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

A stay at the Thayer Learning Center

This testimony was found on the message board belonging to HEAL-online. All rights goes to the author

(Too long of an intro?) Skip down to the time I arrived and read from there.
One summer day I was alerted to headlights coming up the driveway, little did I know what was about to happen.

I looked out the window in my bedroom and saw headlights pulling into the driveway, this is unusual as my family at the time lived in a remote ranch area with only a few neighbors nearby also it was around 4:00 Am in the morning.

I run into the house and alert my parents that there is a vehicle pulling into the driveway (my memory is a little blurry so bear with me) my parents get up quickly and pretend to not know what's going on, I go to the back door to see who was coming up the driveway and my dad rushes to the front door of the house and blocks the entrance, as I make my way to the back room where the back door is located to my surprise, a transporter is waiting outside the door, or blocking it, (unable to remember which) then another transporter comes from the other side blocking me in (he came in the front door) They do this boxing in method just in case the subject (me) decided to try and run.

So we're all in the back room, one of the transporters tells me to put on my shoes, so I comply after asking what was going on I'm very confused at this point, but my body is in no condition to run, I literally looked like one of those Ethiopian children you see in pictures, ribs sticking out, all skin a bones.

Anyway, I am transported to their car and I am told to get in the back seat, passenger side, so I comply.

I remember looking out the door before they shut it and my mother telling me that I am going away for awhile, I think her and I both cried.

The door was shut and my parents and the transporters talk briefly and away we go to the Reno airport to catch a plane. I was mostly quiet for the trip, I do remember asking one question "Where am I going?" I got a brief "Boarding school comment" from one of the transporters, So I thought to myself, well, I guess a little adventure couldn't hurt, since I was withering away anyway. Bear in mind I had had no sleep the night before, and my adrenaline and curiosity was at peak so I was not able to sleep at all during the trip.

We arrive at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport and board a plane, so I use the restroom real quick and away we go.

Our plane departs and we land in Las Vegas to switch flights to Kansas City, MO.

We had to wait for a little while for our flight to prepare, so while we were waiting one of the transporters (shortish white guy, brown hair)starts to play some sort of video poker close to where we were sitting, I think the native guy asks me if I would like to have something to eat, a slice of pizza or something and he tells me "this is the last time for awhile that you will have an opportunity to have this kind of food" But I respectfully decline his offer as I was not hungry. (depressed people have trouble eating)
Both guys were fairly nice to me.

The time comes to board our flight, so we start heading for the terminal to board the plane, to be honest I kinda felt like a bad ass because I had two guys who looked like body guards standing around me at all times.

We board the plane and lift off to Kansas City International Airport.

We arrive, get off the plane and walk to the rent-a-car booth, we head to the rental car and start to drive out of the city to the tiny town of Kidder.

As we pull up to the facility, I see the main building and feel sort of relived "this place doesn't look so bad" I say to myself, that is until we rounded the corner to the other side of the building. Fear strikes me in my mind as we pull up to a fenced off area "The Beach" we called it, to see 3 drill Sargents in black/white camo BDU wear and big round DSGT hats on the inside of the fence.

We enter the fenced off area and immediately after entering my intake started.

I was yelled at, screamed at, billed in the face.

They started going over making me learn the 10 general orders of the program.

every time I messed up they would make me run a down and back to the end building and back. I eventually got tired of this and got a wild hair and got a little disobedient, as soon as those words left my mouth I was on the ground with 3 drill Sargents tying me into pretzel, one of them sat on my back I think it was DSGT "H1", while one of the other started to bend my legs up and backwards, DSGT "H2" bending my spine in the opposite direction it is suppose to go. Now bear in mind I am very frail due to the condition my body was in, I was so afraid they were going to break my back and I was in a lot of pain, so I pretended to have a seizure to get them to stop, I rolled my eyes into the back of my head and started jerking my body around as if I were having a seizure.

I think I scared them because they got off me immediately and let me lay there for awhile, deciding what they should do next.

They decided to wrap up my intake and took me into the building, they told me to take off all my clothes, one of the JR. Staff, A cadet that was about to finish the program turned on the shower and I was instructed to get in it, everyone still yelling at me of course, but not interacting with me physically. So after that is over, I am in a state of shock at this point so I don't remember much after that point besides going down to requisitions and getting a bin full of clothes and other items I needed as a Cadet and they placed me in Bravo bay. That day my entire bay was punished because I wasn't able to do a single pushup, due to them tearing a muscle in my elbow, also I had very little muscle mass if any at all.

That night I fell into catatonic state, I'm not sure how long I was in that state, but all I remember was looking up at the camera and the ceiling.

Eventually, I start to get stronger and learn the ropes.

A short while later my legs begin to swell like balloons, I kept putting it on my sick report, but it took about a week, maybe longer to get it looked at by an EMT, during that week I was unable to run or do the exercises properly, the Sargents kept making comments about my legs to each other "no wonder he can't run, his legs are swelled up like balloons" and laughing to each other making jokes and nasty comments, at one point one of the Sargents put his boot on my chest and let his weight down on top of me, looked me in the eyes and smiled evilly, knowing there was nothing I could do about it.

When my family rep finally took me to the hospital the doctors ran tests on my legs to see if I had any blood clots, they wanted to do more tests and keep me over night, but the EMT at the time (I'm not really sure she was even qualified to put a band-aid on an injury) threw a fit over it, so I wasn't able to get checked out further. (Which I should have because my legs were swelled up, they were huge!) They ended up putting me on no lower body P.T and called it good, basically told me to drink water and get over my drama. The Sargent that stepped on my chest, ignored the doctor sticker on my canteen and made me do lower body P.T anyway. That guy was mean.

I wanted to tell the doctors to help me and that they were abusing us, but I was so afraid of what they would have done to me when I got back to camp.
I suppose it has something to do with Stockholm syndrome. I think they actually used Stockholm syndrome and fear as a cover, they has us zombified, terrified and broken.

Eventually, I finally got stronger and was able to do all of the exercises, they became more of an annoyance when the pain tolerance built up and a fit body made the constant nonstop exercise easier. I kind of want to say I just got used to it, but I'm not sure if that would be the right words to use.

I want to go over a list here to tell what I witnessed and experienced at Thayer Learning Center

During my stay, I noticed that they broke 3 cadets wrists.
They lied to parents about injuries related to abuse. One particular Sargent there who was the wrist breaker was promoted for his extreme behavior modification techniques including the breaking of bones.

One day in the blistering heat we had to bear crawl everywhere we went, so when we went to the chow hall, and gym,(all separate buildings from male boot camp) the skin on our hands literally melted off on the sidewalk, everyone got bad blisters all over their hands.

Certain Cadets were singled out by Staff and Cadets, and were bullied more often than others. One cadet in particular got restrained at least once or twice a week. That I was witness to.

Lots of Cadets developed a foot fungus due to the latrine floor being covered in bacteria, we also did not have the privilege of having toilet seats on our toilets.

We slept in a basement with bugs and spiders everywhere, the walls leaked, so when it rained the boot camp basement bays Alpha and Bravo became partially flooded and our sleeping bags, clothes would get wet.

At one point during the program I tried to break my ankle so that I could escape the torment, so I ran up the catwalk in the gym when the Sargent wasn't looking and jumped off, I landed on my feet and fell forward, as soon as one of the Sargents realized what I did, he immediately restrained me, pushing my neck into the floor, I was unable to breath and began screaming "Sir! I can't breath" through my crushed vocal cords and windpipe.
All he said was "STOP SAYING CAN'T!!" I thought I was going to die, I quit trying to breath and I was going to try and let myself slip out of consciousness, but at about the point I was passing out he got off of me. A cadet mentioned it later and said the sounds I was making sounded like I was being killed.
I was placed in isolation for a week or so I can't remember, and my neck was messed up for about a year after that, I think he did something to damage my spine, or the tendons in my neck when he restrained me.

When parents would show up, they would call "code white" over the radio, so the Sargent/Staff on duty would be aware that they were being watched, so they had us sit down and read, or do other activities in an attempt to keep the parents from knowing exactly what was going on there, to keep their horror house under wraps.

We were woken up in the middle of the night to exercise outside on the beach, or inside. Those were what we called "moon burns"

We had to sleep on 1/2 Inch thick green mats on top of the concrete floor.

When I finally got to residency, we were allowed one phone call per week with our parents, whenever I tried telling my mother that we were being abused, my family rep would switch off my phone, and take over the phone call (all of our calls were monitored live)

All of our letters were screened and judged according to a cadets psychological profile.
whited out, or edited, not sent at all.

Every weekend we were allowed to sit on the concrete floor and watch a movie, we often had to watch the same movie over and over again as a means of psychological tactics. ("Aladdin" was favorite of the staff)

We had to listen to "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and repetitive motivational cassette tapes repeatedly over and over again, as means of psychological tactics.

