by: Anonymous on September 19, 2006, 08:38:17 PM: My concern(s) for you are , seeing how you really have no pertinence on this particular site is/are, if you have been having to be this way for "how many years?" should you really take a real look inside yourself/ heart don' you realize how idiotic you are/being? From here on in , until I am to be proven wrong by you "especially", you will only confirm how moronic you are/actually being . So, instead of wasting time writing things that only "degrade yourself" why don't you have a better approach to your life and stop thinking for this kind of kaka that you write. Another concern is for your life after this because it's obvious you'e on a greased pole . Should you really "not" care , maybe when the time comes (which could be any second of any day) you'll wish you hadn't been this way unless you are a demon incarnate. - to which I say "Greater is He that is in me , than he that is in this body/soul , I'm having to reproach".. So please think twice before you decide to further your apparent ineptitude . Thank you. And I do say this in care.
Quote from: ""N@zi""
Kike!
Quote from: ""Anti Nazi!""
Schmuck!
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on September 19, 2006, 08:45:25 PM: What's your point?
Title: your racist comment
Post by: Anonymous on September 19, 2006, 08:55:58 PM: My point is , you obviously are oblivious to kindness and have been probably been sitting there this whole time waiting for a response ( if this is N@zi). So, another thing i propose - if you're intent is just to sit there and "bad mouth" , excuse me I have better things to and are definitely more "constuctive". Alfeda zeign!

Quote from: ""Guest""
What's your point?
Title: Re: your racist comment
Post by: Anonymous on September 19, 2006, 08:59:18 PM: Quote from: ""Anti Nazi""
My point is , you obviously are oblivious to kindness and have been probably been sitting there this whole time waiting for a response ( if this is N@zi). So, another thing i propose - if you're intent is just to sit there and "bad mouth" , excuse me I have better things to and are definitely more "constuctive". Alfeda zeign!

Quote from: ""Guest""
What's your point?

Are you talking to me?
Title: Re: your racist comment
Post by: Anonymous on September 19, 2006, 09:02:15 PM: If your name is [email protected].
Quote from: ""Guest""
Quote from: ""Anti Nazi""
My point is , you obviously are oblivious to kindness and have been probably been sitting there this whole time waiting for a response ( if this is N@zi). So, another thing i propose - if you're intent is just to sit there and "bad mouth" , excuse me I have better things to and are definitely more "constuctive". Alfeda zeign!

Quote from: ""Guest""
What's your point?
Are you talking to me?
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on September 19, 2006, 09:10:00 PM: My name is Guest as far as you knew, isn't it?
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on September 19, 2006, 11:11:05 PM: The rantings of this programmie are a great advertisement for not sending kids to programs!!! His brain seems to be completely fried...
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on September 19, 2006, 11:18:18 PM: If you're referring to "DARRYL LARE" then I agree 100%
Title: You guys!
Post by: Anonymous on September 20, 2006, 01:52:47 AM: You guys are the ones that are fried! You have absoluetly "no idea" what these people are writing about because you haven't been there- instead you sit and surf the net causing more crap with your grim reaper personna and Nazi attitude -should you be the ones that don't have the guts to now put your names down, as you degrade yourselves. Can't you see he cares? So leave this for people who are trying to warn those people who are thinking about sending a loved one to this place and put your crap on some other site.

quote="Guest"]If you're referring to "DARRYL LARE" then I agree 100%[/quote]
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on September 20, 2006, 09:09:12 AM: Oh watever- let him write a post that I can fucking READ and then maybe I'll stop trolling....until then, fuck you.......NIGGER! :rofl:
Title: Re: You guys!
Post by: Anonymous on September 20, 2006, 09:52:20 AM: Quote from: ""New Horizon Survivor""
You guys are the ones that are fried! You have absoluetly "no idea" what these people are writing about because you haven't been there- instead you sit and surf the net causing more crap with your grim reaper personna and Nazi attitude -should you be the ones that don't have the guts to now put your names down, as you degrade yourselves. Can't you see he cares? So leave this for people who are trying to warn those people who are thinking about sending a loved one to this place and put your crap on some other site.

quote="Guest"]If you're referring to "DARRYL LARE" then I agree 100%
[/quote]
you. shut up. now.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: hanzomon4 on April 18, 2007, 07:06:38 PM: ::bump::

P.S page 15 + 16 suck(read=wtf?) everything else is relevant
Title: Merion?
Post by: Anonymous on September 16, 2007, 02:48:29 AM: Quote from: ""Guest""
I teach at Escuela Caribe, and I believe your hostility towards our school is unmerited.

