Katherine at Auldern Academy

This testimony was found on Google Maps. All rights go to the original author.

After now working in human services with disabled children, I've reflected a lot on my experience at Auldern. While I can agree that "it's all about perspective," it shouldn't have to be framed like that. The program is unprofessional, abusive, and traumatizing. Please do your research on the owner company, Sequel. It's a for-profit-prison and residential system-- not education at all. A lot of the practices used mimic that of being a prisoner. Their forms of punishment are that of manual labor, and after further research, are against labor laws. They used shame tactics, and had staff members come in intoxicated to verbally berate and abuse students at 1 in the morning. Please also look into "Breaking Code Silence." I was the first successful escapee in 2012. I've been called in to help with court cases and non-profits to bring light to these kinds of programs. If you are considering Auldern, I know that you are 1) desperate to help your daughter, and 2) you have money. There are other options that aren't institutionalized abuse. I have considered to this day to speak out against them for for everything from denial/refusal of medical care (I have a permanent muscle tear from being forced to carry boulders as punishment, and when I went to the nurse, was told it was just the weight from my backpack), endangerment (they convinced and manipulated my parents to kick me out during Hurricane Sandy in NJ until I agreed to come back when I ran away, even though I was 18), and the longterm impact/impairment that the trauma has left me.

If a parent is seeing this, please feel free to reach out to me. I will gladly divulge my full story. I have helped families get their daughters out of there. I promise you that your daughters can't fully communicate while they are there. Staff listens in on the phone calls, and are instructed to hang up the phones if students begin to get emotional or volatile. If someone has the e-mail privilege, their therapist is reading their e-mails. I would look like a lunatic when I'd behave normally on the phone, and then in person would beg my parents to get me out.

Also, in response to the mother saying their daughter's GPA went up, of course it did. The course work was easier than middle school and did not "college prep" me at all. In order to graduate, students had to apply to 2-3 colleges. They also withheld my credits when I returned to public school to finish senior year.

In addition, in response to "they are selective with their admissions process," they are not. It makes no sense clinically for me to have been accepted into a program with girls who had astronomically different treatment plans. I was there for having been in an abusive relationship and acting out in a rebellious way. I would sneak into New York City, and wouldn't answer my phone. While these are problem behaviors, how does it make any sense that I was in the same program as girls with addictions, ones who had witnessed siblings getting assaulted or had a Bi-Polar or Borderline diagnosis? Their "admissions process" is if you have the funding, and if they need a RTC instead.

So, my family dished out over $100k to leave me more traumatized with a lot of friends who are now dead after attending. If you have the resources, please seek help elsewhere.

Source
The original testimony from Google Maps

Mike's stay at ABM ministries.

Abm claims to be a cure, a safe space for kids who struggle.

They give a "tough love" approach. There is little love. Just tough. Day one Mr.Larry looked at me and laughed. "What's with the sour face? Did your dog just die? You where lucky. Usually we have people kidnap you in the night."

They took my adhd meds which I had been taking since I was 5 and got rid of them "It's just a lack of self control." I developed some sort of neurological tick. It's not adviced by psychiatrists that anyone go off a meds cold turkey. Parents are given a handbook. Then told a handful of lies. There is no physical abuse. Staff members will not berate/humiliate students. Food will not be used as punishment. Of course, the phone calls where monitored so saying things like "They are abusing me." Was impossible. The parents where told that their children would most likely say a number of outlandish things about the school, and that the child is lying to you because they wanna leave. pull one over on you.

Since I'm "gay" I was told that I would get restrained for making eye contact with any male student. Which in reality meant put you in a choke hold, punch you, push you, forcibly throw you face first into the ground, hold your head down while putting your arm behind your back in this position I can't even begin to describe because I can't imagine that it was physically possible, until you start screaming and obey. A student could be put into one at any time. Some times for just talking out of order.

Most parents reading this will think spare the rod spare the child! Your gay they did what they had to do! It wasn't just the rod, it was physical abuse. God! These people do not have the fruit of Christ to show for it. They are just master deceivers. I was consistently called a f#%^*¥, pickle lover. Humiliated in front of the other students. They would take away blankets and pillows, sometimes mattresses and you'd have to sleep on the thin wire bars of the bed. Painful. I watched a kid get cement glue shoved up his nose while he was being held up against a wall by his neck. Iv seen kids pass out. One child somehow got a hold of a razor and slit his wrists. Blood everywhere. He was unresponsive and we assumed taken to the hospital. Treated like absolute crap afterwords. 3 years ago he ended up killing himself.