Cadets who "acted up" were forced to sit in isolation for weeks at a time in a tent with a bright light, listening to the same motivational tapes over and over again, NOTE: they started putting cadets in empty bays instead of the tent for some reason.

If we were outside and a car drove by on the isolated road in front of the main building, we were instructed to face towards the building for who knows what reason.

I witnessed a Sargent punch a cadet in the face.

Whenever a cadet was restrained, the Sargent or JR. Staff would yell out grenade, which then we had to dive on the ground, and bury our face in our elbows and kick our legs as to not be witnesses to the event of the bodily assaults.

One female cadet in particular was made to stay there for years and be subject to the owners abusive drones we called Sargents.
I personally witnessed cadets urinate and a defecate themselves.

cadets who acted up, we were forced to mock them with a made up cadence all together that included their name to bully and shame them into obedience.

A cadet died there due to their neglect and abuse.

How these programs continue to flourish is anyone's guess
Which is very concerning.

The only positive thing I have to say about this program is, had I not been sent, I may have died due to severe depression I was not eating and my body was withering away.

Basically, I was broken down completely, but never built back up.

These places are abusive, plain and simple.

Do not send your kids to these places.

I am a survivor and assure you that everything I have mentioned is true and correct and not exaggerated in any way to my knowledge.

You have my permission to post this on your website, I wish to remain Anonymous and am also using a VPN out of fear that the owners will retaliate against me in my adult life should they come across this posting even though the place has since shut down.

A death occured at the boot camp and the bad press coverage forced the owners to close. However, they were never prosecuted for their part in the tragic death

Sources:

• Thayer Learning Center (What I saw and experienced) (The HEAL Forum)
• Roberto Reyes - 2004 (Today a child died - memorial blog)

A parents view on her daughters stay at New Beginnings Girls Academy

Met this group, while they were on tour to our church. we were impressed wtih their evening performance, and felt that this place would be a place where our daughter could find rest, and comfort and a place to get away from it all after a severe accident left her with some serious physical complications...

it was not what we had expected, nor was it what we were promised.We were told of mending broken relationships, academically getting on track and counseling...

punishment started right away, for things that were not understood, red shirt, punishment, left my daughter with many physical problems, untreated medical condition, UTI that was untreated, afer I spoke about her needing to get medical attention, they said they would, and did nothing.

blood in her urine, blood in her bowels, hives all over her body.

Our letters were kept from her, her letters to us were never sent, she was not allowed to speak to us freely on the phone, but every word was to be judged, and she was expected to speak to us in monotone, so as not to communicate anything other than what was allowed. She was on punishment, and red shirt discipline throughout her stay, and has foot, knee, hip inflamation from the constant standing on the wall with her hands behind her back, both feet flat on the floor.

she wakes up nightly with nightmares, of being taken back to New beginnings Girls academy.

Bill macnamera has a very bad temper, in which he did lose all self control with me, while I was asking him questions about educational neglect for my daughter. We were told that she would start counseling, up to two days a week, right away...after two months, she recieved one processing counseling interview...when I asked about the counseling and the lack of education, Bill Macnamers became angry with my questioning his authority, telling me that he did not have to listen to this, and slammed the phone down...a man with a lack of control, exploding on the phone in a temper tantrum fashion, is also in charge of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and 30 little girls who needed a safe place to be, and protection...very concerning...

we called to ask our daughter if she were ready to come home, a nd she had already been in Bill Macnamera's office earlier, and agreed under duress, to stay 6 more months...at which time she told me on the phone she could not come ahome, and it was not perfect at New Beginnings, but she could not come home...now she wanted to stay another 6 months...during my conversation, she was told she had 3 minutes to get off the phone for a counseling session...so they could than tell her why she needed to stay there...

The world is sin, your family is in the world, if you leave NBGH you will going back into the world, your family is in the world, the world is in sin...
They are not allowed to know the day of the week or the date of the month, and must learn to tell time backwards...no speaking of family you miss, or anything that is reminders of home, family, affection, caring loving people in your life outside of New Beginnings.

You get punished for making eye contact with any other girl, no matter what..no speaking at any time..you must raise your hand and be silent until you are called, if you are called.

Bathroom is punishment: with 5 sheets of toilet paper, or 7 depending on your need...open stalls for shower and bathroom...strip search, solitary confinement writing sentences for up to 4 hrs. a time..

When I went to rescue my daughter from this place, I was met by the counselor who told me to come into the office, we needed to talk...told me to sit down, I refused, he than got himself a chair, so we could sit and talk before I could see my daughter...he than told me that it was a dangerous idea to take my daughter home, It was not safe, she did not want to go home, and she made it very clear, told them many times she did not want to come home, she wanted to stay,

She was severely punished after I was hung up on with more discipline...she would than say anything that would make them happy hoping they would lighten up on the severe punishment...it didnt help...
she was severely distraught, terrified, freightened, full of shame, fear, intimidation, and terror...the look inher eyes the moment I saw her was one that I had never seen in her eyes before...it was the same look I have seen on a dog, lost on the side of a highway, trying to avoid traffic, sticks and stones, wet dripping with freezing rain, terrified for its very life, shivering, full of fear, begging for help...it shocked me and paralyzed me to see my daughter sickly pale, ghostly white, bug eyed, trembling, shivering, fulll of fear in her eyes...fear and intimidation not knowing why she was now in the Office...she looked at me, and said, Mom is that you...she than began crying saying, O God, O my God, Mom, is that really you, O my God mom you came...I ran to her, picked up her trembling body, and she melted in my arms, so I picked up her weak body, and felt how weak her hug on me was...she was trembling in my arms, and I whispered...do you want to go to Braums with me...will you go to lunch with me...I knew if I could remind her of a happy childhood memory, she would answer me freely before she remembered what she was supposed to say...she said, food, o God yes...she was in shock, and was trembling as we turned to walk out...she was than ordered to take off her red shirt and return it...big red T shirt to degrade as punishment, humiliate, and abuse mentally and emotionally...she had nothing else on with the T-shirt in Missouri snow storm, boots, thin black summer skirt...when I got there, they had her hurriedly put on a purple sweatshirt...she was confused, but never knew anything about me traveling to get her...she was in total shock and surprise...she was convinced that whe was not allowed to ever coem home again, she was not loved, not wanted, and at the same time, /Bill Macnamera told my husband to just let her go, give her away...let her go...they got tiered of all of our phone calls asking questions...
later on she was able to open up, telling me that she never would have went home with me if Bill macnamera was in town there..He was on vacation with his daughter and son-in-law who are his assistant directors...family run business...he would have let her know what the right response was...she would have done exactly what he told her to do...she was fulll of fear, intimidation, she was terrified of what would happen to her if she said the wrong thing...shw would have told me she was not going home.

I must confess that I am not one with free time on my hands to write openly, but this trauma is not half described due to time restraints...I am a mother of great love devotion, and concern for my daughter, and other daughters across America...Mothers who think thye are doing the right thing, finding out after it is too late, that we made the worst possible mistake of our lives...allowing total strangers, to have dominant control over the lives of a child that we have invested so many years, to a person that we knw so very little about.

I am reaching out to Moms everywhere, no matter how desperate you are to find help for your daughters, do not give up, do not give in, and do not send them to a place with your eyes closed, and imagine it is a good thing...if your heart is aching and grievingf, and warning you...listen to those cautions, it is real life screams in the dark...she was very exhausted and walked painfully...when I stoped for the night she was barely able to walk with terrible muscle cramps, and joint pain from the constant standing ont he wall, 7 days a week, *8- hrs. a day, and 500 jumping jacks each evening you are on punishment...she was in terrible pain, and groaned each time I held her, she was having muscle spasms throughout the night, with nightmares of being taken back to NBGH.

She now has anxiety attacks throughout the day, gag reflex from being force fed large amounts of food, and punished if you dont eat it all, or throw it up...punish is by demerits, and the girls who have grown up in the system and arrived at the age of 18, than become the new guards, to give punishment demerits without question...

the prisoner becomes the guard, so the abuse of the bully system continues, and the fear factor of this is evident in the lives of the girls that are full of fear to look anyone in the eye again...

Sources:

• New Beginnings Girls academy (Complaintsboard)
• Factsheet about the facility (Fornits Wiki)

A testimony about Heartland Christian Academy (From:Topix)

This testimony was found on Topix in 2015. All rights goes to the originally author who wants to remain anonymous:

There is not a year that goes by that I am not haunted by what happened to me in this horrible cult. I was there in 1999-2001. To this day still have nightmares of this place.

I am a veteran of war of the United States Army and have had some horrible things happen to me and my team overseas, I am haunted more by Heartland in my adolescent than massive casualties of war. Facts are facts. People who have the courage to tell about your experiences of this cult I admire you all. It has been years since I have been there and I still fear this place. My heart goes out to the children who have no choice in living there.