In regards to the "guilt by association" argument, Escuela Caribe is not related to Teen Help or any other organization. It is part of New Horizons Youth Ministries which runs our school here in the D.R., a campus in Merion, Indiana, and a summer academy in Ontario, Canada. We do not pay people to refer students to us; word-of-mouth is sufficient to direct interested parents to us.

I think you also misunderstand the type of students that we have here. These are not your typical well-adjusted (more or less) high school students. These students have already rejected a relationship with their parents and are involved in highly destructive activities (e.g., gangs, drug use or distribution, suicide attempts, living on the streets). Believe me, we want these kids to have a relationship with their family, and the "psychological disorientation" produced by "culture shock" is an important ingredient in helping the students to realize that they want to have a relationship with their family. We try to keep the environment as non-institutional as possible: students live in "houses" with houseparents. The key to success here is relationship and love. These kids (and families) have already had therapy (although we do that too), and it hasn't worked. We believe that it is through loving relationships that these kids will change. So we love them.

Merion, huh? The letter e is a few key strokes from the letter "a". You are speaking of Marion, IN maybe? If you were even there and really are a staff? What subjects do you teach and what state are you licensed under to teach? Hopefully you are not one of the many unlicensed teachers or counselors on staff.

It is a complete fallacy that most of the students are as you described "highly destructive, in gangs, drug dealing, living on the streets". In fact we were average teens with not so average fundamentalist christian parents. NHYM perverted our parents fundamentalist beliefs and used a "violent love of Christ" on it's students that included stripping of students and scrubbing their bodies with harsh laundry brushes for punishment, denial of restroom facilities, denial of mattresses to sleep on, denial of food and water, & denial of health care. To see more testimonials of abuse please visit http://nhymalumni.org/ (http://nhymalumni.org/)

The house like home? What a joke. Sleeping 6 or more to a room, in constant group contact from dawn to dusk, no desk of your own at home, no comfy couch. Down time is even organized. Worse yet you are supervised constantly by someone who has as kooky, if not more so kooky fundamentalist beliefs as your parents and they hold the power in allowing you to go home. Private part inspections ordered by staff on other students. Slamming heads against walls for forgetting to ask to enter a room or not saying excuse me to a female staff. Kicking you if your push up wasn't perfect. Chasing you around on motorcycle as punishment. Forcing kids to crap in buckets and carry it around. Making ill teens work with severe cases of diarrhea, even when dehydrated. Maybe your home and every fundamentalist home is like this and you'd feel comfy in it. If so let me pray for you. You are a twisted teacher and shouldn't be near anyones kids.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on September 16, 2007, 03:04:38 AM: Quote from: Scarlett Chiclet
New Horizons Youth Ministries

http://www.nhym.org/nh-history.html (http://www.nhym.org/nh-history.html)

Concept

Why in the Dominican Republic? There are three reasons: atmosphere, culture shock, and distance.

Culture shock? I attended Escuela Caribe 1981-82. The majority of the students are in complete isolation from Dominican culture. This is an example of the propaganda the program creates to lure parents into thinking this program will be good for their kids. That they will be exposed to "culture" in a missionary type setting.

I lived in Starr House, a girls dorm. We were kept locked up and far away from the Dominicans on the compound. Only the highest of rankers that had no "boy crazy" issues were allowed to make contact with Dominicans and then only other women.

