This testimony was found on Yelp. All rights goes to the author.
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When I was sent to this place in 2005 I was terrified, dressed in rags, and broke my back as I exceeded the child labor laws times a million daily. Not saying it was a total negative experience, although most of it was due to MOST of the people running the program.
I was there for about 8 months and I had only gotten 2 school credits (this is a fact). Kids and teens get hungry because they are constantly growing; my point is that the girls do not have access to the kitchen so if we are laboring in the heat or the freezing cold we only have water no Gatorade no gronola bars nothing to feed our energy, so now this is why some girls "steal" food (if you even want to call it that since the parents are paying the program more than enough money to feed an army, I shot you not) so anyways when they would do that they would give them ridiculous punishments, such as eating cold oatmeal for all 3 meals for 3 days in a row, yuk.
There were all kinds of crazy stuff they did. I personally was told that I had to tie myself to this other girl with a rope and we had to be tied together with a rope connected to our belt loops all day long until bedtime. This went on for 5 months. Then at one time, I had to care for that Saint Bernard dog you see in the pictures, only when bedtime came along I was not allowed to sleep in my bed, they made me sleep on the floor with the dog without a pillow or a blanket. I did not get the sleep I needed during that time and I still had to labor all day, that is if I wanted to eat real food. They ALWAYS use food as a punishment even though it says right there in the cowgirl manual that they will NOT use food as a punishment. These people like to contradict themselves, and if you think for one minute that Angie and Jerry (the owners) don't know what's going on think again because they do know and they don't care.
I was upset one night and so I just started running down the dirt road, they came after me in the truck and slammed me down On The ground. Now after this happens the staff preceded to tie up my entire body in a thick heavy rope and threw me in the back of the truck and drove back up to the cabins. I didn't know what the hell was going on and then I over heard them talking about locking me in the shed and they didn't do that because there were nails sticking out of the walls and so they thought I was going to kill myself ( and that's something I would never do, I was simply PISSED) but can you blame me? First of all I already had been traumatized before I went to this place and they just made things worse for me.
I'll tell you all something, ANYBODY can go and get a job that's meant for helping people, just to go for the money, and OR to make others miserable because they are miserable. There are a lot of crooked COPS, and many other titles. I really hope I can get through to many parents out there. One more memory is about this thing they put us through called "Pig Shifts" which means; after the mother pig gives birth, the girls are paired up and every pair has a set time each day or night or early AM to watch the piglets to make sure the momma does not crush them. Each shift would run 3 hours at a time. My pig shift was from 2am to 5am mind you that us two girls had to walk across a huge field about a mile and a half long in the middle of the night in the pitch dark knowing that a mountain lion was spotted by the neighbor, and we heard this from staff. Now we were not allowed to go to sleep until 9:30pm each night we had the option to stay up a little later but I was always so exhausted I had wished I could have gone to sleep earlier, especially with pig shifts and then laboring all day. One more thing I forgot to mention is that they like to make us run everywhere on top of the pig shifts, the daily labor, and the lack of nutrition.
Another important memory I must share; we went hiking in the mountains (very beautiful) anyways, once we had gotten to Deep lake we were to put our food up into the trees before we would camp for the night as there are REAL BEARS where they bring the girls. So I had put my food in the sack to go up into the tree and we were about to go to sleep and I had forgotten that I had a small Gatorade packet in my pocket ( yes the one time we actually got this type on stuff on hiking trips) so I was worried because I didn't want to get eaten by a bear so I told staff right away and it was a simple mistake but they got mad at me, so then I went to burry it away from the campsite to be safe. Then the next morning because of what happened with me and that Gatorade packet the night before the staff refused to let any of us eat breakfast, and this was the day after a very long and strenuous hike. Thank you God Bless
Source:
Sunday, July 12, 2020
Sunday, May 17, 2020
Trinity Teen Solutions survivors testimony
This testimony was found on Yelp. All rights goes to the author.
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I went here for about six months, and while I don't think it was as bad as some of the other reviews here say, it was still pretty bad. For one, before I went there I had never done drugs, never drank, never partied, but when I came back I felt the strongest urge to get into this stuff. I learned about piercings, tattoos, parties, alcohol, and all this other stuff I didn't really know about and being so restrained it seemed so fun! The turn over rate is very low, most girls can take 2+ years to graduate. Nobody had graduated in over a year when I was there Jan-Jul 2014. Most girls either "age out(turn 18, like I did)", or they get pulled out by their parents for whatever reason. Most girls parents don't let them go home when they turn 18, but my mom did because she had been planning on pulling me out soon anyways because she didn't like how regulated and censored the communication between us was, mostly letters.