We would have these "bible studies" and "church services" Mr. Larry would talk about himself, and how he was so smart, successful and how we should strive to be more like him. Christian homeschool program called ACE. Dumbest education I've ever had and unfortunately I was so behind in things like math and English when I entered college. If I got in trouble, I was outside doing "work projects" which consisted of running large stones back and forth, or digging holes in Missouri ground (all rocks) and putting up fence posts. My food was tortilla wraps with peanut butter. An overweight mentally handicapped boy was given small amounts of food and made fun of because he was fat, by staff members in front of students until he would cry. Which he did a lot. He had asthma and was given one water bottle and told to run laps for hours until he stopped crying. boy fainted.

We where forced to circle around a student one day, while he stripped into his underwear in the snow. He was a black student who had taken food from the kitchen once when no one was around (which was super rare). We where told to yell and scream at him and throw snowballs at him. You could get in trouble for doing nothing. Which meant the staff found something to be mad at you for. A lot of parents see me as just being leftist trash. I'm the furthest thing from liberal. I just see this school as wrong. One year a male teacher raped a female student. Her family ended up suing the school. Larry paid out a little more than what the school makes in a year in fees.

There where a lot of abuse allegations, they had changed the schools name multiple times in order to get away from bad reputations and allegations of abuse. Just do your research!

Source:

• The original testimony on Yelp

Trinity Teen Solutions survivors testimony

This testimony was found on Yelp. All rights goes to the author.
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My experience at Trinity was torture for me. I was not what you would really consider a troubled teen. Worst grade I had in High school was a C, I did not party, do drugs, or have sex. I did have communication issues with my parents and that is what I was sent to Trinity to address. I felt that the information my parents found on Trinity before sending me was misleading and the issues could have been better addressed in family therapy rather than a residential treatment facility. I was there from May 2008-Aug 2010.

I was sent at the age of 17, after getting drunk for the first time at my oldest brother's wedding. I was there for 26 months. During that time I saw my parents twice. I was not allowed to see my brothers or my grandparents. My grandmother died during my stay and I was not allowed to attend her funeral. Communication with my parents was monitored very closely. If anything I said on a phone call was seen as negative by staff I lost my phone privileges with my parents. I felt forced to say what staff wanted to hear even if it wasn't the truth for fear of losing contact with my parents. If the letters I sent were not considered "positive or uplifting" they were returned to me to rewrite. This was the only contact I had with my parents over the two years.

I have done research since leaving on the behavior modification model, also known as coercive persuasion. I encourage parents to do some research if you are considering residential treatment for your teen. The environment of this center feels very similar to a cult and masks abuse (physical, psychological, and emotional) as "tough love". I have had many other girls confide the same feelings to me since leaving. I was left feeling isolated, sleep deprived, overworked, and desperate to get home. Even after I turned 18 I was told that I was not allowed to leave. I was never informed of my rights. I was terrified to even ask because I did not want to be knocked down levels for being "defiant" or "manipulative". It is a constant state of fear. The "challenges" were assigned to either humiliate or break a certain behavior. I felt that very few of the challenges I endured actually had any positive effect on me.

The program is run on a "need to know" basis. The staff never disclosed how long I was to be there. My parents thought I would only be there for a few weeks. The anxiety behind not knowing the length of stay or even when the next time I could see my parents was unbearable. Any "change" I believe was inspired by the stress and were not effective outside of the ranch. After two years I had only reached level 3 of 6. I can't imagine how long it would have taken me to graduate. My stay cost my parents about $200,000+ dollars. My relationship with my parents after was still a mess. I felt lost and confused when I left, even though the staff claimed I was in a good place. I was 19 which I believe played a major part in me being able to leave. In my opinion, the truth was that nothing about Trinity had prepared me for re-entering the real world. Everything they had "taught" me there I felt was a lie and had no real world value.

I felt like the exorbitant amounts of money spent to keep me here should at least have afforded us things such as clean unused underwear, and clothes.

