Thursday, June 19, 2014

Collapse of Sovereign Journey

These testimonies were found on Topix.com. The program closed early 2014. The founders had a past at the King George School, which has also closed down. It seems that the intentions were the best possible but when employees were let go the security level for the rest of the clients became bad. Below are some testimonies from former cliets:

A former client wrote:

first off i would like to say this program was not that bad when i got there .. never did isee myself now a little over a year later making a review this bad about it.. my intention is not out of hatred or to be mean or rude to anyone specific in the proram. i am being hoenst and trying to help other parents and girls help their decision making in chosing a program. so if you have something rude to say back because you think you are defending yourself, please save your comments it looks kind of bad on ya'll.

now.. i was threatened to be kicked out of this program due to the fact they could not keep their south street location open.. then my therapist told my parents i was regressing and should be moved back to the main house where i had to pay way more money.. and her reasoning was "they were scared to leave me alone.." even though i was completely alone for 3 nights without any night staff or day staff... and i was fine.. luckily my parents saw that it was just a scam. i was so hurt that they went to this level. i was even trying to keep them in my life through apartment living for awhile to have some support. but obviously that was not good enough.. ive been living alone now for a while and i could not be doing better no thanks to them.. they lied about my so called regression to my parents.. my own therapist..:( it turns out that was not the only lies that have been told through this program. i am not the only one who has been lied to.
the girls still attending sj. have no access what so ever to cites like these so they cannot say anything about the place and the truth behind anything . they have blocked it.

they had some amazing staff there. unfortunetly most of them have been fired, let go, or have quit. and honestly its way better off for them. im not trying to be a b word i really am not. but this program has poor treatment skills for the girls, financial stability, communication, transportation, and huggggeeee problem with telling the truth. i am a very blunt person i say everything straight up. but i find it incredibly hard to do so when i talk to karen. she has a very good way with words. i honestly lost all respect for her when she lied about her husbands "inapropriate relationship" with one of the client.. i confronted her and spoke on behalf of a few of the other girls and myself saying we did not feel comfortable with her in the position she was in with us knowing what her husband did... and yet she shut me down told me nothing was innapropriate even when i knew it was she was my friend i saw the texts.. i was one of the grils that braught it forward... if someone like that really cared about us girls she would have stepped down liked she was advised but no.. its all dollar signs to her.. and i am just sad still because i use to like them so much and it hard to think back to all this. its shitty that all this has happend but its the truth.. if you want to talk to me personally you can replay to this with any question if i did not make anything clear...(i will not say was was innapropriate with her husbad and the client though i dont think thats really my place) although i dont think it should be so hidden.. thank you and im sorry i had to write something like this .. i wish it could have been a good one.


J. Friedman wrote:

I was a client here. I never really felt safe or comfortable and was continuously lied to. In November-December of 2012, they let all of the therapists go. All of the girls were (obviously) upset and had nobody to talk to about it. I remember when Jess was let go and all of the girls were shocked. Once we were at the park and a man kept harassing me and a few other girls and Jess told him to back off and seriously she was like a mother bear and we were her cubs. I could continue listing staff that clearly cared for us and proved it time and time again, however all of them either left or were let go. I remember the announcement that the therapists were leaving, and the chaos that ensued. One girl left, one punched through a window, and one walked around outside. The rest of us were left in the living room crying. I can honestly say that the only good thing to come of that situation was me suggesting ice cream and movies AND THEY ACTUALLY LISTENED! That was literally the only good part. Another issue was that my laptop was stolen from the cart and used at night by another person. They then accused me of doing it and refused to listen when I said it wasn't me. The only person who believed me was Deb. I also had a bullying issue (one of the clients was bullying me) and I spoke to Karen about it daily and nothing was done. They finally had a community meeting and basically made me bring it up (which made me very uncomfortable) and it didn't really resolve the issue. I left in January of 2013 because the lack of support (they hadn't hired new therapists and it had already been a month) and the lack of communication was only adding to my anxiety. I have made friends that will last my whole life, but I wouldn't go back even if someone paid me



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