The staff are pretty nice, but there is definite favoritism. I've talked to a lot of girls who went there, and the few of them who I've met said they had to kiss major butt to get anywhere. I was only comfortable actually talking to only 2 or 3 of the staff there, many of them are just either awkward or tend to make me feel like what I was saying was wrong. Now, maybe that was the case, but I thought they were supposed to help me open up and learn to see my mistakes instead of making me feel shut down and guilty. All I know is that I had a lot more self confidence going in than I did coming out.
Another thing was the horses. I LOVED the horses. One of the main reasons my mom said she sent me here was because she was really excited about the horses, but unless you are on horse chore you don't get to see or interact with them very often. You go riding maybe once every few weeks if you're lucky, though sometimes at random you'll go like three times in two weeks then not go again for a month. Not sure how that system works, but my mom wasn't very happy with it and neither was I.
The therapy was alright, I loved Bernadette! She made me feel like a normal person and a lot less guilty. Not everything bad is my fault, turns out! The staff though is a bit harsh. I know the point of the place is "tough love", but there's a point where it can go a bit overboard. You can try as hard as you can but it still will not be good enough, unless you meet these standards you feel awful about yourself. I did learn a lot, but I think the "trauma" kind of negated most of it. I have nightmares about the place and I wasn't even there that long compared to most. I was pretty well behaved, so I didn't get in too much trouble, but the punishments for things are very unbalanced. Once a girl freaked out and made us all leave the cabin and she just didn't get dinner, while once I accidentally ordered an extra box of soap and got a hill run. I understand that people need different punishments, but good golly. Some girls would act completely awful and so the staff would coddle them, while some of us got completely ignored. Now this is how I saw it. I don't know the whole story, but all I know is that it made me feel very insignificant and frustrated.
The religion was also kind of shoved down your throat. I am a christian, not catholic, but I still got shut down when I tried to give my opinion during group discussions. If they didn't agree with you, you were wrong. Another thing about the "group therapy", I didn't even know that was supposed to be "therapy". Most of the time we watch videos about a saint or how to react in different situations(videos that were made in the 80's may I add). Those videos are hilarious and none of us take them seriously, they are just too dang corny. They call it "group therapy", but its more just something to keep us occupied for an hour or two.
Now, in my opinion, if your daughter is close to turning 18, has never drank, partied, or done drugs, isn't very religious, or anything like that, this isnt the place. I cant speak for others, but when I came out I think I was worse than when I went. Also if you actually want her to graduate expect her to be there for at least two years. I did learn some stuff though, like that you can put anything on a tortilla! Also patience and people skills because the girls there can be nuts. I love them though and I can't wait until they get out so I can talk to them without being constantly monitored. So anywho, yep. That's my opinion.
Source:
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I went here for about six months, and while I don't think it was as bad as some of the other reviews here say, it was still pretty bad. For one, before I went there I had never done drugs, never drank, never partied, but when I came back I felt the strongest urge to get into this stuff. I learned about piercings, tattoos, parties, alcohol, and all this other stuff I didn't really know about and being so restrained it seemed so fun! The turn over rate is very low, most girls can take 2+ years to graduate. Nobody had graduated in over a year when I was there Jan-Jul 2014. Most girls either "age out(turn 18, like I did)", or they get pulled out by their parents for whatever reason. Most girls parents don't let them go home when they turn 18, but my mom did because she had been planning on pulling me out soon anyways because she didn't like how regulated and censored the communication between us was, mostly letters.
The staff are pretty nice, but there is definite favoritism. I've talked to a lot of girls who went there, and the few of them who I've met said they had to kiss major butt to get anywhere. I was only comfortable actually talking to only 2 or 3 of the staff there, many of them are just either awkward or tend to make me feel like what I was saying was wrong. Now, maybe that was the case, but I thought they were supposed to help me open up and learn to see my mistakes instead of making me feel shut down and guilty. All I know is that I had a lot more self confidence going in than I did coming out.
Another thing was the horses. I LOVED the horses. One of the main reasons my mom said she sent me here was because she was really excited about the horses, but unless you are on horse chore you don't get to see or interact with them very often. You go riding maybe once every few weeks if you're lucky, though sometimes at random you'll go like three times in two weeks then not go again for a month. Not sure how that system works, but my mom wasn't very happy with it and neither was I.