Young Dominican males were called "Tigres". We were warned never to make eye contact with them and even at some points had to ride in our van with our heads down so as not to be seen by them. Dominican men love american teens and have already encountered NHYM teens resulting in plane trips back to the US for a little OBGYN session. Hows that for culture shock? Lets see them put that in their pamphlet.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on October 17, 2007, 04:17:39 PM: Quote from: "Guest"
Quote from: ""Scarlett Chiclet""
New Horizons Youth Ministries

http://www.nhym.org/nh-history.html (http://www.nhym.org/nh-history.html)

Concept

Why in the Dominican Republic? There are three reasons: atmosphere, culture shock, and distance.

Culture shock? I attended Escuela Caribe 1981-82. The majority of the students are in complete isolation from Dominican culture. This is an example of the propaganda the program creates to lure parents into thinking this program will be good for their kids. That they will be exposed to "culture" in a missionary type setting.

I lived in Starr House, a girls dorm. We were kept locked up and far away from the Dominicans on the compound. Only the highest of rankers that had no "boy crazy" issues were allowed to make contact with Dominicans and then only other women.

Young Dominican males were called "Tigres". We were warned never to make eye contact with them and even at some points had to ride in our van with our heads down so as not to be seen by them. Dominican men love american teens and have already encountered NHYM teens resulting in plane trips back to the US for a little OBGYN session. Hows that for culture shock? Lets see them put that in their pamphlet.

Hi.

I wonder if anyone is reading this anymore.

I am SO disappointed in NHYM.

I have had two younger sisters in this program. Our father died. His wife (my step-mother) is totally consumed with her religion. To the point where her religious activities have taken precedence over watching what's going on with her (then) teenaged daughters. Hence, daughters got into tons of trouble.

So, she shipped them off to Escuela Caribe & Marion.

NHYM basically swallowed what mother spoon-fed them. It was the KIDS who were bad. Not the totally dysfunctional family from which they came. It was the KIDS who needed to be "fixed". Not the mother who's never home, never properly disciplines the kids, never steps-in and handles anything. NHYM never did any family counseling. And provided extremely limited resources for the parents to get their act together. They just took the money and put the onus on the kids to shape-up - or else.

The first girl to come out of the NHYM program (to be specific - Escuela Caribe) promptly came home & smoked pot, dropped out of school & engaged in lesbian sex. All while living with the mother who did nothing about it. Oh, yeah - she bought her a car.

The second sister to come out of the NHYM program (Marion) promptly came home & started dating a bad-ass gangster-wannabe who she had sex with in her bedroom (while mother was out-of-state at a religious event). He's abusive with her & has been sent to jail twice for beating her. She continues to go back with him. Also, this sister is smart but didn't go away to college. Nobody cared.

In my humble opinion, NHYM is a JOKE! The "education" these girls received was sub-standard at best. Nothing was solved. Nothing was helped. A lot of money was spent. And mom didn't have to deal with troubled girls - they were out of her hair & she could carry on with all the religious activities she wanted. Yet, NHYM did not care enough, did not try hard enough, to see the REAL problems behind these girls lives.

I personally contacted Tim Blossom - and previously, Phil Redwine - to help give them a more rounded-out version of what was really happening in this household. Obviously, to no avail. They never suggested family counselling - nothing. Ridiculous.

Anyway, I wish I could warn parents who are considering this "ministry". I don't know if this helps anyone - but I hope so.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Nihilanthic on October 17, 2007, 07:27:45 PM: You're acting as if having lesbian sex is something to be sent to a program for???
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: hanzomon4 on October 17, 2007, 07:32:30 PM: Yup, still read what you folks have to say. Have you been to the NHYM Alumni site (http://http://nhymalumni.org/Default.aspx)? It's a site setup by former NHYM "students" to spread the truth about what goes on in NH programs. A lot of good information there, so you(and your sisters) might want to check it out. There is also a yahoo group for survivors of NHYM you may wish to checkout, New Horizons Alumni Yahoo! Group (http://http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Escuela_Caribe/).
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on October 18, 2007, 08:48:25 AM: Quote from: ""Nihilanthic""
You're acting as if having lesbian sex is something to be sent to a program for???

No, that's not what I said. Sorry if I gave that impression.

What I was trying to say, was what happened after my sister came back from the program.