The program kids. I was sent in November of 99 every time this time of year I fall in deep depression. This place has left the biggest emotional scar. I just so happen to check heartland out online to see if the cult had fallen. It breaks my heart it hasn't. Nobody should endure the humiliation and torture of this place. The stew, green suits, shaved heads and eyebrows, grubbin, shit pits, over Worked and under paid (slave labor),swats, beatings, the rape, suicide attempts, the clicks, the drugs. These things are real. I have seen it all. A 13 year old boy should not walk in on his friend being raped in a room. Or see a grown man having intercourse with a cow at the dairy farm while working. like I said this place haunts me.

My heart goes out to all the survivors. I know it's difficult around this time of year for a lot of people but I want to wish my peers of heartland and the other survivors happy holidays. Your are all not forgotten or alone.

Sources:

• The originally testimony from Topix
• Factsheet about the facility (Fornits Wiki)

Eric at Anchor Academy

This testimony was found on Topix.com. All rights goes to the original author Eric Marchant

Jordan, is your last name Crawford. Well, i most certainly agree that the degree of punishment endured at Anchor Academy by many of the students was boader line auztwhich tourture tactics. They system eventully turns many of the the students into the same kind of monster. When a student "gets saved" and works their way to a promotion ( crew leader , dorm leader ), they become the next generation of born again sadists. The cycle turns victims into victimizers. I know from exprience the horrors of red shirt.

I also served as a crew leader in the program, and treated many new students with the same inhumane disrespect i also encountered as a new student. It shows how deranged leadership and authority can feed off of this cycle, Hitler convinced a nation that the hebrew people deserved the holocost and he was able make them actively participate. It shows how primitive man can be. No student was ever killed at Anchor Academy and I am a happily married man with children today. So dont interpret this post as a complaint, rather let it serve as insight from an experienced alumni of Anchor Academy. I respect all opinions, but i only ponder opinions that are resonable. So someone like John, who posted a comment in defense of the sick practices of this program, in my opinion, has never matured mentally. I hope he is not a father. I feel mixed emotions when i think back in tim to those years. I feel regret for any harm i caused anyone as an active goon for bro Dennis, i feel scarred by those black days and nights on red shirt, and i feel a fondness for many of the students i befreinded during those years.

Sources:

• The original testimony on Topix.com
• Factsheet about the Academy (Fornits Wiki)

UGH at Anchor Academy

This testimony was found on Topix.com. All rights goes to the original author known as UGH

This place was hell. Anyone who reads this will know who I am, but I don't really care. I've been out of that place for eight years and I still have nightmares of being sent back - I'm in my mid-twenties now. That place was like a soul-sucking leech pit. And it wasn't just any one person's fault - you throw some misguided teens, adults and fanatical religious types into a room together and you're going to get some 'Lord of the Flies' shit without a doubt.
l have severe social anxiety, physical mobility issues (my back hurts constantly) and it is because of the near constant abuse I faced in this place. I'll admit a lot of it was my own doing - but then again, what fourteen year old kid doesn't buck up at authority? And I wasn't sent there for drugs or because I was in trouble with the law - I've never been in legal trouble in my life. I was sent there because my grandparents couldn't get me to go outside and play and I was obese; because I was rebellious to my mother who has a long history of drug abuse, the which had already taken it's toll on me. In short, I was sent there because my family didn't have room for me anymore.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Not to mention I'm gay as a three-dollar-bill - throw a confused, terrified fag into a group of christian teenage boys and see how well he does. I was the fish in the barrel for most guys at that place, though a lot proved to be decent and kind.

The reality of it is, abuse aside, if you're looking for a program to stick your unwanted child just do the kid a favor and emancipate his ass. Trust me, he's better off without you anyways. As far as those parents/families that actually care for their kids and want to help them, try reaching out and talking to them - jeez. Stop looking for quick-fix-it programs where you ship your kids away like busted blenders and get back the newest, shiniest model. It doesn't work. Your kids are people, not freaking hardware to be replaced and reprogrammed when you don't like their life choices. Believe me, if they're going to get into trouble, sending them to a program isn't going to do anything but delay the inevitable.

Get off your lazy asses and love your damn kids - stop expecting others to do it for you because you're crappy parents.


Sources:

• The original testimony on Topix.com
• Factsheet about the Academy (Fornits Wiki)

Parent testimony about Refuge of Grace Academy

Today the boarding school has been rebranded as Wings of Faith Academy but remains under the same management. The boarding school was founded in Michigan but moved to Missouri in order to avoid oversight.

My daughter Jordan has been home for a year now, spent 4 monthes, came home, went back two.

At any given time there are only 18 to 20 girls there. In the last month there have been 9 girls she went in that brief time who are pregnant one who lives with us.

Friday child services in missouri called my home. Asking me if my daughter was abused physically. How do I answer that when I wasn't there but I know I have the medical bills from urinary tract infections she never had before there and not since she left. And besides my own daughter who had no accredited schooling I was lied to she would I have another girl who was there over two years who didnt get her education either.

I believed Bud and Debbie because I was a desperate parent who loved her child, like others. The fact is you will pay alot of money to people who lie to you play on your desperation and love for your child and all youll get is quiet at home while they are gone. And then they come home and its a bigger mess.


Sources:

• The original testimony on Merchantcircle.com
• Factsheet about the boarding school (Fornits Wiki)

"Human" and BHodge at Anchor Academy

This testimony was found on topix.com. All rights goes to the author known as "Human"

I was at the Anchor Academy for 2 months shy of 2 years. They are fanatical in "Christian" beliefs, are physically and mentally abusive, education is primitive at best, and they force-feed religion of their own sect on the impressionable minds of teens and young adults, all the while in the name of God and their own justified actions; putting not only the Bible's morals, but their own, on God's level, and judge the same according to both. The Bible called these people Pharisees and hypocrites for the same. This being said, I hadn't prior to my stay, nor post-stay, failed in my life to become a cretin of any sort, and am currently a productive member of society with a great family, child, and job, absolutely no thanks to the Anchor.

----

This testimony was found on topix.com. All rights goes to the author known as Bhodge

Hey, everyone like Adam, Sam Wood, and others in the early part of '04, I was not there for, but I was there for Jordan Harrell, Curtis Watson, Ryan Sessions, on and on.

I know for a fact that is was MUCH worse even the months prior to my Nov.'04 admittance, and I'll admit I had it easier, but it by far was not easy, and I shuddered at stories that Tim Ballard, Deery, Cody Beals, Elerbrach, and others told from days of the past. I spent 2 years there and got sent home after a bad car accident that almost took my life at the hands of a staff member.

Personally, being 16, that's scary stuff, now, I look back, and it's all a learning experience. Fact: Anchor is messed up a lot of ways. You deny that? Then you were there I the 7 years or were in a place of authority....or on the good side of Bro. D. Now, there's a moderation for everything. I think the kids that got in trouble MOST of the time deserved it, but here's my problem: some kids got in trouble when they didn't deserve it,'cause his guide or crew leader was told they needed to be harder on them....put that in the hands of a 14-18 year old and what do ya get? Power trips! Everyone remembers someone like that, and that's a bad rep.

Now for the kids that actually deserved getting in trouble: does not mean they deserve the extent punishment they were given. Prior to the academy, I was a bad kid, but I didn't change because of the academy. There was more bad than good, but I learned ya really gotta "eat the meat and spit out the bones""with a grain of salt" all in one. I learned very little from that place. The largest being, what not to act like or send your kid too. Parents, if you really love your kids, don't send them here. Do you honestly think after 10 years people would still urging you to NOT send your kids there if it didn't have a fairly negative impact on said individuals? That being said, I made it out on the other side of the "A-hole" very well. Food for thought.




Sources:

• The original testimonies on Topix.com
• Factsheet about the Academy (Fornits Wiki)

Testimony from Refuge of Grace Academy

Today the boarding school has been rebranded as Wings of Faith Academy but remains under the same management. The boarding school was founded in Michigan but moved to Missouri in order to avoid oversight.

I went to this boarding school for 19 1/2 months.

I got over 2 years since I got out and I still have nightmares and wake up in the middle of the night in cold sweats. I had been completely brainwashed and abused, I had no idea who I was, and I was totally and utterly miserable. Not once in my entire 19 1/2 months there did Debbie Martin, the owner and director of the boarding school, ask me how I was doing, what was on my mind, what I was struggling with, or just even had a decent conversation with me about the weather. She couldn't care less about me. She was all in for my mom's money.

They monitored our phone calls and letters so we couldn't inform our parents of the abuse we were going through, and she would lie to my mom and tell her I was rotten evil child. She did everything in her power to make me miserable. I hated life...