The Government Accountability Office website has thousands of reports of abuse regarding the troubled teen industry due to the lack of regulations. Trinity claims on their website, "As a Christian based Residential Treatment Center, Trinity Teen Solutions uses individualized treatment plans to help your child be a functioning part of today's world with the least restrictive environment possible." I feel that this is a lie based on my experience. I feel that the ambiguity depicted on their website does not accurately depict the level of restrictions and discomfort that they are exposing teens to. I felt that I had no freedom, no support; only fear, deprivation and isolation. We as humans need to be loved and accepted and will adapt to the environment around us to survive. That is what I did here, I survived, but I am left with the aftermath of the abuse and it will forever be part of my life.

I want you to know that I'm coming from this with 11 years of perspective. I have worked hard outside of Trinity to repair relationships with my family, but Trinity did not help me accomplish that. I believe that any success I have had in life is in spite of it. I am now happily married with 3 beautiful girls. I could never imagine putting them through a place like this. It is my job as their parent to protect them. I still to this day have nightmares that I get sent back (10 years since I left). My parents and I are on great terms now that they have seen me reach my potential as a mother and adult. It took us years to reach this place and to leave the hurt that Trinity caused us in the past.

Source:

• The original testimony on Yelp

Walker's testimony about Telos Academy

This testimony was located on Google Maps

I was a student of Telos academy 2 years ago. I was pulled from the program by my parents once they finally saw evidence of the claims I was making were true.

This school is a scam. Nothing on the web sight about the academics program is true for example, My math class was for told to be a 1 on 1 attention and help environment but in reality, you go in and sit at a computer for an hour doing mindless math work while not a single word is spoken in the room. I will be writing a very detailed and longer review soon to come with a lot more examples and evidence and stories.

Bottem line, I went to wilderness before telos and had a better, more productive time in wilderness, then when I came to telos the money started to pour out of our families pockets and I can tell you for a fact, I left this school with more issues than I had when I came in. Telos did not solve a single problem for me. They find a way to make it look like a family with group therapy and brothers by your side. This is not true unless you consider your family to be a group of higher powered authorizes that hover their power above you constantly as a reminder, your not in charge here, your parents can't help you nor will they believe you.

One more final example about how the web sight shows none of what the real school is about? We as students of Telos Academy were allowed to possed airsoft rifles and pistols, these weapons were kept at times in a shed and most of the time, IN YOUR DORM ROOM! SO do your research parents, don't get scammed, don't send your kid somewhere they wont be helped.

Source:
The original testimony on Google Maps

Kristopher's testimony about Telos Academy

This testimony was found on Google Maps.

To any lazy parent looking at google reviews to decide where to send their "troubled" child.

First thing you should know. If you send your child away for 1 thing, the Telos staff will find $250,000 worth of problems the day they meet your son.

I was held at Telos RTC for 11 month. During this time all i did was agree to fake issues that my "therapist" mentioned because they could never allow a student to finish his "treatment" before Telos breaks even on the cost of having him there. Telos therapy is a scam. The people working there are simply doing things any therapist can do, but because there patient cant leave until they tell there parents the therapist did a good job, they think if they just lie it will go faster.

Another thing that should be noted is how little parents are informed on the process. I came home after my time at Telos to learn that my parents had next to no idea of what Telos was like. They spruce everything up for parents weekend and make them think everythings great when in reality people are miserable.

Next is the school. I was forced to be at telos for 11 months. During which i was taking classes that didnt meet any standards and had no educational value. In addition to that, a few courses i took had no value. I took an online course for a full year of credit only to find out that because Telos didnt offer the spanish credit i need, i cant attend any UC schools. A big opportunity in my life gone because of the shabby basement telos calls a school.

All the professionals ive encountered here at home have agreed that based on my reveiw of telos, they no longer recommend this establishment to the parents they work for.

Source
The original testimony on Google Maps

For 10 years this blog only reached a marginal part of it potential audience

This blog started a decade ago. The team behind has collected testimony after testimony from adults who were traumatized during their teenage years.

Fact is that there are a lot more who suffer in similar way. The human brain tries it best to hide unpleasant memories because they can destroy a person if they are brought into attention. For many the only part of the past are the nightly nightmares, where they relive the horror night after night.

It is not helping that the so-called professionals who lied to the parents hoping to score a little referal fee or the so-called caretakers hired for their muscles more than their knowledge of the often complex psycological problems the teenagers arrive with, are not brought to justice. Too many owneers of such facilities have never been forced to repay the families for their scam. Too many victims of assaults inside the residential programs have never seen the employee convicted of assault.

