Hello, All!
I was alerted to the libelous statement Kevin August made regarding HEAL through one of our members. As I understand that if one does not reply to libel/slander, at least for some, it creates confusion about the organization/individual defamed. So, I have decided to respond on behalf of HEAL and myself.
Terrorism is a very loosely defined term. The National Education Association, the NAACP, the AARP, the ACLU, and even Martin Luther King Jr. have been defined by government officials such as former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former FBI Directors, and even Pres. Bush's administration, as terrorists and terrorist organizations. Since Kevin August is opposed to Constitutional Rights and Civil Liberties, it does not surprise me that he considers those of us, like HEAL, to be a terrorist organization.
However, in these times, the common perception of a "terrorist" or "terrorist" organization is that it is a person or organization that seeks through illegal methods to overthrow established governments or organizations. HEAL does not and has never promoted illegal methods for social or governmental change.
That said, Kevin August has a problem with HEAL because we dared to question his investment in the "troubled teen" industry by becoming a referral agent, posting multiple ads for abusive programs at both antiwwasp.com and teenshelp.us. We visited Kevin August's website antiwwasp.com and under
links found multiple links to abusive programs. This was beyond the GoogleAds and teenshelp.us issue. We initially contacted Kevin directly and did not involve any other survivor groups or organizations. But, instead of looking into his own actions and taking responsibility, Kevin chose to viciously and spitefully attack me personally and HEAL. So, we decided to take our concerns to the community leaders. We kept our concerns private. And, because of that, Kevin is once again throwing a tantrum, avoiding responsibility, and defaming HEAL.
I am a survivor of Provo Canyon School as is HEAL's CA-Coordinator Kris. HEAL's MS-Coordinator is John Giesler, a survivor of Bethel Boys Academy and HEAL's NY-Coordinator is Richard Meehan, a survivor of two Aspen Education Group programs. We are aware of the long-term issues, PTSD, night-terrors, and more that survivors experience, because we too experience them. We are aware of the systemic abuse in these programs. Perhaps, primarily because 3/4 of our coordinators are in our thirties, two of which are working on professional degrees. I am working on my Juris Doctorate and Kris is working on a graduate degree in psychology.
As an undergrad at the Univ. of WA in Seattle, I double-majored in Philosophy and History. I focused on Philosophy of Law and Ethics in my Philosophy Studies and on Human Rights, Civil Liberties, US-Latin American Relations, and Black History in my History Studies. Intentionally, or not, I believe that Kevin August is ineffective and a probable provocateur disrupting the movement to shutdown abusive programs by confusing parents looking for help. Here is HEAL's position (as conveyed to parents) on the entire "teen help/troubled teen" industry:
The residential treatment and wilderness "therapy" programs have been denounced by the National Institute of Health as being harmful to children and families as well as ineffective in dealing with teen problems. There are multiple resources that expose the fraud and abuse of this industry. Some authors to check out are Dr. Peter Breggin, Alexia Parks, and Maia Szalavitz. Dr. Peter Breggin is author of mutiple books regarding appropriate treatment for teens (see Reclaiming Our Children by Dr. Peter Breggin). Alexia Parks authored "An American Gulag" exposing the "teen help" industry and Maia Szalavitz has written two great books exposing the fraud and abuse inherent in this industry, "Tough Love America" and "Help at Any Cost".
We suggest parents do not remove their children from their home environment unless they pose an immediate threat to themselves or others. Leading expert in adolescent psychology and head of the Department of Psychology at the University of California--Berkeley, Dr. Margaret Singer, has spoken out against these programs in great detail saying that they make a child's worst nightmare of abandonment come true and that the people who run these programs are slick businessmen with no training or expertise in helping teens appropriately. Maia Szalavitz, author of "Tough Love America", cites the National Institute of Health studies on these programs that have determined that they are harmful and not helpful to teens or their families. Szalavitz also stated on the Jan. 18th, 2005 episode of Montel Williams that even when children/teens pose an immediate threat to themselves or others that at most a short stay (1-4 weeks) in a local psychiatric hospital to deescalate the situation is what is needed followed by intensive out-patient family counseling.
