The harsh reality is that most wilderness programs are rampant with child abuse. It is very hard to explain how much trama SHF has caused me. People claiming I only say it because I am an evil lier trying to discredit a christian program don’t make it much easier. But SHF will not fear me into silence. I am opposed to your tactics of coercion and indoctrination. SHF takes advantage of the weak and vulnerable who are seeking help. Convincing them if they do not place their child in the program immediatly the child will be dead or in jail. This is a tactic all of these wilderness camps use.
There are plenty of programs that have been reported and even charged with child abuse (in some cases murder) and they continue operate. Many times they move to another state and change their name. How are these people still able to abuse kids? I do not know. Look at HEAL-online.org, watch the Capitol Hill briefings. The briefings include testimonys from, ex students of wilderness programs, parents of children who died in these programs, mental health experts, and Greg Kutz of the Forensics Audit Unit and Greg Kutz, Managing Director of Forensic Audits and Special Investigations for the US Government Accountability Office describes reports from two GAO investigations into the troubled industry for teens. Heres the link http://www.saferchildren.net/wilderness/capitolhill.html
Beatings for extreme reasons? My first day there I was unable to run up a hill. I was yelled at in front of everyone and swatted because I was unable to do it. This is just one case. i know ex students who had bruises that lasted weeks for asking why they had to do some meaningless task. The bible tells you to beat kids so that makes it ok? It also tells you to murder witches, stone disobedient children, and endorses slavery(shf?). I will assume you are ok with these things as well.
These parents pay tuitions that are the same as Ivy League schools. Yet the child is “treated” by special meals (I was on them for over a month and a half.) being told im a terrible human unable to be loved, my parents failed me, only if we work the program will we not die or go to jail or be a drug addict. These children with serious mental issues need real medical help from real doctors using real science that is backed up by peer reviewed medical journals. Your son or daughter may appear to be helped, but many more claim to be abused. Others are to afraid to say anything because they are afraid of Trace Embry and his cult. Every ex student I have spoken with claims it has taken them and their family years to overcome the problems and scars SHF letft them with.
You and SHF claim we are evil, demonic people that are simply trying to destroy SHF. This makes absolutely zero sense and is completely insensitive. What is there for me to gain from telling others I was abused at SHF? It is not easy at all. The reason I tell people and try to get the information out there is not because I am evil or have some sinister plan. The reason is very simple. I wish to prevent other children from being abused at the hands of Trace Embry in the name of science, medicine, therapy, and even Jesus.
Sources:
- Website where the original testimony was found (Reality is my religion)
- Factsheet about the facility (Fornits Wiki)
I'm sorry this child's stay at Shepherds Hill did not go well for him/her. My son was at SHF for one year. That was 10 years ago in 2008. To this day, he will tell you that was the best year of his life. Since that time, he did 4 years in the USMC, married and had a child, with second child on the way. His time at SHF made him much more prepared for challenges he faced after HS, and frankly, his time at SHF kept him out of jail before he graduated HS. While at SHF, he "played the system" by pretending to be converting to their program for much of his time there. However, some of their message got through to him -- the message that he has an identity in Jesus Christ who loves him. And that message had a lasting impact on his life. Years later, he told me that though he had resisted much of what I had taught him in his teen years, it was still getting through, and that he was thankful for all I had done for him in those teen years. He further said that when he had children, he would raise them the same way he was raised. To this day, he has nothing but praise for Trace Embry and all of the staff at SHF who loved him (sometimes tough love), cared for him, and encouraged him for that critical year of his life.
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