My step-mother is a super born-again Christian and devoted (to the extreme) Andrew Wommack follower. Anyway, for a variety of reasons, my sisters got sent away into the NHYM programs. And when they get home they're "worse" than before. "Worse" being having casual (yes, lesbian) sex, pot-smoking, and dropping out of school.

Anyway, my biggest problem, was that NHYM did not focus of the real serious problem.......the mother (father had died) who was never home (always at religious activities), never disciplined, never followed through on anything, threw lots of money at the kids (the problem) and then, when the going got really rough, she deposits them in NHYM where they then proceed to tell the kids that they're the ones who are wrong (bad) and need to be "fixed". NOTHING was addressed about the mother's complete lack of parenting. I do remember there being some kind of parent support groups about once a month in other parents' homes - and she really never went. In fact, I remember she went to Joyce Meyers conferences, missions trips, bible college, shopping, restaurants, etc. all while her girls were taking cold showers, cutting grass with machetes, and having NO contact with friends or family. The whole thing infuriates me.

Today, these girls are adults. One is 23, divorced from her pot-smoking loser/no-job husband and is a single mother dating an alcoholic cocaine user. She can barely pay her bills. The other girl is 18 and is dating a gangster/thug wanna-be who has repeatedly beaten her & been jailed for doing-so. She lives at home & the mom knows this is the situation with her "boyfriend" - yet mom continues to go to Andrew Wommack conferences all the time, bible college, etc. In fact, last week, my sister ended up in the emergency room after having been choked and punched in the face by this guy in the family home. Mom was in Colorado at an Andrew Wommack conference at the time.

Yet NHYM, never picked-up on ANY of this ridiculousness. Even after I called and discussed this with them on a couple of occassions. I believe because it was the MOTHER paying the bills for this - and they didn't want to rock that boat. So, they put the whole onus on the kids. They're the ones who need treatment.

It's just wrong. These girls came out of NHYM without any redeeming value from having been there. The education sucked. The whole thing just makes me very mad.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on October 18, 2007, 09:14:10 AM: Quote from: ""hanzomon4""
Yup, still read what you folks have to say. Have you been to the NHYM Alumni site (http://http://nhymalumni.org/Default.aspx)? It's a site setup by former NHYM "students" to spread the truth about what goes on in NH programs. A lot of good information there, so you(and your sisters) might want to check it out. There is also a yahoo group for survivors of NHYM you may wish to checkout, New Horizons Alumni Yahoo! Group (http://http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Escuela_Caribe/).

Hi ~

thanks. Yes, I did direct my sisters to these sites. They really don't like to talk about, or remember, anything related to their stays at EC & Marion. My one sister who was at EC (2000 - 2001) says it wasn't that bad. She just doesn't really care about the whole thing anymore. My other sister who was at Marion has deeper, more serious, emotional problems and is currently in a very abusive relationship - so the old Marion stuff is the least of her problems right now.

I'm involved because I am the oldest child of this family - and as a grown adult when our father died, I have really tried over the years to help care for my sisters and support their mother. It's gotten to the point where there is really nothing I can do anymore and occassionally, when I 'm really frustrated, I look for help. It's just one of those things where it seems like there's nothing you can do but pray.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: hanzomon4 on October 18, 2007, 10:47:29 AM: Well you can only do so much.....

Just be there for them like you have been and try to be a non-judgmental ear they can chose to use, or not. NHYM(especially EC) from what I've heard is horrible, it ranks up there with High Impact, Straight, Tranquility Bay... you get the idea. Even if they were not abused as bad as others, I'm sure they had to witness some "bad" "stuff". Not wanting to talk about it is common, they may want to never talk about it. It's not easy to face that kind of abuse but many do eventually face it and start talking.

The problems they have now is likely a result of what they went through. Ask most of the survivors on here and they will tell you that for the years after being in the program they either shut down or self destructed. I'd say it's part of PTSD, look at the trouble folks retuning from Iraq are facing, and the after effects of thought reform. It may take a while but they will heal. Having a person that cares about them, believes them when they chose to speak, and validates that what happened to them was wrong and not their fault I think goes a long way in helping along the healing process.