Sources:

• The original testimony on Merchantcircle.com
• Factsheet about the boarding school (Fornits Wiki)

A mother about her sons stay at Anchor Academy

This testimony from a mother of a former student at Anchor Academy was found on topix.com. All rights goes to the original author

As a mother of a child that I sent there, I know first hand of the abuse that goes on there.

I made a huge mistake by ever those people to have anything to do with my child. My son is doing excellent but not because of this place. They took a great deal of money from us as well. My child had nightmares for years after leaving that place.

And yes there is abuse taking place there. Peanut butter sandwiches do NOT provide adequate nutrition for the amount of extensive exercise that these kids are forced to endure. I could go on for hours of things that happened in that place while my son was there including tying children up. There are much better programs out there. I was also told they had no connection to rolloff homes in which they are. I was told a great deal of lies when leaving my child there. I have to live with that choice everyday of my life. Thank God he protected my child.

This is not a just place. They hide behind the bible. Punishment does not fit the crime at all. So unless you have had first hand knowledge of the things that go on there and that doesnt mean just by going to church there because I assure you, YOU DONT KNOW EVERYTHING that goes on there.. You really have NO room to even comment on the blog. Because you have NO idea!!! And trust me Having to eat ONE peanut butter sandwich and water for every meal is not even the icing on the cake as to the abuse that goes on there. The only reason I did not press charges against the place and cause a huge blow up is because I didnt want my child to have to relive the experiences in that place.

He is an adult now doing exceptionally well loving life and praising God.



Sources:

• The original testimony on Topix.com
• Factsheet about the Academy (Fornits Wiki)

Drake at Anchor Academy

This testimony was found on Topix.com. All rights goes to the orignal author

Its strange to see how many people are posting on here that attended this school with me. Jesse wood was actually my first guide and crew leader for quite some time. I find it curious how such a topic got started and why you are all here. I found myself writing a paper for english class about reform schools and was suprised to actually find a topic on the school I happened to attend. As for the matter at hand I personally would not suggest sending your kid here.

From personal experience I feel that I was one of the fortunate ones in the aspect that I was not subjected to some of the nasty business that went on there. For parents looking to send their children here I would say that much of the claims being made here are true to some degree. Like others have mentioned being at that place changes you in a very gradual way. When you first enter the program you are the same person as when you left home just in a different place. It isnt until you adjust and realize that this place is your home for an unknown amount of time that you start to change. I feel the change stems from the fact that everything you had and lived for had been taken away from you.

It is no secret that the introduction process is meant to basically break you and make you into a clean slate that they can work with. Everyone starts out on the same level and depending on their attitude can work their way up through leadership. In doing research for my paper I came across the term stockholm syndrome which I feel accurately describes why people who go there do not want to leave. As someone who was tricked into going I was completely crushed when I understood what was going on. My emotions were all over the place, and I was not even able to be angry or sad or sorry for my actions that led me to that place. One thing that really stuck with me was that these students helping the staff take me in looked at me with disgust. My peers who were there for reasons usually far worse than mine scowled at me. Treated me like I was the scum of the earth and showed no sympathy even though however long ago they were in the same position as I. Then without my realizing it had happened, I had become what had bewildered me. I had become the one slamming kids into the ground and forcing their noses onto surfaces. At the time I thought I was doing what was right and wanted nothing more than to please my superiors.I was helping to uphold the very system I thought so unjust.
When you go up in leadership there are certain privileges that go along with it that make it a highly sought after position. For me it was the feeling of being in control over my situation again. This is about the time where I feel stockholm syndrome came into play and here is a quote describing what I feel to very accurately describe what happened,"Identifying with the aggressor is one way that the ego defends itself. When a victim believes the same values as the aggressor, they no longer become a threat". By conforming to the rules and standards set by the staff I had worked myself into a position where I was in my mind "safe" from the system. The only thing it cost me was my dignity.

The things I did to my peers as a crew leader pale in comparison to the stories I heard from students of former generations. Fortunately for my conscience I really did care for those under my supervision and tried to hold myself to a standard I could take pride in. Unfortunately as those in anchor would say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and such was the case for me. My compliance to go along with such activities did not leave anchor entirely to blame. At any point I still had a choice to say no... but I didn't. I had become caught up in the web of this place that had become my life. Their standards were my standards and my old standards and morals were wrong.

It really is sickening to look back at those poor souls who were unable to follow the rules. Unfortunately at the time I showed no sympathy..it was initiation



Sources:

• The original testimony on topix.com
• Factsheet about the Academy (Fornits Wiki)

Samuel at Anchor Academy

This testimony was found on Topix. All rights goes to the original author

I have not even thought about the Anchor Academy for a looong time. My wife asked me today what the name of the school was cause one of her friends new someone that was attending a boys home in Montana. It was obviously not the same school since its not in Montana anymore. Anyway I ended up doing a many hour search on the Anchor Academy and found this along the way......

THE TRUTH....

First of to Ronnie. You are ignorant. Thats all I have to say to you..

I want to start out by saying that I used the system of the Academy to best keep myself out of trouble and to be in a leadership role so I didnt have to listen to the leaders who I felt were not near as smart as me. That may sound arrogant, but its true.

I hurt many people while I was at the Academy and I fell terrible when I think about the stuff that I was involved in. During the time that I was there I witnessed with my own eyes what went on behind the curtain of what parents saw. Jordan and Adam and Id rather not say are right and true. Any counselor that was there during the the times I was (Dec. 2002 to June 2004) and says there was no abuse is not telling the truth. I dont know how it is ran now 6 years down the road. But I know it cant be 100% abuse free from what I witnessed in the past.

The punishments of the Anchor when I was there were not meant to be helpful, but to tear the person down. They would tear to the point that you were so low you had nothing else to do but 'improve'. Their goal was to inflict pain on those who were involved.

PT (physical training) was designed to hurt you beyond what you thought your body could handle and then add 100 rockets on top that(people who were there know what a rocket is, they would make people cry at there mention). Or duck walk until literally cant even stand straight for awhile. Some people who were there were in PT for 30 minutes every morning before the rest of the boys got up and for a few hours on weekends. Remember what I just described Anchor PT as. It was not constructive. On top of this the kids that were living on Peanut Butter sandwiches for 3 meals a day topped of with a nice glass of water could not have been properly Nourished for the amount of physical activities they were going through.

Abuse. To say that there was no Abuse is like saying there is no such thing as the Anchor Academy. I will say briefly some of the stuff I saw. I saw the Foxy . A group of 5 kids who cheated in school made to go through a week of German style punishment. They were made to look like fools in front of everyone. People made fun of them and critizised them (me being one. They were made to sing a song written by one of the counselors and dance to it. This was done to "entertain the rest of the students and counselors while we were eating out huge dinner (they were eating peanut butter sandwiches, when they did eat). Late at night you could here them screaming because of the PT that they were doing ( my bunk was on the back wall, where on the other side they were caring out their punishments). Josh Deery was mentioned by Jordan. Who he said was bent over digging a whole with a spoon. This was the toned down version. He was Bent over, digging hole"s" with an eating spoon, under an old barracks buildin( in the foundation) for many many days. I remember hanging sheatrock in the serving area and him having to do PT based around his spoon while I watched him..This is just what little I saw him do during the 2 weeks or so he was punished. God only know what else he had to go through. If any of you PARENTS can tell me that will not have a lasting effect on Josh's life you are ignorant, and have no clue what it is like to go through such emotional pain. Ill continue on next post.....

K that last post was a test post.... I wrote a few posts that took up the whole 4000 characters each. I posted them yesterday. Was wondering why they havent posted. That one I just posted showed up in 2 sec. Any answers would be helpful. I went to the Anchor and thats the reason for my post.

Im running long so I will give a short overview of things I witnessed. Keep in mind these are kids. Your kids.

Kids made to do push ups in the snow in freezing weather. Pushed over or sometimes tackled if they were not keeping up the PT pace that was set. People slammed or thrown around to get a point across to them. Kids made to eat peanut butter sandwiches, while standing in the the front of the eating hall, to humiliate them. The Foxy 5. Dream Team (another version of Foxy, just as brutal). I Stood over a student (Cody Beeles) and held him down while this guy (not a student or counselor kind of in between) poured a gallon of water over his face military style. Kids would have to stand in the eating hall on Sat. nights if they didnt memorize their 3 verses of scripture a day for each week. They would stand and read the bible for the duration of a movie. I saw kids (foxy 5) made to do squats with cinder blocks held over their head for very long periods of time. If they ever put it down they had to start over again. These cinder blocks were carried around with them for a day or 2. These kids were dressed up in torn, ratty cloths of types of colors and dumb hats that made them look ridiculous to everyone around them (back to the foxy five again). Students would be made to bend over in as uncomfortable of a position as you could get them in, and put there nose on whatever object you would tell them(wall,water fountains, toilets, whatever was not easy to do) If students would not do this or would not do it properly they would get written up or slammed. Depending on student usually. And all of this being done in the name of God at a Christian boys home. This makes me think of James Halford who was beat, humiliated, criticized, and looked down on the whole time I was there. He was ugly by set standards. He was different, he was not a normal kid. When I think about the way he was treated in pains my heart. It was terrible what was done to him and will probably have lasting effects on his life. I don't know how Dennis sleeps at night knowing what he did to this kid and many others. I can go on an on with names and things that were done. There is no excuse.

