Surviving Straight Inc ®

THE TROUBLED TEEN INDUSTRY STILL EXISTS

Many past “troubled teen” facilities were just as abusive as Straight, Inc. once was. The notorious WWASP programs (1990's - 2000's), now closed, were located in and outside the United States. Survivors of those programs report similar if not more horrific stories than Straight, Inc. survivors report. Survivors of many other past troubled teen industry programs report abuse as well. 

But the Troubled Teen Industry still exists today.  It includes wilderness programs, behavior modification programs, boot camps, therapeutic boarding schools, drug rehabilitation centers, gay conversion programs, and other so-called "christian" programs/schools etc. Many are abusive and should be avoided. The problem is, even abusive programs will look great on the surface. Websites and brochures promise miraculous results and are very appealing to unsuspecting desperate parents.

To further complicate matters, there are "it saved my life" testimonials AND "it was abusive" testimonials. Parents should never just listen to the good reviews - the bad ones should always be read and considered as well.

Abusive programs also change names after victims come forward filing lawsuits or speaking out publicly. Sometimes former staff of abusive programs open new programs or get jobs at different programs. So, when programs get shut down or stays open in spite of bad publicity, the abuse doesn't stop

Please consult the following websites BEFORE considering placing your child in any program that claims to help “troubled teenagers.” Better yet, read every link on this page - your child's life may depend on it. 

Lathrop Lybrook's website is a very comprehensive compilation of information on numerous programs in the Troubled Teen Industry. There are survivor testimonials, podcasts, videos, links to more information, books, etc.

Survivor accounts - from a variety of programs in the Troubled Teen Industry

The Extensive Network Of Abusive Programs And Their Connections to Each Other - created by HEAL-ONLINE.ORG

BREAKING CODE SILENCE mission statement states that it "...is a movement organized by a network of survivors and activists to raise awareness of the problems in the Troubled Teen Industry, and the need for reform. By using our many voices to tell our stories, we aim to create change and protect vulnerable youth from abuse."

Breaking Code Silence - Facebook Page

Breaking Code Silence - Website

Survivor NineNineThree - by survivor of The Family, also known as The Family School and The Family Foundation School, and was later renamed Allynwood Academy.
See also, the website The Family Foundation School Truth Campaign and the facebook page for The Family Foundation School Truth Campaign

Info about WWASP Programs

Wikipedia on WWASP

Heal Online WWASP info page

WWASP Survivors - Awareness, Support, Advocacy

Insiders View - A Much Needed Look at the "Teen-Help" Industry

General WWASP Articles - Strugglingteens.com

Corporate Child Abuse Persists (WWASPS)

According to http://wwaspsurvivors.com/ "Some of the facilities that have been associated with WWASP, either via direct affiliation or via former owners, are listed below."

• Academy At Ivy Ridge, NY
• Ashcreek Ranch Academy, UT
• Atlantis Leadership Academy, Jamaica
• Bethel Boys Academy, MS
• Bethel Girls Academy, MS
• Brightway Adolescent Hospital, UT
• Canyon View Park, MT
• Carolina Springs Academy, SC
• Casa By The Sea, Mexico
• Cross Creek Center, UT
• Cross Creek Manor, UT
• Cross Creek Programs, UT
• Dundee Ranch, Costa Rica
• Eagle Point Christian Academy, MS
• Horizon Academy, NV
• Horizon Academy, UT
• Midwest Academy, IA
• Morava Academy, Czech Republic
• Northwest Academy, NV
• Paradise Cove, Samao
• Pillars Of Hope, Costa Rica
• Pine View Christian Academy, MS
• Reality Trek, UT
• Red River Academy, LA
• RiverView Camp, UT
• RiverView Academy, MT
• Royal Gorge Academy, CO
• Royal Peak Academy, CO
• Seneca Ranch, SC
• Southern Oaks Academy, SC
• Spring Creek Lodge, MT
• Sunrise Beach, Mexico
• Teen Mentor, Costa Rica
• Teen Discovery, Costa Rica
• Tranquility Bay, Jamaica
• Woodland Hills Maternity Home, UT
• Youth Foundation Inc, UT
• Youth Success Foundation Academy, UT

WWASPS Program Survivor Accounts

WWASP Survivor Testimony

2004-2005 Tranquility Bay & Cross Creek Academy

Breaking The Vow Of Secrecy - A True Story About Teen Help/WWASP

Troubled Teen Programs - 25 Plaintiffs Join In Lawsuits Against WWASPS - 2006

Other                                   Wwasp Survivors Help Line

Many "Christian or faith based" programs are horrific as well. 

New Horizons Youth Ministries in Indiana, a group of “troubled teen” programs founded by Gordon Blossom. Escuela Caribe (Dominican Republic), Marion, IN, Missanabie Woods Academy, Canada 

All About Escuela Caribe by Deirdre Sugiuchi

Survivor Testimonials 

2010 State Of Indiana Revokes Child Caring Insititution License of New Horizon Youth Ministries Inc 

New Horizons Youth Ministries and its 3 programs have closed. But was reopened under a different name, with some of the same staff, and is called called Crosswinds/Lifeline Youth and Family Service in Indiana. Lasting Change Inc "provides administrative support for Lifeline."