You could try looking for information on people who have been through complex, traumatic experiences for tips on how you can help. Goodluck
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Nihilanthic on October 18, 2007, 06:32:49 PM: Abuse is abuse. This isn't about who suffered the most or comparing notes for validation.
Title: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Anonymous on October 19, 2007, 10:57:22 AM: Quote from: ""hanzomon4""
Well you can only do so much.....

Just be there for them like you have been and try to be a non-judgmental ear they can chose to use, or not. NHYM(especially EC) from what I've heard is horrible, it ranks up there with High Impact, Straight, Tranquility Bay... you get the idea. Even if they were not abused as bad as others, I'm sure they had to witness some "bad" "stuff". Not wanting to talk about it is common, they may want to never talk about it. It's not easy to face that kind of abuse but many do eventually face it and start talking.

The problems they have now is likely a result of what they went through. Ask most of the survivors on here and they will tell you that for the years after being in the program they either shut down or self destructed. I'd say it's part of PTSD, look at the trouble folks retuning from Iraq are facing, and the after effects of thought reform. It may take a while but they will heal. Having a person that cares about them, believes them when they chose to speak, and validates that what happened to them was wrong and not their fault I think goes a long way in helping along the healing process.

You could try looking for information on people who have been through complex, traumatic experiences for tips on how you can help. Goodluck

Hi Hanzomon4 ~

Thank you for your kind words.

Yes, both of these girls (well, now 22 & 19) have been through a lot. Our father died - and he was a truly wonderful, normal, loving father. But the home was pretty dysfunctional as my step-mother (their mother) was (is) a really fanatic born-again (she of course became that way after my dad married her) & some weird stuff went on in that home for a long time.

But more than that, was the neglect of these kids, especially all the years dad was sick. The mom just went to church, & church-related activities ALL THE TIME and the girls just went from bad to worse. When it got super-bad - off they were shipped to NHYM to be "fixed". Lot of good that did.

I'm just amazed & bewildered that NHYM takes these kids - MANY from troubled homes - and then lays it on the kids that THEY are the ones who are troubled & need help.

When my one sister was @ Marion, there was a very young girl there - about 12 yrs. old who (according to my sister) had been molested, abused, etc. She was a scared kid acting out. She ran away from Marion. When she was brought back they cut all her hair off as punishment for running away!!! Can you imagine doing that to a poor, scared 12 year old girl!! What the hell kind of "punishment" is that??

I'm not saying every single thing that went on within the NHYM programs is "bad". I'm sure some of the things they do are loving and caring. But, over-all it seems to me like a bunch of un-professionals are running the show and relying on their religion to fix everything - without really trying to understand some of the underlying, complex issues surrounding these troubled kids. And not to mention the VERY POOR education they offer. The whole thing is a (sad) joke.

I guess I'm really upset now because last week my youngest sister (the one who was at Marion) was beaten (for the second time) by her gangster/thug boyfriend & sent to the emergecy room (he went to jail) .......all while the mother was in Colorado at yet another Andrew Wommack conference. This type of stuff has been going on for a long time and it's just so frustrating to see problems being constantly swept under the rug. And, in my opinion, NHYM was the perfect "rug" for a while. Sweep the kid under the NHYM rug - and let them deal with it for a while. Well, at least in our family, that's exactly what happened. And NHYM should be more in tune with parents who pull that shit and not allow that! But they did. They did NO family counseling (in fact, we were totally cut-off from our sisters except for very brief - and I should say monitored phone calls once in a blue moon). I'm just so aggravated that this kind of stuff goes on.
Title: Escuela Caribe Documentary
Post by: Reddit TroubledTeens on January 16, 2012, 07:47:04 PM: A documentary is currently being made about Escuela Caribe. It looks like it's going to be really good, here's the trailer:
http://vimeo.com/35042262 (http://vimeo.com/35042262)

They are asking for donations to help complete the film:
http://documentary.org/fsp/3846 (http://documentary.org/fsp/3846)