That is the reason so many people never have spoken out against the violence or abuse they were subjected to.

Maybe it will change.

Paris Hilton has decided to deal with her past and reveal how awful Provo Canyon School were for her. Of course the present management state that it happened under former owners but lets see in 10 years if present patients do not step forward. What she were put through was not uncommon at Provo Canyon School while she were there. An organization like HEAL-online is very much established because victims of abuse at Provo Canyon School decided to argue for a stop of the abuse.

It has created a whole new kind of press coverage of abuse in residential treatment facilities and boarding schools.

Maybe now the many testimonies collected for this blog will be read by families so they know that they have to look for more local treatment and realize that outpatient programs are very much safer so children who didn't belong in residential programs do not end up there for a few dollars in referal fee to local medical staff or educational consultant.

Trinity Teen Solutions survivors testimony

This testimony was found on Yelp. All rights goes to the author.
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I was sent to Trinity in October of 2011 and graduated the program in July of 2013. My struggles were with anxiety and depression primarily, as well as some behavioral issues. I won't downplay that I was having some very serious problems, but Trinity was NOT the solution. Trinity is a catholic based treatment center that uses a mixture of strict discipline and once a week therapy. Some of the "discipline" includes humiliating and degrading "challenges." For example, The Chair. The Chair is simple, you sit on a chair in the corner facing a wall for a minimum of two weeks without speaking to anyone, participating in any activities, or having any form of entertainment other than 3 hours of online classes a day. If you broke any of the chair rules, the punishment would be to eat a bowl of kidney beans and olives instead of a regular meal.

I got very behind in my school work at Trinity Teen Solutions, as did many of the other girls. Which is ironic, because we did school work 12 months out of the year, six days a week. We participated in online school, which served as a very poor education for two years. I had no physical teacher for TWO YEARS. When I finished my time at TTS, I struggled immensely during my last year of high school due to the poor education I received.

I could go on and on about the various things that I experienced at Trinity, but suffice it to say that I'm 23 years old and I still struggle with the memories that I have of this place, and I feel that if I spend too long ruminating over it, I'll end up in a very dark place. I have been diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which was something that I never struggled with before TTS. While I do understand that one needs a predisposition to exhibit this behavior, the expectation of perfection that was perpetuated at Trinity is what caused these symptoms to develop in me. I had to mentally ritualize in order to feel safe. In one particular instance while I was being assessed for their bi-weekly "Holy Cowgirl" assessments, I was so overcome with anxiety that I ended up vomiting.

Being there for so long, I obviously had a mixture of positive and negative experiences. In a way, I was forced to develop a positive attitude, because fighting the system would have gotten me no where. I feel that this review would be dishonest if I didn't at least mention some of the things that made my Wyoming experience more tolerable.

1. My therapist J.D. Although JD no longer works for TTS
2. The Animals
3. It is pretty there
4. We weren't allowed to be friends with the other patients while we were there, but afterwards I talked to these people over social media and have made some really great friendships

I felt that I did what I had to in order to survive this place. I became a different person while I was there, but not in a way that I liked. I hated the person that Trinity turned me into. And when I look back on my teenage self, I try to have some compassion for that girl, because I was doing the best that I could at that time. I needed to please the powers that be, we were constantly reminded that if we didn't behave and change, that we would be held there indefinitely. Before Trinity, I was very passionate about art and drawing, but that was stomped out of me. I was only allowed to draw on some Sundays, and given punishment if I was caught doodling during the week. None of our notebooks were private, so if I did doodle, I would inevitably be caught. So I had to stop. I only draw rarely these days out of some subconscious fear of wrongdoing or punishment. It just doesn't feel safe to me (OCD).

I supposed that I should mention the outcome. Trinity is a very controlled environment, you are not in any way exposed to the real world. We aren't even allowed to talk about our lives pre-TTS, not even in a therapy group. After Trinity, my relationship with my family was more broken than it was before. I had only seen my parents four times in my two years there. My former friends had moved on with their lives, and I've had a great deal of trouble establishing meaningful relationships with anyone. I was told to lie to people at school about where I was. So, within weeks, I had turned to alcohol. I've been struggling with alcoholism for the last five years. Again, I don't entirely blame Trinity for this, but they claim a high success rate, which is simply not true. I'm not sure how they are measuring their idea of a success rate, to be quite honest. I'm doing better now, I sought treatment as an adult at facilities that had a proper understanding of my mental illnesses and addictions, and were able to effectively treat these things. I am doing better now, it is in spite of Trinity Teen Solutions, not because of it.