Escuela Caribe is now called Caribbean Mountain Academy (Dominican Republic) and Pierceton Woods Academy & Spencer Home are in Indiana.

Allegations have recently surfaced of sexual assault at Pierceton Woods Academy, a Lifeline owned private Christian alternative school.

Online Survivor Groups & Websites - ALL Programs

Breaking Code Silence Group (Facebook)

Elan & All Survivors of Abusive Treatment(Facebook)

Survivors of Institutional Abuse  (website)

Survivors of Institutional Abuse (Facebook)

HEAL (Facebook)

WWASP Survivors (facebook)

Survivors of New Bethany Homes For Girls And Boys (facebook)

New Bethany Circle of Sisters (facebook)

New Bethany Christian Day School (facebook)

Survivors of New Horizons Youth Ministries (facebook)

Other Information/News About the "Troubled Teen Industry"

REDDIT

When Tough Love is Torture - And How to Stop It - May 5, 2008

EX Students Say Boarding School Kept Them In Isolation 

The Harrowing Story of Life Inside Alabama's Most Sadistic Christian Bootcamp by Art Levine, Newsweek, 03/02/17  

Dangerous "therapies" - no matter how miraculous the results of this approach seems to be, please dont allow your child to be subjected to attack/confrontational methods. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. Run the other way.

Attack Therapy

Brainwashing is Real and It's Really Not Therapy

Brainwashing is Real, Part 2: Office of the Surgeon General "Statement" on Brainwashing 

PODCASTS

These podcasts are on a variety of programs.

"Less Troubled" Hosted by Bret Stenhouse. An ongoing series of current events in the Troubled Teen Industry and survivor interviews. Bret was in a STRAIGHT center in Georgia back in the 80's. Bret works with other survivors to bring mass awareness and change to this abusive and greedy Industry.  

Parent Resources,
Articles, Websites, etc.


Must Know Red Flags Of Programs Designed To "help" Teens

Warnings Signs: Cautions when Considering a Residential Placement for a Child or Adolescent

Deaths of Children while in Private Treatment Facilities deaths after 2006 not included

ASTART

Federal Trade Commission - Consumer Information Residential Treatment Programs For Teens

Fraudulent And Abusive “Treatment” Centers For Children and Young Adults!  

Aaron Bacon: Tough Love Trial is Over

Deadly Rehabs The Target Kids

Question To Ask of Any Residential Treatment Provider

Heal 

Help At Any Cost by Maia Szalavitz 
 

Surviving Straight Inc, A Controlling Approach to Addiction Treatment Brings Disastrous Consequences   by Steven Slate, June 22, 2011

Fornits Current Program Database - This Wiki contains information about programs for people under 18, which have used abusive methods against the children detained in their program or are under investigation by the Fornits forum for abuse. There are presently 1,045 articles in this database. 

Politics & Legislation: About the Troubled Teen Industry

Juvenile Justice Center With Ties To Mike Pence Broke Indiana Law - Source: Reveal - February 15, 2017  
 
Suffer the Little Children: Mike Pence's Disturbing Connections To The Troubled Teen Industry  Source: deirdresugiuchi.com  - November 7, 2016

Mitt Romney: A Voice Of Freedom And Hope? Not For America's So-Called "Troubled" Youth - Source: Citizens Demanding Justice, January 23, 2016

Corporate Child Abuse?   Mitt Romney's Deep Connections To The Troubled Teen Industry - also discusses Mel Sembler - Straight Inc. and Robert Lichfield - WWASPS, April 2012

The Politics of The Troubled Teen Industry, Jan 22, 2012

Romney, Torture, and Teens

Dark side of a Bain success  A for-profit health company bought by Bain -- that Romney profits from -- has exploded in size and tales of neglect  July 18, 2012

Miller, Harkin Reintroduce Legislation to Prevent Child Abuse in Teen Residential Programs Oct 6, 2011

Fact Sheet: The Stop Child Abuse In Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2011

Greg Kutz: Uncovering child abuse and neglect at residential, public and private schools

GAO: Residential Treatment Programs - Concerns Regarding ABUSE & DEATH in Certain Programs For Troubled Youth (Testimony Before The Committee on Education and Labor, House Of Representatives, 2007)

GAO: Residential Programs - Selected Cases of DEATH, ABUSE and Deceptive Marketing (Testimony Before The Committee on Education and Labor, House Of Representatives, 2008)

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Books about the troubled teen industry, survivor accounts, etc

Non-fiction

"The Dead Inside" by Cyndy Etler (Straightling was the first, self-published version)

"We Can't Be Friends" by Cyndy Etler (the follow up book to "The Dead Inside")

"Institutionalized Persuasion" by Marcus Chatfield

"Totalistic Teen Treatment" by Marcus Chatfield

Florida Damage Report by Frank Haines

"Help At Any Cost" by Maia Szalavitz

The Great Drug War by Arnold Trebach (aka Fatal Distraction)

"Abandoned" by Susie Teneyck (Amazon Reviews)