Here's their facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/kidnappedforchrist?sk=info (http://www.facebook.com/kidnappedforchrist?sk=info)
Title: Re: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Oscar on February 07, 2012, 04:48:07 AM: Documentary Alleges Gay Teen Kidnapped, Sent to Evangelical Boot Camp (http://http://www.exgaywatch.com/wp/2012/02/documentary-alleges-gay-teen-kidnapped-sent-to-evangelical-boot-camp/), Ex-gay watch
Title: Documentary Alleges Gay Teen Kidnapped, Sent to...
Post by: Ursus on February 08, 2012, 01:58:53 PM: Here's that news entry from the website ExGayWatch.com:

-------------- • -------------- • --------------

Documentary Alleges Gay Teen Kidnapped, Sent to Evangelical Boot Camp (http://http://www.exgaywatch.com/wp/2012/02/documentary-alleges-gay-teen-kidnapped-sent-to-evangelical-boot-camp/)

February 6th, 2012 · Dave Rattigan

A feature-length film aims to tell the story of American teenagers sent to an evangelical Christian boarding school, Escuala Caribe, in the Dominican Republic. According to its website (http://http://www.escuelacaribe.com/ec_index.shtml), the school is "therapeutic," with a mission to help the parents of underachieving kids "train their child in the way he or she should go."

Several past students (http://http://nhym-alumni.org/) allege "physical and emotional abuse" at the "boot camp," however. Among those featured in the upcoming documentary Kidnapped for Christ (http://http://www.kidnappedforchrist.com/) are a teenager who says he was, essentially, abducted during the night to be taken from his US home to Escuala Caribe:

One morning I woke up. Two guys were at my house. ... Both my parents were standing there, saying: "We love you, David. We love you." ...
[The men] tied a belt around my waist, dragged me with the belt to their car. ... I got sent down here because I am gay, and my parents, they just weren't okay with that.[/list][/size]
Watch the trailer below:

(http://http://img.youtube.com/vi/bOR77tWVxKc/0.jpg)

Kidnapped for Christ trailer.mp4 (http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOR77tWVxKc)
Uploaded by KidnappedForChrist on Jan 16, 2012

Kidnapped for Christ follows the stories of several American teenagers who were sent to Escuela Caribe, an American-run Evangelical Christian reform school in The Dominican Republic.[/list][/size][/list]

Escuala Caribe is run by New Horizon Youth Ministry, which, according to its website (http://http://www.nhym.org/), has recently been taken over by Lifeline Youth and Family Services, Inc (http://http://lifelineyouth.org/).

Here's a very telling paragraph (http://http://www.escuelacaribe.com/ec_programs.shtml) from the school's website:

Culture shock is a form of psychological disorientation produced by a sudden and complete change in one's cultural environment. ...
[It tends] to make adolescents remarkably more dependent upon our Christian staff for direction and emotional support, while also rendering them more malleable and capable of new perspectives. Culture shock in a highly structured setting greatly enhances meaningful communication, offering young people extraordinary occasions for making enriching discoveries that inspire personal growth.[/list][/size]
Hat-tip: Towleroad (http://http://www.towleroad.com/2012/02/kidnappedforchrist.html)

Copyright © 2002-2012 Ex-Gay Watch
Title: Comments: "Documentary Alleges Gay Teen Kidnapped, Sent to..
Post by: Ursus on February 08, 2012, 02:03:27 PM: Comments (http://http://www.exgaywatch.com/wp/2012/02/documentary-alleges-gay-teen-kidnapped-sent-to-evangelical-boot-camp/) left for the above news entry, "Documentary Alleges Gay Teen Kidnapped, Sent to Evangelical Boot Camp (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=5305&p=412817#p412817)" (by Dave Rattigan; February 6th, 2012; ExGayWatch.com):

David Roberts · February 6th, 2012 at 11:42 | #1
Any parent who would subject their kids to such terror, so drastic and disgusting that it has to be done offshore to avoid US jurisdiction, really should be charged with abuse and child endangerment —
at the very least. And yes, Alan, this is part of your legacy — own it.

