A testimony from a former resident at Diamand Ranch Academy

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

I was in DRA from August 2011 to January 2012.

I was taken by two big men on August 4 at around 3 in the morning and transported to Utah. Unfortunately, it is as bad as the internet says. Not a day goes by where I don't relive what happened there. I remember getting a visit from my parents and crying for them to take me, instead they told my therapist and he talked to me and said if I did that again I would get in trouble for "manipulation" aka a cry for help.

I saw this poor 14 year old try to run away and then two 30-something year old men tackled him to the ground and put him in an arm restraint. He then had to run ER (energy release) which was him running until the guys told him to stop, which could be hours. The first two weeks I was there we had o&a (observe and assess) where they made us do stupid little tasks (I was 17 when I arrived and had to write a 17 page paper about my life, make a fire, tie knots, and read various self-help books), we also had to ask to do any little thing (like drink water, reposition ourselves, put on chapstick) we also had designated times to use the bathroom and if you had to go when it wasn't time you got docked points.

The only way I got away was because I was 18 and was able to leave the program. I have been doing a lot better lately. I go to therapy and have been dealing with a lot of emotions regarding DRA. I hate that it still fucks with me and I've been out of the program for 5 years now. I just wanted to put this here so other survivors can know that: yes what we went through fucking sucks, but we can't let our parents stupidity get in the way of our futures. And if any parents are reading this: don't fucking send your child to any therapeutic boarding school, they will harbor resentments against you for a while (trust me). Also Your kid will also probably end up smoking weed to deal with the ptsd of the situation.

Two boys have died at Diamond Ranch Academy. One boy died of illness - at least that is what the official investigation proved. One boy committed suicide by hanging.

Sources:

• The original testimony on Reddit
• Datasheet about the facility (Fornits Wiki)

isabellabee at Diamond Ranch Academy

This testimony was found on the reddit message board. All rights goes to the original author. The author is asked some questions about the stay. Here are the answers

Of course. I was sent there for disobedience in regards to my parents. Along with minor drug use, very bad grades, and i just had a lot of party habits. I arrived the day before the boy committed suicide. Yes, one large scary man and one woman came into my house at 3 in the morning and dragged me by the arms into their car. I lived in Arizona at the time so the drive was ten hours. They refused to stop for me to use the bathroom and also refused me any kind of food. They also wouldn't tell me where we were going and made me shut up the entire way there. The experience was traumatizing and still haunts me. At the time i thought me and my mom were getting robbed and i was getting kidnapped. Upon entering they stripped searched me, made me take off my makeup, and take out my few piercings. They put two needles in my arm, i can't remember if it was to test me for something or put something in me. They gave me no choice. Then I was put in O&A (observation and assessment) which is now called Orientation. In there i had to ask permission to sit, stand, speak, put chapstick on, ect. We were monitored 24/7 even while sleeping. They put me on "run watch" as they do for most when they first enter. They didn't let me outside for 42 days. All I saw was white walls. They made us clean everything, over and over for absolutely no purpose. We basically had no rights at all and I felt like i was five years old. If you didn't comply with the staffs directives they would restrain you. I didn't wanna cooperate with sweeping the boys weight room on Christmas of 2013 because I had been cleaning the entire day. Because i wouldn't continue sweeping, two large men came over to me and applied a large amount of force on my wrists for about five minutes until I was in hysterics begging them to stop. My right wrist hurt for months.

I was half way through my freshman year of high school when i entered. Since my grades weren't 80 percent or above they made me restart the entire year over. They gave us fake citations for every possible thing we could do wrong. such as talking without permission, cursing, glorifying, inappropriate behavior, wasting food (not eating all your food), and there were probably 60 more. If you got a certain amount you failed your day which just means another day on your program. The systems they had in place were insanely degrading. If you failed a day or your hole week you felt like that was a week wasted of your life. One girl, Pamela, has been in DRA for over three years because of failed weeks. She has several mental problems and DRA has done absolutely nothing to help her. She's sitting in there rotting and her parents are brainwashed thinking she's getting the help she needs. We were forced to eat the disgusting food they served us every day regardless if we wanted it or not. We got three minutes in the shower which eventually progressed to five minutes. If they felt you were suicidal you were put on suicide watch and were forced to sleep in the hallway on the floor under lights with staff hovering over you making sure you didn't move incorrectly. I got strip searched three times a day every day for 42 days. All the doors were locked and the staff were the only ones with access to the keys. If you tried to escape the program staff would chase after you until they tackled you down and you would have to restart the entire program.