The "schools" listed on our site are either suspectedly or confirmedly abusive. We recommend no one send children to a facility that matches any of the criteria on our warning signs list at
www.heal-online.org/warn.htm (see also
www.isaccorp.org ) . We have successfully exposed the abuses at Bethel Boys Academy, Bethel Girls Academy (now closed), CEDU Family of Programs (all programs now closed), Mountain Park Boarding Academy (now closed), and many others. We had proof of abuse at CEDU programs up over 4 years ago and they were just closed down on Friday, 3/25/05. The system sometimes takes too long to catch up with justice and truth. That's why we exist. We exist to warn and protect families from abusive behavior modification programs.
You should also be aware that none of these programs are regulated by any outside agency. Child Protective Services, Law Enforcement, and Social Services do not inspect these programs. Right now, there is a bill in congress, HR 1738, entitled the "End Institutionalized Abuse of Children Act". The abuse of children in these programs is so common that Congress is making it a Federal Case. The bill has a way to go before it reaches the floor for a vote. And, in the meantime, risking any child's safety in any program is not recommended. You should also be aware that Educational Consultants and other professionals often receive a 10% commission on any children they successfully refer to/enroll in a program. If the contract with the program is for a minimum of a year at a cost of $24-60,000 than the referring party receives 10% of that. Participants/parents are often brainwashed in parent seminars and are also often given the incentive of a free month of the program for every parent they convince to enroll their child. They are not exactly objective references.
Please purchase or check out a copy of "Reclaiming Our Children" by Dr. Peter Breggin. It will help you understand the bounty of alternatives to residential treatment/behavior modification. Also, if your child has been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD/etc. and is on any type of medications for these disorders, you should be aware that the prescription medication he/she is on may be what is causing the behavioral problems. If you are dealing with this type of issue, please see:
www.ablechild.org . --end
HEAL takes a holistic approach to "healing" the world. One of the reasons we include a variety of "causes" on our site is to help inform all conscientious activists on the connection between the issues HEAL acknowledges. Think of a website or organization that conveys action alerts for human rights, environmental issues, and animal welfare issues that primarily focuses on teen liberty. When people search for animal rights or environmental or human rights organizations in CA, WA, MS, and NY they find HEAL. And, the first thing they see is information on teen liberty. This is a great way to connect the issues and help inform conscientious activists about the issue we all care deeply about, teen liberty.
HEAL is an ethical organization. We have an online shop, accept donations, and work with ethical companies, such as downbound.com, as an affiliate to raise funds to cover costs and work on getting more media exposure for the teen liberty campaign. We have never and will never use GoogleAds, link to or advertise for behavior modification programs/boot camps/rtc's/etc., or compromise our position.
These programs are scared of any regulation and are working with the Bush Administration to insure HR 1738 is re-written to remove its bite or quashed entirely. See:
"Andrea Barthwell, M.D., former White House Deputy Drug Czar for President George W. Bush kicked off the activity at NATSAP’s annual meeting where she encouraged attendees to join forces with others who devote themselves to families’ needs for effective care and education of its young members. “While H.R. 1738 is a bill to ‘End Institutionalized Abuse Against Children’ and intends to improve the quality of care in therapeutic settings serving our young people, its most recent iteration could have caused a collapse of the system of care that your clients depend upon."
You can read the entire press release, submitted by Provo Canyon School (which, this year (2007), has put a girl on full life support --see:
www.heal-online.org/ashley.htm) at:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/Provo_Can ... 508537.htmI'm assuming the majority of you know that NATSAP is an organization founded and run by owners of abusive programs and is a ruse to give the appearance of legitimacy to those who tortured many of us and continue to do so.
So, if our distaste for the cover ups and abuse encouraged by Republican leaders (see Mel Sembler/Bush Family Relationship, Bush Admin support of NATSAP and Provo Canyon School, etc.) makes HEAL a "liberal terrorist organization", then so be it. But, in our opinion, we are pro-democracy, patriotic, and working to protect children and families from fraud and abuse.
Sincerely,
Angela Smith
HEAL Coordinator
http:www.heal-online.org
[email protected]