Source:

• The original testimony on Yelp

Trinity Teen Solutions survivors testimony

This testimony was found on Yelp. All rights goes to the author.
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When I was sent to this place in 2005 I was terrified, dressed in rags, and broke my back as I exceeded the child labor laws times a million daily. Not saying it was a total negative experience, although most of it was due to MOST of the people running the program.

I was there for about 8 months and I had only gotten 2 school credits (this is a fact). Kids and teens get hungry because they are constantly growing; my point is that the girls do not have access to the kitchen so if we are laboring in the heat or the freezing cold we only have water no Gatorade no gronola bars nothing to feed our energy, so now this is why some girls "steal" food (if you even want to call it that since the parents are paying the program more than enough money to feed an army, I shot you not) so anyways when they would do that they would give them ridiculous punishments, such as eating cold oatmeal for all 3 meals for 3 days in a row, yuk.

There were all kinds of crazy stuff they did. I personally was told that I had to tie myself to this other girl with a rope and we had to be tied together with a rope connected to our belt loops all day long until bedtime. This went on for 5 months. Then at one time, I had to care for that Saint Bernard dog you see in the pictures, only when bedtime came along I was not allowed to sleep in my bed, they made me sleep on the floor with the dog without a pillow or a blanket. I did not get the sleep I needed during that time and I still had to labor all day, that is if I wanted to eat real food. They ALWAYS use food as a punishment even though it says right there in the cowgirl manual that they will NOT use food as a punishment. These people like to contradict themselves, and if you think for one minute that Angie and Jerry (the owners) don't know what's going on think again because they do know and they don't care.

I was upset one night and so I just started running down the dirt road, they came after me in the truck and slammed me down On The ground. Now after this happens the staff preceded to tie up my entire body in a thick heavy rope and threw me in the back of the truck and drove back up to the cabins. I didn't know what the hell was going on and then I over heard them talking about locking me in the shed and they didn't do that because there were nails sticking out of the walls and so they thought I was going to kill myself ( and that's something I would never do, I was simply PISSED) but can you blame me? First of all I already had been traumatized before I went to this place and they just made things worse for me.

I'll tell you all something, ANYBODY can go and get a job that's meant for helping people, just to go for the money, and OR to make others miserable because they are miserable. There are a lot of crooked COPS, and many other titles. I really hope I can get through to many parents out there. One more memory is about this thing they put us through called "Pig Shifts" which means; after the mother pig gives birth, the girls are paired up and every pair has a set time each day or night or early AM to watch the piglets to make sure the momma does not crush them. Each shift would run 3 hours at a time. My pig shift was from 2am to 5am mind you that us two girls had to walk across a huge field about a mile and a half long in the middle of the night in the pitch dark knowing that a mountain lion was spotted by the neighbor, and we heard this from staff. Now we were not allowed to go to sleep until 9:30pm each night we had the option to stay up a little later but I was always so exhausted I had wished I could have gone to sleep earlier, especially with pig shifts and then laboring all day. One more thing I forgot to mention is that they like to make us run everywhere on top of the pig shifts, the daily labor, and the lack of nutrition.

Another important memory I must share; we went hiking in the mountains (very beautiful) anyways, once we had gotten to Deep lake we were to put our food up into the trees before we would camp for the night as there are REAL BEARS where they bring the girls. So I had put my food in the sack to go up into the tree and we were about to go to sleep and I had forgotten that I had a small Gatorade packet in my pocket ( yes the one time we actually got this type on stuff on hiking trips) so I was worried because I didn't want to get eaten by a bear so I told staff right away and it was a simple mistake but they got mad at me, so then I went to burry it away from the campsite to be safe. Then the next morning because of what happened with me and that Gatorade packet the night before the staff refused to let any of us eat breakfast, and this was the day after a very long and strenuous hike. Thank you God Bless

Source:

• The original testimony on Yelp

Trinity Teen Solutions survivors testimony

This testimony was found on Yelp. All rights goes to the author.
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I went here for about six months, and while I don't think it was as bad as some of the other reviews here say, it was still pretty bad. For one, before I went there I had never done drugs, never drank, never partied, but when I came back I felt the strongest urge to get into this stuff. I learned about piercings, tattoos, parties, alcohol, and all this other stuff I didn't really know about and being so restrained it seemed so fun! The turn over rate is very low, most girls can take 2+ years to graduate. Nobody had graduated in over a year when I was there Jan-Jul 2014. Most girls either "age out(turn 18, like I did)", or they get pulled out by their parents for whatever reason. Most girls parents don't let them go home when they turn 18, but my mom did because she had been planning on pulling me out soon anyways because she didn't like how regulated and censored the communication between us was, mostly letters.