"Reform At Victory" by Michelle Ulriksen

"Trapped In Paradise: A Memoir" by Cindy Art

"A Life Gone Awry: My Story Of The Elan School" by Wayne Kernochan

"The Game: A Return To The Elan School" By Wayne Kernochan

"New Bethany - Picture Perfect on the Outside, Let Us Take You Inside" by Roger Kiser

The Casa By The Sea Memoirs: A Year In A Mexican Behavioral Modification Facility For American Teensby Christopher Neil Young   

"Dead, Insane Or In Jail: A CEDU Memior" - by Zack Bonnie

"Dead, Insane or In Jail: Overwritten"(book 2) by Zack Bonnie

Surviving Bethel: A True Story Of Surviving Torture & Abuse by Allen Knoll

Whiteout by Lathrop Lybrook (PDF) who was in CEDU system - Rocky Mountain Academy, Ascent, & North Idaho Behavioral Health. 

Tough Love: Truth Behind The Troubled Teen Industryby Lillian Speerbrecker  

Jesus Land: A Memoir by Julia Scheeres  

An American Gulag by Alexia Parks

The Untherapeutic Community By Robert Weppner

Escape: My Life Long War Against Cults by Paul Morantz

From Miracle To Madness: The True Story of Charles Dederich & Synanon by Paul Morantz

Stolen Dignity: An Expose Of The Troubled Teen Industry by Andy Hirschfeld  (re-release pending)

Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett

Augusta Gone by Martha Tod Dudman

Pieces Of Victory by Jeneen C. Miller

Troubled: The Failed Promise Of America's Behavioral Treatment by Kenneth Rosen

Chasing Pleasure With Painby Haywood Robinson

Boy Erased - by Gerrard Conley (Love In Action, a Straight Inc copycat, gay conversion program)

Former Executive Staff Memior

Ex'd Out: How I Fired The Shame Committee by John Smid (who in the early 90's radically changed Love In Action to copy Straight Inc methods)

Fiction

"Come Clean" by Terri Paddock - based on Straight Inc

"Conviction" by Robert Dugoni - based on the cash for kids scandal

Other Survivor Suggested Reading

"Road To Whatever" by Elliot Currie

The Scapegoat Generation: America's War On Adolescents by Mike A. Males

Warning Signs of Potentially Abusive Facilities
Reprinted with permission from the former International Survivor's Action Committee (ISAC)

• The facility is not licensed.
• Verbal and/or written communication between the child and his parents, siblings,grandparents, etc. is prohibited, restricted, or monitored on any level.
• The facility requires that the parents and/or child sign a form releasing the program of liability in the event of injury to the child.
• The program requests/demands/recommends that they have legal custody of children.
• The program requires that children live in foster or "host" homes instead of allowing them to reside with their parents.
• The child or parent or forbidden from discussing the daily happenings at the facility. Often this policy is called "confidentiality."
• The child is denied access to a telephone.
• Phone calls between children and parents are monitored.
• The program uses confrontational therapy.
• Parents must fulfill requirements of the facility before being permitted to visit their own children.
• The facility is located outside the jurisdiction of the United States.
• Children are restrained or otherwise physically prevented from leaving the facility.
• The staff includes former students/clients of the facility.
• Staff members claim that self-injury or cutting/carving on ones body is normal behavior for a child in treatment.
• Parents are not allowed to remain with their child during the entire intake/entry process.
• The program inflicts physical punishments on children such as exercising for extended periods of time, bizarre cleaning rituals (ie scrubbing floors with a toothbrush) or food restrictions.
• The program uses humiliation to "break them down."
• The program forces children to remain in solitary confinement/isolation/time-out for an unspecified amount of time.
• The facility considers homosexuality to be a behavioral problem.
• The facility claims to be able to "treat" homosexuality.
• Reading materials are prohibited or severely limited.
• The facility does not have a clearly visible sign outside the building or descriptions of their location are vague.
• Current clients/students participate in the intake/entry process.
• The facility claims to modify behavior, yet has no licensed therapists on staff.
• A licensed doctor or registered nurse is not present at any time during normal operating hours.
• Staff members offer to help parents obtain a court order forcing the child into, or keeping the child in, the facility.
• Children are observed while bathing, dressing, or using the toilet on any level of the program.
• The facility claims to treat drug abuse, but does not conduct a drug screen prior to entry.
• The facility does not allow children to follow their religion of choice.
• Staff members must "approve" family members, siblings, friends, or employment.
• Children are not afforded an education in accordance with state requirements.
• Medication is recommended, prescribed, approved, or dispensed by anyone other than a medical doctor (MD).
• Children are denied medications that have been prescribed by an MD.
• Staff members, admissions personnel, referrers, etc. make statements indicating that "your child will die without" the program.
• Children escort/supervise other children.
• Children have to "earn" the "right" to speak during group/therapy sessions.
• Children are denied outside activities on any level/phase.
• Staff members must approve the withdrawal of children from the facility.
• The facility expects total and unquestioned support of parents.
• Children on any level/phase are forbidden to speak to other children in the facility.
• The facility will not disclose the names of any doctors or therapists on staff prior to the child's admittance into the program.