Programs generally lasted 10 months, but you had the opportunity to be out in seven and a half which was nearly impossible. Most kids just can't follow the rules because the rules are simply ridiculous and unorthodox. So some are stuck there until they're eighteen and can sign themselves out. I didn't speak to my parents until i was out of O&A which was 42 days after i arrived. My first phone call was monitored by my therapist. I tried to explain to my parents what was going on and as soon as I started crying she hung up the phone. I didn't get another phone call until my therapist thought i was "ready" which really just meant until she thought I wouldn't try and voice the truth to my parents. We were allowed to write letters but any negativity or manipulation sensed in the letters would cause the staff reading it to flag it. Which means it goes through a youth detection counselor, your therapist, the front desk, and the (in my case) girl's campus leader. Half my letters never got to my parents.

This is only what i have heard. I don't know it to be absolute facts, but I've heard it from several people and knowing their manipulative tactics it's most likely true. FACTS: The boy who committed suicide hung himself with his belt during a football game DRA was having. In the commotion of getting everyone outside they left him behind upstairs in his bathroom. They have never made that mistake before because they know the first chance they get to commit suicide they will. (I have never had any sort of suicidal thoughts or feelings in my entire life until I went there. The second I left they all went away and I know for a fact unless I went back there they'll never return. I truly would have rather been dead then spent another day in that concentration camp) This is what i've heard in regards to how he hung himself: They claim he did it on the shower rod and DRA supposedly replaced every shower rod in the facility so that any type of pressure put on it would cause it to collapse. Also after this incident we were no longer allowed to have belts. I've heard many times the truth is that he hung himself in the vent in his bathroom. I don't really know why they would lie about the exact spot he was hanging from but thats just what i've heard. The boy purposely tried to get left behind that day just so he could do this... He was in the program for depression and my biggest problem is he was sixteen years old. He had sixteen other years of his life to commit suicide and he chose to do it at DRA.... Clearly it was because that was the saddest and most depressing point in his life. Yet DRA is said to be uplifting and positive throughout the entire journey.


Source:

• The original testimony (Reddit)
• DHS confirms another child death at Diamond Ranch Academy (Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora)

Testimony about Diamond Ranch Academy

This testimony was found as a reply to a blog entry on the blog runned by Secret Prison for Teens. All rights goes to the original author

A lot of comments I have made in the past have ended up helping fuel the rage against DRA and I just want to add to those.

Before I go into further detail I want to state that the focus should not be on the troubled teen industry and especially not specifically one place.

IT should be on the state of UTAH which is proven to be funded by the church of lds and the donations of various Mormon owned companies such as troubled teen industries.

I have seen a kid who unsuccessfully tried committing suicide right in front of me multiple times. I had to live with the poor soul who had probably one of the most troubled past I have yet to come upon and the improper mixture of medicine to follow. I am studying medicine now and I can tell you the combination alone of just half of the psych med he was taking would cause me to turn suicidal.

One instance was when the kid was sitting on the rocks which he was isolated on. In a treatment called Isiah-landing aka Islanding where one is forced to sit in the 105 degree sun and be isolated from the group as punishment for bad behavior.

Please not while this is happening... the rest of the children are eating out of dog bowls filled with 24 oz of sour kraut or if morning a bowl of oatmeal cooked in over 1-2 gallons of sauerkraut juice in lieu of water. Pickle juice in your morning cereal is a good comparison If your not accustomed to fine German food like I am.