The therapy was alright, I loved Bernadette! She made me feel like a normal person and a lot less guilty. Not everything bad is my fault, turns out! The staff though is a bit harsh. I know the point of the place is "tough love", but there's a point where it can go a bit overboard. You can try as hard as you can but it still will not be good enough, unless you meet these standards you feel awful about yourself. I did learn a lot, but I think the "trauma" kind of negated most of it. I have nightmares about the place and I wasn't even there that long compared to most. I was pretty well behaved, so I didn't get in too much trouble, but the punishments for things are very unbalanced. Once a girl freaked out and made us all leave the cabin and she just didn't get dinner, while once I accidentally ordered an extra box of soap and got a hill run. I understand that people need different punishments, but good golly. Some girls would act completely awful and so the staff would coddle them, while some of us got completely ignored. Now this is how I saw it. I don't know the whole story, but all I know is that it made me feel very insignificant and frustrated.
The religion was also kind of shoved down your throat. I am a christian, not catholic, but I still got shut down when I tried to give my opinion during group discussions. If they didn't agree with you, you were wrong. Another thing about the "group therapy", I didn't even know that was supposed to be "therapy". Most of the time we watch videos about a saint or how to react in different situations(videos that were made in the 80's may I add). Those videos are hilarious and none of us take them seriously, they are just too dang corny. They call it "group therapy", but its more just something to keep us occupied for an hour or two.
Now, in my opinion, if your daughter is close to turning 18, has never drank, partied, or done drugs, isn't very religious, or anything like that, this isnt the place. I cant speak for others, but when I came out I think I was worse than when I went. Also if you actually want her to graduate expect her to be there for at least two years. I did learn some stuff though, like that you can put anything on a tortilla! Also patience and people skills because the girls there can be nuts. I love them though and I can't wait until they get out so I can talk to them without being constantly monitored. So anywho, yep. That's my opinion.
Source:
Sunday, March 15, 2020
Trinity Teen Solutions survivors testimony
This testimony was found on Yelp. All rights goes to the author.
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Please do not send your daughter here. I left Trinity almost three years ago, and suffer from the repercussions everyday I was barely 16 when I was sent to TTS and left at almost 18. Those are two vital years of a young persons life, in which they should be nurtured and be able to learn from their mistakes.
Trinity is a verbally, emotional and psychological abusive program that you leave having no feeling of self worth or confidence. I know I do not speak for just myself as I am in contact with MANY previous Trinity girls. A majority of the reason I was sent to Trinity, was because of my adoption. My "counselor" and staff would never allow me to talk to them about my adoption and upon leaving they told me I was not allowed to talk to my birth family for a year. They refuse your basic human rights and treat you worse than if you were residing in a prison.
I have many psychological as well as physical damage as a result from Trinity. While there I was told I was not allowed to engage in any extraneous activity involving my knees. However I was still made to do these and more, now at 20 years old I have the muscle, bone structure and fragility of a 70 year old woman. I also had many UTI's as a result of being refused to be taken to the bathroom while on chair.
I suffer from social anxiety and PTSD, waking up screaming in the middle of the night afraid I am being sent back. If you want the best for your daughter, DO NOT send them here. They will come back with only more damage and hurt before they left.
Source:
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Please do not send your daughter here. I left Trinity almost three years ago, and suffer from the repercussions everyday I was barely 16 when I was sent to TTS and left at almost 18. Those are two vital years of a young persons life, in which they should be nurtured and be able to learn from their mistakes.
Trinity is a verbally, emotional and psychological abusive program that you leave having no feeling of self worth or confidence. I know I do not speak for just myself as I am in contact with MANY previous Trinity girls. A majority of the reason I was sent to Trinity, was because of my adoption. My "counselor" and staff would never allow me to talk to them about my adoption and upon leaving they told me I was not allowed to talk to my birth family for a year. They refuse your basic human rights and treat you worse than if you were residing in a prison.
I have many psychological as well as physical damage as a result from Trinity. While there I was told I was not allowed to engage in any extraneous activity involving my knees. However I was still made to do these and more, now at 20 years old I have the muscle, bone structure and fragility of a 70 year old woman. I also had many UTI's as a result of being refused to be taken to the bathroom while on chair.
I suffer from social anxiety and PTSD, waking up screaming in the middle of the night afraid I am being sent back. If you want the best for your daughter, DO NOT send them here. They will come back with only more damage and hurt before they left.
Source:
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