Surviving Straight Inc

Straight, Inc. (1976-1993) publicly claimed to rehabilitate teenage drug users by using tough love and Alcoholics Anonymous principles. Straight, Inc. provided NO professional counseling: Straight, Inc.'s "treatment model" relied exclusively on "positive peer pressure" from unprofessional staff (program graduates) and from the teenage clients. Straight, Inc. claimed to have an astronomically high success rate and was supported by both the Reagan and Bush administrations. However, Straight, Inc. did not publicly reveal what many survivors will tell you. The REAL Straight, Inc. was a facility that used coercive thought reform (aka mind control, brainwashing), public humiliation, sleep & food deprivation, extremely harsh confrontational tactics, kidnapping, isolation and emotional, mental, psychological, verbal and physical abuse to forcibly break us down then remold us in the Straight, Inc. image. Straight, Inc. also operated in secrecy, just like a cult (Straight, Inc. has been classified as a cult by cult experts). No outsiders were ever permitted to know what really went on. Straight's rules and our fear of harsh punishment prevented us from talking to outsiders or from reporting abuses.

Trying to survive Straight, Inc. devastated many of us. Some former clients have committed suicide. Others have serious disorders as a result of their time in Straight, Inc. For example, some of us suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, panic disorders and severe depression. In addition, many of us have experienced other long-term detrimental effects such as inability to function normally in relationships, fear of therapists or any form of counseling, severe distrust of people, paranoia, nightmares, etc.  This is certainly not a complete list but does give one an inkling of the serious long-term adverse effects on survivors caused by Straight Inc.

November 2006 Straight, Inc. Survivors Memorial dedicated to those of us who didn't survive.

Purpose

The purpose of this website is two-fold: to educate the public about the REAL Straight, Inc.  and to give those who survived Straight, Inc. a place to publicly document their experience in their own words.

More information about Straight, Inc. is also provided throughout this site.

No child should be abused in the name of treatment.

Currently

Unfortunately this is not just a website about the past. It is also about the present. Other Straight, Inc. "spin off" programs existed under other names until as recently as early 2009 (Pathway Family Center). A few spin offs still remain.

 In addition, other treatment facilities copied the Straight, Inc. treatment model or devised similarly destructive programs which operate thoughout the United States today.  The amount of abuse and deaths occuring in these facilities must be stopped.

Please see the "Message to Parents" page to find out about current abusive teenage privately operated programs. The entire site is also a must read for any parent considering placing their child in a privately run facility for troubled teens.

Straight Survivor's Request for Apology to Nancy Reagan, President George Bush Sr., Former Straight, Inc. Executives, Other Responsible PartieS

http://www.petitiononline.com/295561me/petition.html 

Since written in late 2006, one apology from a former Straight, Inc. Executive staff member has been received. Thanks Richard for having the courage to publicly apologize. 

Excerpt from Mr. Mullinax's apology:

"For 19 years, I gave very little thought to my actions as a staff member of Straight. Then, in the Spring and Summer of 2008, I began to interact with Straight Survivors and listened to their experiences. As the weeks and months progressed, I became increasingly aware of the damage I caused to Straight Survivors as a staff member. After much reflection on the events of the 1980’s I have become very much aware that many Straight Survivors lost their integrity, innocence, sense of self worth, youth, ability to trust others, family relationships and more as a result of my actions as a staff member, and I deeply regret that I am responsible for this as a Staff Member.

I realize now that many Survivors still suffer from diagnosed psychological disorders such as post traumatic stress disorder, severe depression, social phobias, panic disorders, etc. caused by imprisonment in Straight, Inc, and that many Survivors still endure vivid Straight, Inc. nightmares, can still hear the screams of children as they were abused, and cannot forget the abuse they personally endured or witnessed as vulnerable children. I am deeply ashamed of my role in this, including not putting a stop to it."

Read Entire Text of Petition, Signatures and Apology Here

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

Straight, Inc. - Renamed

Straight utilized "spin off" programs to avoid the controversy that plagued Straight, Inc. Usually a Straight parent or former executive staff member would leave Straight and reopen an identical program in another location and put a completely different name on it. Straight Inc became  Kids Helping Kids, Pathway Family Center, Life, Growing Together, KIDS (of North Jersey, El Paso, etc.), SAFE, Alberta Adolescent Recovery Center (AARC), and others.

Flowchart of the Straights  (since the chart was compiled in 2000, some more Straight Spin off programs have finally closed)

More information about these "spin off" programs can be found on other pages on this website.