The staff are pretty nice, but there is definite favoritism. I've talked to a lot of girls who went there, and the few of them who I've met said they had to kiss major butt to get anywhere. I was only comfortable actually talking to only 2 or 3 of the staff there, many of them are just either awkward or tend to make me feel like what I was saying was wrong. Now, maybe that was the case, but I thought they were supposed to help me open up and learn to see my mistakes instead of making me feel shut down and guilty. All I know is that I had a lot more self confidence going in than I did coming out.

Another thing was the horses. I LOVED the horses. One of the main reasons my mom said she sent me here was because she was really excited about the horses, but unless you are on horse chore you don't get to see or interact with them very often. You go riding maybe once every few weeks if you're lucky, though sometimes at random you'll go like three times in two weeks then not go again for a month. Not sure how that system works, but my mom wasn't very happy with it and neither was I.

The therapy was alright, I loved Bernadette! She made me feel like a normal person and a lot less guilty. Not everything bad is my fault, turns out! The staff though is a bit harsh. I know the point of the place is "tough love", but there's a point where it can go a bit overboard. You can try as hard as you can but it still will not be good enough, unless you meet these standards you feel awful about yourself. I did learn a lot, but I think the "trauma" kind of negated most of it. I have nightmares about the place and I wasn't even there that long compared to most. I was pretty well behaved, so I didn't get in too much trouble, but the punishments for things are very unbalanced. Once a girl freaked out and made us all leave the cabin and she just didn't get dinner, while once I accidentally ordered an extra box of soap and got a hill run. I understand that people need different punishments, but good golly. Some girls would act completely awful and so the staff would coddle them, while some of us got completely ignored. Now this is how I saw it. I don't know the whole story, but all I know is that it made me feel very insignificant and frustrated.

The religion was also kind of shoved down your throat. I am a christian, not catholic, but I still got shut down when I tried to give my opinion during group discussions. If they didn't agree with you, you were wrong. Another thing about the "group therapy", I didn't even know that was supposed to be "therapy". Most of the time we watch videos about a saint or how to react in different situations(videos that were made in the 80's may I add). Those videos are hilarious and none of us take them seriously, they are just too dang corny. They call it "group therapy", but its more just something to keep us occupied for an hour or two.

Now, in my opinion, if your daughter is close to turning 18, has never drank, partied, or done drugs, isn't very religious, or anything like that, this isnt the place. I cant speak for others, but when I came out I think I was worse than when I went. Also if you actually want her to graduate expect her to be there for at least two years. I did learn some stuff though, like that you can put anything on a tortilla! Also patience and people skills because the girls there can be nuts. I love them though and I can't wait until they get out so I can talk to them without being constantly monitored. So anywho, yep. That's my opinion.

Source:

• The original testimony on Yelp

Trinity Teen Solutions survivors testimony

This testimony was found on Yelp. All rights goes to the author.
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Please do not send your daughter here. I left Trinity almost three years ago, and suffer from the repercussions everyday I was barely 16 when I was sent to TTS and left at almost 18. Those are two vital years of a young persons life, in which they should be nurtured and be able to learn from their mistakes.

Trinity is a verbally, emotional and psychological abusive program that you leave having no feeling of self worth or confidence. I know I do not speak for just myself as I am in contact with MANY previous Trinity girls. A majority of the reason I was sent to Trinity, was because of my adoption. My "counselor" and staff would never allow me to talk to them about my adoption and upon leaving they told me I was not allowed to talk to my birth family for a year. They refuse your basic human rights and treat you worse than if you were residing in a prison.

I have many psychological as well as physical damage as a result from Trinity. While there I was told I was not allowed to engage in any extraneous activity involving my knees. However I was still made to do these and more, now at 20 years old I have the muscle, bone structure and fragility of a 70 year old woman. I also had many UTI's as a result of being refused to be taken to the bathroom while on chair.