Students are a big part of the abuse at the school. Leaders were subtly encouraged to do things to subordinates that were inhumane. I cant stress how terrible I feel for what I did and saw there. I don't know how the people in authority don't feel the same. Like Pastor Spencer, Trevor. How can he preach know what he know about what happened to these kids. Its wrong in so many ways.

I wont say that it is all bad by any means. It didn't ruin my life in anyway. I am successful for a 24 year old. I have my own construction business, just build my first house, have a beautiful wife. I still attend church regularly. I'm not at all trying to say that if you go here it will ruin your life. But I just don't see this as the best option for a kid. Ask the Anchor what the percentage of students that are doing well. Its not high. Of the 15 or so people I graduated with, I only know of 4 that are doing really well. Most went back to exactly what they loved and lived for. I would not trust any profession of faith that is made at this school because it is shoved down the students throats, and ones you accept Christ its like part of become a "good kid" at the school. Its not done for the right reasons. I also think that the school will stress most kids relationship with their parents once they are out of the school.

I'm going to stop now, but don't just believe the shiny crap you see when you, as a parent, loot at the school and when they are singing in your churches. I was there giving my perfect, trimmed, and well thought out testimony. Take it from people who have been there and arnt blind.(me, Adam, Jordan, and the other people who wouldn't list there name.

If you have questions please ask.

email: xxxxxxxx(a)xxxxx.xxx

Sorry if this is scattered.Wrote very fast


Sources:

• The original testimony on Topix.com
• Factsheet about the Academy (Fornits Wiki)

Testimony from Mountain Park Academy in Missouri

We just learned that one of the men who were convicted of killing William Andrew Futrelle II in 1996 has died in prison. In cases where students have tried or succeeded in killing another student just to end up in prison instead people are often asking: Why? How can it be so gruesome to be at a boarding school that the only option seems to take another persons life? Mountain Park was no especially bad. It was just a normal religious boarding school as they still exist today. So it is just a matter of time before the next tragedy happens. Two men ended up in prison as result of the murder and one family never got their son back.

Should it not be the time where Missouri intervenes and demands oversight over religious boarding school so students are not restricted to their campus but can get weekend off from day one to spend in the community? Of course. We are speaking 2015. The murder happended decades ago and nothing has happen. Here is a testimony from a girl who attended the boarding school at the same time of the murder:

I don't remember much, having blocked a lot out and from the effects of the thorazine, but here's what i do remember:

I left for Mountain Park on August 25, 1995. My parents and I were driving from Florida, and it took us 2 days to get there. I knew that I was going to a boarding school, and I even knew that it was a "Christian" school. I had no problems with that, I was raised a Catholic (sort of) and I thought that God was alright. I was 13 when my parents decided to send me there. I wasn't an awful kid, but I was back talking, I failed science (a big deal for a 7th grader), and I was getting into shoplifting from the local stores. My best friend at the time, who I considered much wiser than I, had gone to a European boarding school, and typical of 7th grade, I wanted to out do her. So of course, when my parents broached the subject of a boarding school for me, I jumped at it. What did I know?? Anyways, we left home and made the trip to the Ozarks.

On August 28, 1995, we drove up to the school that would become my hell. I remember that I was wearing a black skirt, a wildly printed black silk shirt, and black heels. I remember thinking, "This won't be so bad. These people seem nice." When my parents came down to say goodbye, I hugged and kissed them, not knowing it would be the last time I would see them for four months.

No one was out right mean to me the first few days, and I think that was because I was too scared to hardly talk to anyone. I do remember after the first shower I took there I wanted to "scrunch" my hair, because it's naturally curly, and I was told that I wasn't allowed to do that. I thought it was strange, but I agreed.

I cried a lot my first couple of days, and in one of the first letters I wrote home, I said that the water spot on the page was real tears (it was) and I was crying them because I hated my parents for leaving me there. That was when I got labeled as a troublemaker and a crybaby. From that day on, everything changed. I was not longer the "girl they would have no trouble with". I became the child from hell that needed to be taught a lesson. If I was ever seen in public crying, I was ridiculed. If I ever wrote a letter home asking why I was there, I was ridiculed.

I remember the incident that cemented my humiliation and degradation. Before I left home for MP, I had my hair cut and I had bought a shampoo that doubled as a body wash. (I still remember that it smelled like bubble gum.) I got out of the shower one day after using it as both and the shower monitor noticed that the bag with my bar of soap in it was still dry. My OG looked as if she wanted to die because she had a "dirty" new student. I was taken to Mama's office where I tried to explain that I could use it as both, but they just laughed me off. I even tried to show them the bottle, but they would have none of it. Debbie said that if I wasn't going to wash myself that she would wash me. I told her that I did wash and she said I was lying, and I got my first swats. Ten, to be exact. Then to top it off, she took me to the showers in First Dorm and made me get back in where she proceeded to watch me as I showered again. She also said that I had bruises on me from the paddle and that was a good thing because maybe whenever I sat down I would remember that I would get punished for lying. Needless to say, they decided that I was not to be trusted anymore. That is also when I got the famed "soap-box necklace" and the baby chair. They told me that if I couldn't bathe like an adult, I needed to be reminded by the soap boxes around my neck and that I needed to sit on a chair to remind myself that I was a baby who couldn't wash. Talk about humiliation. I was forced to wear and carry those things for at least a month. I can't remember how many times I stood up in church and said that I got "saved" or that I "rededicated" my life to God. One night Sam even said to me, "Are you sure this is for real? Are you ready to get rid of the soap-boxes?" Even now, I cringe.

On the coveted day that I gained my "freedom" as a single girl, I swore to myself that I would stay out of trouble. I don't remember what I did to get in trouble again, but once again, I found myself in trouble. This time, though, they told me I had to write the word hateful 5000 times. I thought that then, I would be home free. Little did I know that my life, as I knew it even at MP, was about to change.

From that time on, no matter what I did, I got in trouble. I was on silence, I had a baby chair, you name it, they did it. I was on "silence" for months, not allowed to talk to anyone but staff.

I remember when Will Futrelle was killed. (For those who don't know, Will was part of a group that planned to take over the school. He changed his mind and the other boys didn't want him to tell, so they murdered him.) It hit home for me because I was from Boca Raton too. I didn't know him, but some of the other Florida girls did. I felt bad for them.

When Child Protective Services (CPS) came to the school to interview us, I was so nervous that I nearly forgot my name because I didn't want to say anything negative towards the school and get into more trouble than ususal. The second time they came, which was about 3 or 4 months later, I had my first interview with them and then I was called back for a second interview because one of the other girls (I know now she was trying to look our for me) had said that I was treated badly. I was so scared that they were going to take me out of the school that I just cried and begged to be let go. When they dismissed me I went crying back to the dorm where I was promptly told to quit crying because no one wanted to take me away. I wasn't important enough.

When my mother finally realized all that was going on, and to the extent that it was, she told the school that she was coming to get me. At the time, I had a perpetual writing assignment from Mama. I was to write 200 lines a day, for 7 consecutive days. If I missed a day, I had to start all over. This had been going on for probably 2 months, and I had been told I was not allowed to exercise with the others, or go swimming. I went from 136 lbs. up to 150 lbs. in 2 months. The day my mother took me out of that hell-hole would have been my 7th day of writing lines. Ironic, isn't it? I also was not told until she was an hour away that I was going home. I panicked. I didn't think I was ready to go home!! On August 18, 1997, my mother rescued me from the hell that was, and is, MP.

When I first got home, I had to go to public school, because my parents were broke from MP and couldn't afford my church's school (HCA). What a culture shock. It was there that I learned about all I had missed in the last 2 years. I learned about OJ, the internet, Princess Di, and a multitude of other things, from an 11 year old, the only person I felt I could relate to. I was 15, and I was being taught by an 11 year old. By the end of my sophomore year, I was back in my shorts, my jeans, and trying to figure out who I was away from MP. Because I was bitter about MP, and because I had never really changed, I went right back to my "old" self. I transferred to HCA my junior year, and things started looking up. I made some friends and started to come around. However, I could not believe that I was not worthless and insignificant, as all at MP had told me.