Blanket punishment influenced on everyone due to a child... stealing a piece of bread out of the trash can where the insider program doers dump there left over scraps. The trash can represents what resembles the scraps you would put in a pigs trough. I have personally eaten out of the trash can due to days where I would not be able to see straight from the lack of food due to the 13 year old cooking 150 peoples food unsupervised mistakes. opps. back to the witnessed suicide attempt. -_- This child was so suicidal he tried to swallow a golf ball sized rock. The staff happen to catch him doing this obviously because of the gagging and called for help on the restraint.

The restraint that followed was one you would see on the tv show "COPS" after a suspect was tackled for a very serious crime and arrested. 4 giant football players and 1 being one of the biggest guys I have ever met probably weighing 330 pounds. Would have been a defensive line backer for NFL if he didnt get hurt while playing for a college team. Followed with 210 -225 pounds lean. athletes who proceed to restrain this kid who was 120 pounds and 14 years old. He had multiple skin infections from mosqito bites and a scratching which was left untreated for 9 months so the sun was bothering him .... and just couldn't take it and lost control of his will to live. I was ordered multiple times to take care of this child and one of the demands made to me due to his
itching was to tape his hands together. I was told to use almost an entire roll of duct tape to tape his hands together since the previous taping of garden gloves to his wrists still allowed his ability to itch. Going against all that is Mormon and using Darwinism to come to the conclusion that if you have hands which allow you to itch and then remove those hands you lose the ability to itch. So put gloves on the kid tape them to his wrists and then tape his hands together with another roll of tape.

This guy had a hard time controlling his bladder alone so you can imagine sitting in 105 degree sun and being forced to drink 1 gallon of water a day while only being allowed to pee every 2-3 hours after hiking 4-5 miles pulling a ox cart with your hands taped together. For some reason re reading what i just wrote reminded me of Joseph smith.... Why:? Well the root cause is because of all the food I was given when I came to LDS church on sundays at Diamond ranch academy held by our science teacher... The side effect and main reason why it reminds me of J,Smith is because of how in a way there hiking and digging projects resembles how the plates of nephi where found but that is another story.

Back to the restraint.

The staff each restrained one limb of the child for over 15 minutes while his face was directly in the rocks that the child tried eating to end his suffering 15 minutes prior. Two types of rocks there are smooth rocks and there where lava rocks. When ever you got restrained by head staff they love to put your face in the extremely sharp Lava rocks. That is why they call the campus LAVA FALLS and being homeless. When your face is being ravaged by lava rocks it gets cut up pretty bad. I have never seen more then two people restrain a person while at dra except for this child. I weighed 180 at the time and even then I had only been restrained 1 time by two people (and im 2nd or 3rd place for restraints ). The suicide reports on this kid alone are probably numerous And need to be reviewed by the federal court. (I guess Romney proved that the federal system cant be bought so thats why I choose Federal Over State court.) Not that that It would matter anyway because I can personally attest to my personal experience of which I screamed at an inspector, "They made us hide there filthy semen, vomit, urine, etc mattress in the gym." I yelled this 4 times of what I can recall because I only got close enough to yell at these inspectors. They heard me but continued to not confront me. I was punished very hard for this through physical exercise and screaming. I was just getting even since We had to wake up 50 minutes early to take our filthy beds to the gym and where worked extra hard the night before cleaning the over crowded dorms.

This brings me to what I stated before. -Its the game not the players- We need to focus our efforts on the people in charge. Aside from the crooked private licensing organizations ran by the Mormon Mafia- WE need to as people under the federal court to abolish there rights to perform this.

Take what is happening in California for example. If the federal courts can demand the state prisons to release people due to overcrowding for non violent crimes and reposition the majority then why cant the federal courts abolish these types of treatment facilities ...

These are children. Not your typical children who run track or are voted prom king or queen. But maybe if they where not raped/beaten/ignored or simply raised differently then there would be a shining glimmer in each ones eye like the rest of there friends... In comparison to all the people who have complained about DRA or even as far as created little blogs and such have effectively done something. The same can be said about solitary reflection. I learned a lot about myself from the confinement but it only helped me learn how to deal with a problem and not SOLVE the problem.