I suffer from social anxiety and PTSD, waking up screaming in the middle of the night afraid I am being sent back. If you want the best for your daughter, DO NOT send them here. They will come back with only more damage and hurt before they left.

Source:

• The original testimony on Yelp

Trinity Teen Solutions survivors testimony

This testimony was found on Yelp. All rights goes to the author.
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I attended Trinity as a teen and have since tried to forget the trauma that happened to me while I was there but have found myself 5 years later, still tortured by the memories. I was your typical rebellious teen- experimenting with alcohol and drugs, defiant, hanging out with older boys, and depressed. However, the punishment I received at trinity for being this way is something I would never wish on my worst enemy. All Trinity did was confuse and lie to my family, and further traumatize me. I was sitting in a car one day after I got out drinking and smoking weed with my old friends 100 times MORE self destructive, alone, and sad than I was the day I went to Trinity. The affects of Trinity led me to be a serious hard drug abuser, something I was never destined to be coming from my loving and supporting family that was only trying to help me. I had no other way to numb the memories and pain. Every other girl I attended with had similar fates- either became serious junkies, or became promiscuous and had children out of wedlock because they were only searching for love and to numb the memories as well. I am being totally honest when I say this- I WOULD HAVE RATHER BEEN IN JAIL.

Why? Many reasons. One, in jail you actually know how long you are going to be there. Trinity is on a "need to know basis." So unless it is information you need to know in a life or death situation, it is withheld from you. The MONTHS never knowing when you will be able to see your family again or be treated like a human being are torture. Two, you can talk to other people in jail and rely on each other for support. At Trinity, the girls are not in any case allowed to be friends or talk to each other without permission. No one is allowed to know why the other one is there. Theyre encouraged to tattle on each other and punished if they do not. This creates a lonely and depressing environment versus having other girls there for support and to share similar struggles with. Three, if you are doing well you will get out sooner and vice versa. At Trinity, no matter what you do, you will be accused of faking it and lying and problems will be made up by staff for you, anything in order to tell your parents you need to be kept there longer. It is biased and decided by unqualified "life coaches" that have simply received an undergrad degree in something like psychology and has no training. I was once told by one of these staff members that I was getting too close with another girl and every time I looked or spoke to this other girl I was tacking on a few months to my stay at Trinity. My final reason is you are given adequate hygiene, food, and clothing in jail. At Trinity, every girl there even though we were all different sizes and body builds were FORCED to eat the exact same portion every single meal and if they didn't eat something on their plate? Punished. This was too much for some girls and never enough for others. Showers were maybe once a week in cold water for 5 minutes. And the underwear, bras, and clothing were reused by girls for over 20 years- it was ratty and disgusting. One girl came back as a staff member 10 years after she had been there and said she recognized her sweat pants and hoodies she wore at age 15. This is pretty amusing to me since TRINITY COSTS NEARLY $300 A DAY. Yet they spent none of this money on clothing or anything else really. Food was ordered cheaply in bulk and the girls made every thing themselves- low cost pasta and rice meals- and if anything started getting used to much and became "too expensive" it was immediately nixed. I was once reprimanded for using the too expensive avocados.

Angie Woodward, the owner. How that name makes me cringe. She is the lovely lady responsible for harming so many teen girls and scamming hundreds of people into dumping her loads of cash for her multiple homes, vacations, and boats, cars, horses, ATVs, etc. that she parades around the girls and rubs in their faces while they are slaving away on her ranch. Angie's father owns the trouble teen boys ranch down the road and is where she learned all of these shaming and fear tactics for the clients and families. The only difference between the two ranches is that the boys one has been closed for abuse, neglect, and fraud, while Angie's is surprisingly still open! She claims to have years of experience and be our on staff nurse but I think I only saw her twice in the whole year and a half I was there- like I said she was busy vacationing. She hires 24 years olds fresh out of undergrad to carry out the dirty work instead who are too fresh in the world and naive to know they are doing something wrong- although a few figured it out and left and have written reviews here themselves that are negative but have been removed. Ill spare you the details of the abuse and neglect that goes on at Trinity- all you need to know is it is a scam with false advertising, AND YOU SHOULD NEVER SEND YOUR DAUGHTER HERE.

Source:

• The original testimony on Yelp