Since I have left there, I have been diagnosed as bi-polar. This diagnosis only came after attempting suicide. With the help of some very good friends, I once again started the climb back up the self-esteem ladder. It has not been easy, and many of these memories I would have liked to have forgotten completely, but for the sake of other girls going through what I went through, I must tell my story. Now I am married, with a wonderful husband who loves and supports me, a beautiful baby boy, and a wonderful relationship with my mom which has become my lifeline. I am on meds now, to help balance my moods and control the depression. It helps, but it's still hard. For a long time, I blocked MP. I didn't want to remember the hell. Now, as the can of worms is opened around them, I realize that the person I was before, as far as my self confidence went; well, that person will return some day. For the rest of me, that's gone. I can't get my innocence back. I can't erase the permanent marks made both on my body and on my soul from this hell, but I can sure try to stop them from hurting someone else. I'm sorry if this is long-winded, but I wrote what I felt I needed to be said. My love and prayers go to all the other survivors out there. Let's stick together to end the hell we all lived.

Rebecca XXXX
student from 95-97

After the closure of this boarding school in 2004, the employees took jobs in similar schools all over Missouri working just the same as they did at Mountain Park.

Sources:

• stories from a "gulag" school (The original testimony on a message board)
• Man convicted as a teen of murder at Missouri boarding school dies (The Missouri Net)
• Factsheet about the school (Fornits Wiki)

Sarah at New Beginnings Girls Academy

This Interview was found on the STOP NBGA website. All rights goes to the original author.

1. What is your name? (Only give what you’re comfortable giving, i.e. Full name, first name, initials, first initial and last name. If you choose to use your full name, please include maiden name in addition to your current, legal name.)
   Sarah <name to be found in source>
2. Time spent (give dates to best of your ability) in The Home:
   May 15, 2004 -July 3, 2005
3. Which location?
   Pace, FL
4. What was The Home called when you were there/what name was the institution going by during the time of your stay? (i.e. Rebekah Home for Girls, New Beginnings Rebekah Academy, New Beginnings Girls Academy, New Beginnings Ministries. Multiple answers may be necessary.)
   New Beginnings Girls Academy
5. Who were the head directors at the time?
   Bill "Brother Mac" McNamara and Jennifer "Mrs. Mac" McNamara
6. How old were you?
   I was 17 when I got there, 18 when I left.
7. Please describe reasons/circumstances for which you were sent to The Home: (i.e. trouble with the law, issues at home or school, etc.)
   I had quit going to school about 4 months prior to being sent there and was hanging out with a rough crowd. I was supposed to be doing this homeschool program that my mom got me enrolled in but I never did it. I was gone all the time with my friends and had started to experiment with drugs and alcohol and didn’t really care about where my life was going. There was one incident where I got in trouble with the law and I think that pretty much was the breaking point for my mom. She knew that I needed help and that she couldn’t give it to me because I would not listen to her anymore. So she decided to send me to New Beginnings to finish high school and get my life straightened out.
8. Please describe instances of abuse you EXPERIENCED at The Home, if any:
   
   I personally was never physically abused while there. There was mental abuse that went on all the time. Scare tactics were used, and we were yelled at all the time and called “whores” and various other names. If they thought that we weren’t "right with God" then they would put us on Discipline (a major punishment) for no reason other than that. We had to be happy all the time and feel like we were being helped by them, if we weren’t then we would be "openly rebuked," called names, and denied privileges.
9. Please describe instances of abuse you WITNESSED at The Home, if any.
   
   
   There was a little girl with serious mental health problems. She was about 12 when she came in and was on a bunch of medication for her problems that she truly needed. They took her off all meds and said they could help her better than the medicine. She always looked like she didn’t know what was going on and she didn’t understand why they were treating her the way they did. I remember one time where myself and other girls and staff members were made to stay up with her until about 4 in the morning and force her to stand in a circle of masking tape on the floor. If she got out of the circle or didn’t comply then we had to push her back in. If she kept misbehaving then we had to put her into an ice cold shower with all her clothes on while she screamed. She was always in trouble and yelled at for no reason at all. You could tell that there was something wrong with her and that was not the place she needed to be. She couldn’t even talk that well and we could barely ever understand what she was saying sometimes. They pretty much just treated her like crap and blamed her for it because she wasn’t “right with God" according to them. It was awful and I felt very bad for her.
   There were two girls that I graduated with who were forced to get a tan before graduation. They were told that they were too “white” and that was a sin because being white was something that “gothic” people did. They wanted to talk to their parents about it but the directors would not let them tell them. They were made to stay outside during practically the whole time we were in school for, I'd guess, 6 hours a day with tanning oil all over them while we could see them out the window. I remember looking out there and feeling bad for them because they did not want to get a tan but they had no choice. They tanned until they were burnt and their knees were purple and they had huge blisters. The tanning did not stop until a few days before graduation.
   I remember one incident where we were at church and we stayed there after the service was over and Brother Mac had all the girls stand up one by one and the rest of the girls got to raise their hands and vote if that person was “negative” or “positive." The people who were “negative” got punished. They gave them 4 sheets of toilet paper when they used the bathroom, took away all condiments from their food, and had to drink only water with meals and made them stand at their bunk beds with their nose touching the bar at the end every night until 11pm, (an hour and a half to two hours after Lights Out,) and they also took away all extra privileges. They were told that they weren’t right with God and rebuked often. The people who were considered “positive” got nothing. We just had to watch the “negative” people suffer. It was messed up.
   If someone tried to run away or just couldn’t take it anymore and didn’t obey their rules, the directors would have other girls in the home sit on them or hold them down. They would be locked in the dorm for days, even weeks, and had to be constantly watched by the more "trusted" girls They pretty much did whatever it took to restrain them. Some of them just got fed up and refused to do anything because they were tired of being treated like crap and after so long they got to go home or got sent to other homes.
   In the dorm, we were always rushed to be ready on time, trying to make our way through 20 other girls to get ready. It was stressful. We had to iron our clothes and they could not have any wrinkles in them or we would get in trouble. We were timed when we ironed and that resulted in us rushing to get it done and trying not to have any wrinkles and we would burn ourselves often. If we burned ourselves a lot, we would get in trouble for that also (they'd say we were hurting ourselves on purpose) and they would take away our curling irons/flat irons, and someone else would have to iron for us and that would result in them being late and getting in trouble. There was always something to get in trouble for. It would be the stupidest thing like looking around in line or just talking or something stupid like that. It was hard not to get in trouble. It was horrible and everyone was always scared, even some of the staff.
10. Do you feel that you witnessed or experienced any discrimination for race, faith, or any other characteristic or persuasion? If so, please explain.
    
    I remember people being insulted for their sexuality. If they were gay they were called "faggots" and told they were going to hell.
11. What was your overall impression of The Home? Do you believe that it helped you?
    
    My overall impression of the home is that it was a mentally and physically abusive facility. It was a complete waste of time and money. It put me in a place where I really was not happy (but had to pretend to be) and I tried to do everything that they wanted me to so I could hurry up and get out of there. The rules were crazy and extreme and nothing the average person would think is right. Nobody deserves to be treated like that and almost all of us would have been happier in jail. At least we could have thought for ourselves and kept our own beliefs. We weren’t even allowed to talk. When someone just nit picks and looks at every single fault someone has then there is going to be problems. No one is perfect and that is definitely what they expect you to be, which is humanly impossible. I do not believe that it helped me at all. If anything it made me worse than before I was sent there. I now suffer from panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, and many others girls that went there also suffer from various kinds of disorders as well.
12. What is your opinion of the quality of education you received while in The Home?
    
    I would say that the education we received while in the home was very poor. It was the A.C.E. (Accelerated Christian Education) curriculum and you had to do these workbooks called PACEs and teach yourself. There were no real or qualified teachers and no really one cared if you learned anything or not. Some of the girls (including myself) and some who weren’t doing well in school would be called outside to work all day during school hours and never really made up any work for the time they missed.
13. How old are you now?
    
    24
14. What was it like being released into the “real world” after your time in The Home?
    
    It was pretty awkward. None of my friends recognized me because I had lost 60 pounds while in there. It was strange to be “normal” again and it took a while to get used to it.
15. What is your current profession?
    I am a stay-at-home mom.
16. What affect did The Home have on your faith, if any?
    
    It really didn’t change what I believed (even though you had to believe exactly what they believed while in there to get by) but it definitely made me sick of being yelled at all the time about things that don’t make sense, always being made to feel like you are “wrong” and a bad person, and need to "get right."

The facility was founded on methods used in the so-called Roloff homes established in Texas in 1970s. The authorities’ interest in the horrible conditions at these homes forced the operations out of state and in the end former employees established their own extreme religious boarding schools. New Beginning and whatever changing name they put behind it to make the authorities lose track of them when they move across state-lines was founded by former Roloff employees.

