Leaving the SO can be very rough as usually a person has no money, no job, is often in a strange city or country, has lost touch with pre Scn friends, and on leaving is cut off from everyone they know in Scn.
Same exact situation in the cult I was in.
First step in resolving the situation would seem to be to get temporary accommodation, then get identification back using the cops if necessary, then attempting to reconnect with parents / other friends who can hopefully help out in the effort of getting a job / permanant accomodations. That being said, there has to be a backup for those who don't have friends or family to reconnect with.
Do you have many volunteers? Churches should be a good place to start looking. Although it might not seem like a good idea at first, if you can get an agreement that there will be no preaching it might be a great idea. Catholics, despite what many say, are often good at that. The refugees are going to need some talking to, though during those days by an ex-member. How many lines is the 1-866-XSEAORG? If many leave all at once, it's going to be far too much for one person.
I'd like to comment on
this open letter from an OT8 and ask a few questions is you have time:
Responsible for keeping dossiers “ethics files†on the people which contained copies of Knowledge Reports (there’s Scientology policy that states that if you don’t write people up when you’ve witnessed an unethical action, you yourself become an accomplice to the crime and could get the same penalties or justice actions – HCO PL KNOWLEDGE REPORTS), also containing OW write ups (personal write-ups in your own handwriting admitting to your own “overtsâ€, “withholds†and “crimesâ€.
Same exact thing where I was. They called them "Dirt Lists". Most programs on this site do this orally, though... what is the difference between an overt, a withhold, and a crime, though?
If overts came up in O/W write ups or sec checks such as masturbation or something that resulted in a Hill 10 that wasn’t known about, they were publicly humiliated in front of the whole org and then over-boarded.
Typical... I won't even get into the petty things I was humiliated for in "group" (also called "Raps").
There is a section that literally asks you for the addresses and phone numbers of close friends and family in case they ever needed to be contacted “in case of emergencies†etc. A life history also requires that you write down every sexual act you’ve ever done and every drug you’ve taken including how many times. Life history forms are also checked on the meter “if you’ve left anything out†and cleared to F/N.
Same in the program I was in. This was the master "Dirt List". Most programs on this site did/do this.
If Scientologists and SO members were allowed to have outside legal representation, heads would roll and there would be quite a few fines and prison sentences.
Same situation again. An idea on how one might get these kids/adults legal representation? A poster here, Nihilanthic suggested a
writ of Habeus Corpus. Another idea that's been passed around has been to actually sue a person inside the cult to force them to appear in court and get legal representation. All this is theoretical, of course, and a lawyer should probably be consulted.
I'm not sure how effective phone numbers can be thanks to the Sea Org controlling the phone lines. An idea I had a while back with another cult was to distribute disposable cell phones with numbers pre-programmed, but the efficacy of that would seem to depend largely on how effective the Sea Org is at searching it's members for contraband.
I had hardly any experience with real employment, only the skills I had learned in Scientology. Luckily, I’m bright, skilled as an artist and at computers and know what pressure actually means! LOL. So, I’ve managed to get myself into a comfortable position for myself and am doing very well. I’m loving life to the fullest right now.
I think there needs to be a lot more of this on your site... to let the insiders know that those who leave or "aren't following the program" aren't doomed to fail (or, in "program" language, "dead-insane-in-jail"). Perhaps more stories of those who have left the Sea Org / Scientology and are doing well on their own.
It does take help, though, and the kids who leave, especially, are going to need it. Let me know how myself, or others here can help.