I can only speak of our experience at Whitmore, ANON:
We did not meet the owners, Mark and Cheryl Sudweeks prior to enrolling our daughter in October 2004. The Sudweeks had the kids at Lake Powell for what was described to us as a camp-out trip, with the focus on "FEELINGS."
We did speak on the telephone, and exchanged a couple of emails with Mark Sudweeks prior to enrollment. We never spoke to Cheryl Sudweeks or received any emails from her. She would not respond to any of our communications to her UNTIL we sent an email that we would be removing our daughter from Whitmore. ONLY THEN, did Cheryl Sudweeks find it "necessary" to call our home.
We enrolled our daughter with the therapist, Tim Lowe, who told us that ALL of the kids at Whitmore, 40 at the time, were ALL placed through P.U.R.E. and Sue Scheff. We do not feel that Tim Lowe had any reason to lie to us. He also re-stated this to us two other times.
Our daughter was driven to Lake Powell to join the Sudweeks and the other children at Lake Powell by the Sudweeks' daughter Trinity, and her husband, Jeff.
We have no idea how the Sudweeks and Sue Scheff met.
We withdrew our daughter amid the allegations of child abuse by these owners.