Sources:

• The original testimony on StopNBGA
• Factsheet about the facility (Fornits Wiki)

Various testimonies about Stockton Boys Ranch in Missouri

These testimonies were made on Yelp.com. All rights goes to the original authors

Gabriel C.'s experience

Worst 14 months of my life here. I was physically and mentally abused. Please email me for my story or more info. If you don't want to take my word for it, I can give you plenty of other references that will tell you the same thing. Please DO NOT send your son here.

gabey_chow@yahoo.com


wisdom l.'s experience

This place is a hell-hole located in a shit-hole of a state. Avoid at all costs. Honestly, if you want your kid and the family to have a better relationship try FAMILY THERAPY. Not send your kid off to a completely different state, not be able to have a first visit until 3 MONTHS LATER, and have other visits every other 3 months. I spent 30 min in the morning reading the KJV Bible and another 30 before sleeping. I also went to CHURCH EVERY DAY...twice on Wednesdays and Sundays. SOOO boring, I pretty much fall asleep every time because of how stupid and illogical the place was.

Oh yeah all this place does is hire staff that belittle the students all day, and is run by a ego-maniac by the name of Bryan Clemenson. These people are stuck in the past and refuse to understand that civilization is moving forward as a whole and don't need backwards ideas from the stone age.


Brett W. Harper's experience

Child abuse, child labor, scare tactics, cover ups, staff being expelled for using horse tranquilizers, other things I will not mention. This school has been shut down in Washington and California for child abuse and failure to adhere to state laws and has only been successful in Missouri where they stay far away from most people who could potentially report their failure to adhere to child abuse and labor laws and state regulations, and where the laws on child abuse are nice and lax.


I spent 4 horrible years here! I was subject to military style PT's or "Physical Training" by X Marines and Army staff when I was just 14 years old. I have PTSD, spinal problems, and all because of this school and I have doctors that will back that up! I would sue but that is spiteful. Besides I care not about gaining anything from them or hurting them. Just take it from an ex student or talk to any other students that have left there (NOT THE ONES THERE BECAUSE THEY MAKE SURE YOU DON'T SAY ANYTHING BAD ABOUT THE SCHOOL BY CENSORING YOUR LETTERS AND PHONE CALLS AND LISTENING TO YOU EVERYWHERE!)

Before I got to this school I didn't know what drugs were, but after talking with students there I did. This school is a TERRIBLE idea for any parent feeling they need help bringing their son closer to them or God.

Want proof? Here ya go... "Be sure your sins will find you out." Facts don't lie; this many people don't just "make stuff up":

• http://sharperiron.org/forum/thread-should-niu-separate-from-bju
• http://www.nospank.net/n-l88r.htm
• http://agapeboardingschooltruth.blogspot.com
• http://www.teenliberty.org/mtnpark.htm

If you feel your intentions are good you really need to work on your methods. Your success rate is TERRIBLE! Over half of my graduating class is dead or in jail. Some success you have there right? You have a lap pool, nice cars, your staff have half a million dollar homes yet you ask for donations "for the kids" and charge as much as you do? Your no better than the televangelists who only want people's money and use religion as a way to get that money!

I challenge you all to think about what I have said, read through the material linked, take your time, do your research, and make an informed decision before sending your son or daughter here. Thanks!

Sincerely,

Brett W. Harper




Sources:

• The original testimonies (Yelp.com)
• Stockton Boys Ranch (A thread on the Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora)

Feedback from former residents of Valley Springs Youth Ranch in Missouri

Donny from Des Moines in Iowa testified:

I lived in that nightmare for over a year and the harsh lessons I learnt from the "christian" staff and the little monsters they made worse still haunt me. Abuse of ALL forms runs rampant there. Paroles and overgrown bullies (some of which were perverts) staff the place. Inner city punks are warehoused there to steep in each others psychological filth. Any decent person that goes there is either silenced, ruined or driven out. It is a hell on earth that no child should be subjected to and any adult should be Hung for supporting. I hope there is a special place in Muspell for George Becker and his cronies (especially Tony Shaw) for the abuses I and and the other residents suffered in that festering scab

Dustin Combs from Warrenton in Missouri testified:

hello people hope you all read this would you all like to hear a story well here goes my name is dustin combs and i spent 4 freaking years in that hell hole and to let you know they dont run it like they should the legal way lets just say fights happen there bc the staff they hire some of them dont give two shits its just a paycheck staff betting on which boy will win in a fight staff watching as people get the hell beat out of them and not caring at 17 i weighted 100 pounds and i was so doped on meds so i wouldnt be a probleem and they didnt have to worry bout me i got my butt kicked two times a day aT THE LEAST MADE FUN OF PHYSICALLY AND MENTALY ABUSED BY KIDS AND SOME STAFF ALIKE IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN PRISON BC I WASNT ABLE TO DEFEND MYSELF now there are some good staff but there is bad and to enlighten you there are kids there who dont need to be there i was there bc my adopted parents got tired of me when the money ran out dont dare any of you talk bad bout the guys there you dont know the half of wat some have been through some need it others dont and you all think you are better than me and the guys in the ranch well guess wat fuck you all that think that

A former vsyr boy from Las Cruces in New Mexico testified:

I spent 3 years at vsyr during the mid to late 90's. Now, I can't honestly comment on how things are run now (the daughters of staff were the only girls there at the time), but I am a firm believer that a leopard cannot change its spots. Before you judge me as a reckless thug or spoiled brat, I can honestly tell you that I arrived at vsyr because my parents were herion addicts and judged unfit.

I truly believe George and Joanne have great intentions, and, there were a few staff members who deeply cared for the boys in their charge.For the young men housed there, I truly hope there are more quality people in charge.

But I will share some of my experiences and insights from my time at vsyr. The staff are all about helping someone feel unique and indiviual, as long as you fit into their idea of what that should be. If you deviate from their standard, you are punished and degraded. On one occasion, I was forced to sit outside in the middle of January, without a coat. Several of my housemates, the "bigger" guys, were turned into zombies because of large dosages of sedatives that made them less of a threat. It was very common for a female night staff to have her "favorites" and take those young men to private areas in the middle of the night. Anyone not following the explicit orders of a staff member, even those orders which any other person would scoff at, would be subjected to "restraint," which meant being tackled to the ground. Those with developmental issues were routinely called retard by the staff.

I think, in all my time there, the worst example of abuse happened to the, then, youngest resident. He was 11, and had his face rubbed into the gravel driveway by a 300 pound man. The reason? His grandmother had just died, and he told the man to leave him alone for a while. I, personally, picked little rocks out of the cuts in his skin.

As others have stated, it did no good whenever the abuse hotline was called. George, Jonanne, and their staff all put on a bright, shiny act when investigators came, and then the claimant was severely punished.

I have moved on from my time there, in spite of the soul crushing practices they employed.Perhaps vsyr has changed over the years, but please don't let their fancy words and glossy pictures fool you. It is not as idyllic as they make it sound.

Sources:

• Thread on topix containing the testimonies
• Factsheet about the facility (Fornits Wiki)

Jordan Harrell at Anchor Academy

The testimony was found on the Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora. All rights goes to the author Jordan Harrell

Hello, my name is Jordan Harrell. After reading a lot of the posts on this forum (both about the Anchor Academy and other homes) i decided i would try and share my experiences and what did/has happened and what is happening to me today because of it. I wanna start off to say that i was never a perfect teen. As nobody ever is. I never did drugs, never drank, never experimented with weird things or got into obsessive amounts of trouble. With that being said, here is what i learned.

I was at the Anchor Academy from January of 2003 to June of 2005 when i graduated high school. I will touch on that first and for most. While you do get to accelerate at school if you so choose, there has been one hamper on my life from their school. They use the ACE packets, and as such, they ARE NOT accredited. Some people may not realize what this means, but to me, it means a great deal. I found out after graduation that when i try to apply to A LOT of schools, they require that i have a state accredited diploma. So, because i do not have one of those, i had to get a GED. Not a massive deal, but not one of the more pleasant experiences. A lot of years of high school that didn't really amount to much in the end. I am not saying im some kind of genius, not saying anything like that...just stating the facts from my point of view anyways.

Upon arriving at the Anchor, i had every personal belonging i had ever owned stripped from me. They took my wallet, my pictures, my friends phone numbers, everything. Literally. Not a big deal, but then as a 15 year old kid it seemed a big deal at the time. I was given a hair cut (which i must say was needed) and set up with a guide. Let me get right down to the good stuff. The Anchor had multiple levels of "leadership" and "communication" levels. I will start with leadership.