Culture shock is a form of psychological disorientation produced by a sudden and complete change in one's cultural environment. ...
[It tends] to make adolescents remarkably more dependent upon our Christian staff for direction and emotional support, while also rendering them more malleable and capable of new perspectives.[/list][/size]Brainwashing 101.[/list]
Steve · February 6th, 2012 at 16:08 | #2
Lifeline and New Horizons don't appear to be affiliated with Exodus or other ex-gay ministries, and they don't seem to market specifically for gay or questioning youth. So I asked the YouTube poster of the trailer (director/producer Kate Logan?) if they met other GLBT students at the school. The reply:

"There were at least a few students down there while we were filming who were sent primarily because they were gay, however teenagers were sent to this school for a variety of reasons ranging from drug abuse, mental illness, to just not getting along with their parents."

It's bad enough parents think their gay or questioning kid would be 'straightened out' by spending the summer at a wilderness adventure camp or enrolling for a year at a remote Christian boarding school that offers computer labs and community service projects, if all parents know about these programs is what they read on Lifeline/New Horizons websites.

But the administrators of these programs know what behavioral modification techniques (http://http://wiki.fornits.com/index.php?title=Escuela_Caribe) the residents are actually subjected to (e.g. military-style discipline, corporal punishment, humiliation, hard labor, physical abuse, isolation from family and friends, communications silence, cultural disorientation).

Why would educators – like Dr. Charles Redwine of Wesley Seminary (Marion IN), who was program director of New Horizons Ministries for 25 years and until recently its COO – or Lifeline CEO Mark Terrell or VP of Residential Services Tony Fingerle think that their kind of 'scared straight' youth prison (for this is the best analogy) would be appropriate for any kid, much less one whose only 'maladjustment' is that they're gay?

It's time evangelicals stopped treating their gay children like criminals or mental patients. Will Lifeline Youth and Family Services disavow this activity and promise not to enroll youth to their programs simply because of their real or perceived sexual orientation?[/list]

Copyright © 2002-2012 Ex-Gay Watch
Title: Re: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: N.O.S.O.B. on February 08, 2012, 02:26:39 PM
Title: Re: Escuela Caribe ~ New Horizons
Post by: Froderik on February 08, 2012, 03:24:33 PM: Quote from: "N.O.S.O.B."
"Culture shock is a form of psychological disorientation produced by a sudden and complete change in one's cultural environment. ... [It tends] to make adolescents remarkably more dependent upon our Christian staff for direction and emotional support, while also rendering them more malleable and capable of new perspectives. Culture shock in a highly structured setting greatly enhances meaningful communication, offering young people extraordinary occasions for making enriching discoveries that inspire personal growth."

This is one of the best descriptions of the neurological changes that behavior-modification relies on....just amazing

Assault upon identity, captive bonding, regression, identification with abusers, internalization of doctrine....it's a great synopsis of industry

Good god (no pun intended), any parent who would send their kid there after reading that should not have been a parent to begin with.

Quote On 2005-05-17 11:21:00, Anonymous wrote: ""These are not your typical well-adjusted (more or less) high school students.	Oh? Do tell
Quote These students have already rejected a relationship with their parents	Who may well be lunatics and/or assholes.
Quote and are involved in highly destructive activities (e.g., gangs, drug use or distribution, suicide attempts, living on the streets).	e.g. moodiness, acne, shyness, depression (see above) or just listening to devil music or making new friends.
Quote Believe me, we want these kids to have a relationship with their family,	Believe you?! Your actions speak so loud, I can't hear what you're saying!
Quote and the "psychological disorientation" produced by "culture shock" is an important ingredient in helping the students to realize that they want to have a relationship with their family.	We'll treat the little fucker so bad while they're down here, they'll feel priviledged to sleep on a straw mat at the foot of your bed if you want!
Quote We try to keep the environment as non-institutional as possible: students live in "houses" with houseparents.	The environment? Or just the language? Noninstitutional? How about non-pow-camp? :rofl: It's not like I've never heard anything about the place!
Quote These kids (and families) have already had therapy (although we do that too), and it hasn't worked. We believe that it is through loving relationships that these kids will change."	Loving relationships? What about all the scrubbing and labour? Give me a friggen break!