1. Leadership: The basics of leadership at the anchor were pretty straight forward, its a tier based system, the higher your "rank" the more privileges/responsibilities/"power" you were given. When you first arrive there, you are placed under someone called a "guide" and you are his "student". As a student, here are the basics of your rules to follow as far as the "guide" is concerned. You MUST stay withing 5 feet of your guide at all times, this is a 24/7 policy. If you go outside of the 5 foot radius, you can be given "complaints" (a point system for keeping track of the bad things you do, the more complaints you get, the more trouble you are in.) If he doesn't like what you are saying, your guide is allowed to put you on silence whenever he sees fit. While on silence you are not allowed to talk without raising your hand. If you do, you get more complaints. You MUST follow whatever instructions your guide tells you to. For example. One of my first guides i ever had once told me to go stand over by my bunk. Just so happens, my bunk was more than 5 feet away from him. Upon arriving at my bunk, my guide told me that i was more than 5 feet from him, so i got complaints for it. When i asked why i was getting complaints for doing what i was told, he gave me more complaints for talking without raising my hand (i had been put on silence). After that, he told me to bend over and put my nose on the bunk. In this position, you must keep your legs straight, and bend over to put your nose on something. Try it with a table for instance. After standing in that position for long enough, it will bring tears to even the strongest of people. After getting off orientation (students, which could take anywhere from 3+ months, 3 months was usually the minimum) you were promoted to what was called a "single". As a single, you were put into a crew (will explain a few) and given free roam of the area within certain limitations (which there were plenty of). If you did well as a single, you were promoted to a guide. I wont go further into that since i have already explained. If you continued to do well ( and were an admitted christian might i add...i will go into more of that later too) you were promoted "maybe" to a crew leader. A crew leader had the same basic function as a guide, except he was in charge of 5-8 singles, guides, and students. He had the same authority over every member of his crew, and also every persons in the anchor who were a lower rank than him. He could put a guides nose on something if he so choose, give out complaints as he saw fit (didn't need to be justified, nobody every justified most the complaints). So you can think of him as a "guide" for 5-8 students. I am skipping a lot of the deeper detail, i can go into that later if anyone requests it. There were usually 5-8 crew leaders or more at any give time. Alot of people to watch out for...just on that tier alone. Next you had a dorm leader. Dorm leaders were in charge of the entire dorm, usually 50+ students. They had all the power that crew leaders have, only they had it over crew leaders as well. Pretty self explanatory. After that came the staff, doesn't need much explanation on that one.

2. Communication Levels: There were a total of 6 communication levels. I will start from the bottom. If you did something really bad, you were placed on "super separation". While on super separation, you were not allowed to talk to ANYONE but your crew leader, the dorm leader, and staff. If you did, you got complaints. If you LOOKED (yes i mean looked, like with your eyes) at anyone other than those people, you were given complaints. Alot of complaints too might i add. Do you have any idea how hard it is to not LOOK at someone? I mean you cant even acknowledge their existence. If they talked, you cant respond, if they told a joke, you cant laugh, nothing, without getting complaints. Next in line was "separation". Same basic principles as super separation, only you could talk to all crew leaders, instead of your own. After separation came orientation student. Same basic principle as separation, except you could talk to any "number 1's" that you wanted to, and your guide, regardless of his communication level. Anyone else that you looked at or talked to, you got complaints. Oh and by the way, if you talked to someone you weren't allowed to, you got swats. With a paddle. They had two wooden paddles. One was smaller named smiley, the other was significantly larger named Proverbs. By the way, this goes without saying i would think, but when kids were getting swats with those, you could hear them all the way on the other side of the dorm. After orientation student came a single. Pretty much the same communication levels as a student, just didnt have to follow someone around all the time. After that was a "number 2". They were allowed to talk to everyone who was a level 2 and above. So if you were a level 2, you could talk to all level 2's and all level 1's. If you talked to or looked at anyone not of those ranks, you had the same punishment as the lower ranks. And last was a "number 1". They were allowed to talk to everyone, with the exception of separation/super separation, unless they were a crew leader.

Now, for the punishment section of this page. Please understand, that while i did not have most of these things done to me, i was around it more times than i would have ever have liked, and i was sometimes put in charge of seeing these punishments executed. The one everyone remembers most is probably peanut butter sandwiches and water. If you did something wrong, as far as school or whatever a staff felt was appropriate, they put you on peanut butter. That was nothing but a peanut butter sandwich (TERRIBLE might i add, you had to choke it down, it was not jiffy peanut butter) and water. You could be put on that for as long as the staff so desired. Which could be months. I can name people, names i will remember forever, who were on peanut butter sandwiches for months. I remember one boy was on it for 6 months straight. He started gagging whenever he tried to eat, so whatever he didn't eat ( he was required to eat 2 each meal) they put them in a plastic bag which he carried around until he ate them all. I can remember him having 15+ sandwiches in that bag. It was disgusting to see. Red shirt was another one that everyone feared. For good reason too. I remember one boy who was on redshirt for over 2 months. You only get 1 red shirt, and 1 pair of pants, which you have to wear all day and all night, every night. They get washed once a week, if i remember right. You did pt (physical training) around the clock. You slept for about 3 hours a night. This is where a part of me goes out to every boy who was ever on this. You usually got put on this for running away, although i remember one boy got put on it for cheating in school and just being a little bit more rebellious than they liked. They tied your feat together with rope, and made you carry a broom over your head everywhere you went. You had to hop around. You stood at the end of your bed with your nose up against your bed while everyone else slept, you ran laps a lot, we are talking like 10 miles a day of laps. They made you dig holes with a spoon, while standing up. You had to bend over and dig the hole while keeping a straight leg. I remember that while one boy on redshirt was doing this, the staff members fed his peanut butter sandwiches to the dog in front of his face, so he didn't get to eat that meal. They would make you dig those holes with spoons, fill them back up with your spoon, and then dig a new a hole, over and over. I remember one boy ran away once ( granted he stole a car to get away...makes you wonder why he wanted to get away so bad) and when they caught him, they tied a rope around his waist, and dragged him around like a dog for...what...2 months? There are alot of things i could say about punishments, but i would keep you reading for hours. If you want to know more, please by all means, let me know. I wonder if anyone who reads this from the anchor remembers the foxy five, or "brother willy's" weekend duty. Or his morning PT. I would love to see that.

The work ethic was valuable. I will say that. They taught you how to work. Granted, in today's world it would be considered slave labor, considering you never got payed for it, even though they often did. Have you picked rocks out of a field for 12+ hours in the blistering heat with people riding you about getting it done faster. There were very few breaks, and very little compassion, and zero money. In the 2.5 years i was there, i never saw a dime. Even though generally you worked for at least 4 hours a day, except, wednesday and Sunday (cause of church). I had to dig trenches, tear down buildings, lay piping, build cabinets, mow lawns, sand blast, and every sort of general cleaning you can think of. I am not saying the work experience wasn't valuable, but you never saw a reward for your effort outside of calloused hands and a sense of accomplishment.

The food, so long as you were not on peanut butter, was very good. They certainly did a good job with food. They kept your bellies full, with a wide variety of courses. The lady staff members did a wonderful job cooking.

There were no fences, there were no guards, you were free to run. Only you were 35 miles from the closest town. And if they caught you, which they ALWAYS did, you got put on redshirt. If you didnt die to the elements in the process.

To touch on now a days, the anchor certainly holds a spot in my memory, it always will. Still to this day i have nightmares about going back there, about the things i went through, and the things i saw others go through. I was rarely in alot of trouble there, i tried to steer clear of it, but i was often around others getting into it. I saw things that would make parents cry. Still to this day i feel terribly guilty about not trying to do more. I have this feeling like i should be trying to help those kids, be trying to get them out of there, but i dont know what to do. I could talk for hours about the struggles young men go through while there. Even while writing this there is a pain in my heart that goes out to all those kids who are sent there. Im not saying some of those young men don't need someone to take them by the hand and lead them in the right direction, but i dont think that this boys home goes about it in the right way. Interesting enough, some people will read this and try to say that i am lying, try to say that i dont know what i am talking about. I dare someone to say that to my nightmares, tell it to the hundreds of boys who have gone through there and now have some sort of anxiety problems. "tough love" is only effective when the person its being done to, knows it is out of love, not when they are so terrified to do anything different they conform out of fear.

And on a last note, religious beliefs set aside, the Anchor Academy for Boys DOES force their religion and their beliefs on you. If you do not believe like them, then you will never gain rank, you will never be treated with respect. The staff there only want you to believe as they do. There is no such thing as a Mormon or Catholic there. If you get caught thinking like that, or trying to follow another religion, or trying to speak about what you believe, the punishments are severe. As bad as what i have listed above. Please, for your children, do not force religion down their throat. From personal experience, it will only make things much worse.

Well, i will end it there, i could keep writing for days, very literally, and fill up pages and pages of information, but most people dont want to read it. This is my attempt to tell the world about what happened to me and what i saw. Take it as you will, there it is. Thank you for reading. Sorry for any typo's, i got kinda emotional writing some of this. The pain is still very real, even 5 years after the fact.

The home later moved to Montana and on to Missiouri where it exists today.

Sources:

• The original testimony on the Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora
• Factsheet about the academy (Fornits Wiki)