*If my statements are used and I find out d.r.a tries to repute them I will be forced to drop time dates and names. To D.R.A. You know who I am. The suicide that has happen here would of happen a long time ago if you didn't restrain the suicidal. I have personally seen you fracture J.M's arm (who was autistic due to his birthing mothers drug addiction. ) He could not help himself. Unable to kill himself due to his learning disability he would cry constantly "Why dont you just -friggen- kill me already" While being restrained almost weekly.

Your use of punishment by physical force is excessive. Your use of punishment by calisthenic exercise exceeds that of the military. Its sole purpose is to exert so much physical exhaustion that one cant move to lift there arms let alone tie a rope. Yet the while of one person was stronger then your punishment. You took this persons happiness and joy away. You left them for the 18 year old staff that you hire out of dixie state college to perform pscyho-analisis reports and to mimic a employee who works at a mental institution. Your staff is grossly undereducated on both the real world and what it takes to properly analyze a mentally disturbed person.

I have had a short physical relationship with your female staff outside of the ranch and have gotten to really know who you are having run your facilities. Drug addicts treating drug addicts seems to have worked for N.A. groups but not when there punishing the people there treating through pain.

Diamond Ranch Academy was founded in 1999 in Idaho. The authorities intervened in their operations forcing them to move to Utah where the authorities short to say don't care much about what goes on at such places. They used to be located east of Hurricane but moved to a new campus west of Hurricane not long ago. A boy died there some years ago on the old campus. Another boy committed suicide on the new campus in 2013.


Sources:

• Diamond Ranch Academy fights back at negative testimonies from former students. (The original testimony found on the Secret Prisons for teen blog)
• Factsheet about the program (Fornits Wiki)

Anonymous at Diamond Ranch Academy (from safeteenschools.org)

This testimony was given on the webpage Safe Teen School by a student whos name has been withheld. All rights goes to the original author.

I arrived feb 22nd of 2008 and graduated highschool out of there facility in october of 2009. I was woken up in the middle of the night and transported to the facility were i was strip searched had to shed, spread, squat, cough, and lift up my genitals and was immediately placed in an all orange hoodie and orange sweat pants labeled homeless on the chest like i was a prisoner.

When i arrived with the group I was informed for the next two weeks there was no communication with other students if you talk its a strike you got 4 strikes in each half day if u got over the amount of strikes you failed your day which resulted in more time in homeless. Things that included recieving strikes were talking not finishing ur workout ...not finishing ur disgusting meals...refusing to comply...asking unnecessary questions and so on I was in homeless for 3 months before i was allowed to be an inside student.

The staff refered to me as the homeless king who would never get out we traveled throughout the campus outside all day pulling a cart known as the yolk like we were horses....every morning we were fed 1 bowl of cream of wheat or oats for breakfast depending on the day...rice and lentels for lunch everyday...and rice and lentels with chicken for dinner...1 bowl every meal i went from 400 lbs to 180 lbs in the time i was there from there strict workouts and labor...the homless staff Mike Fox and Jon Goobler would deny students use of the porta potty and in particular would harass one student with this power till he'd pee his pants. On days parents would come they would hide the homeless kids in the workout room out of sight. On numerous ocassions I was subject to energy release this is were they run you and make you do laps and various strenuous exercises up and down the so called football field until you 1. passed out or 2. begged to stop and would comply this particular punishment was administered by Ricky Diaz, Robbie Diaz, Danny Borchard and Shane the guy in charge of isolation. Many times i was checked against the wall by an employee named Kyle Carter and beat for my insubordination. Once i became an inside student i joined there football team where if you were talented you were pampered if you were of no use to them and there obsession with the game you were worked to the point of passing out.

If you preformed poorly in the game as an individual you could be placed back in homeless as punishment in my total time at DRA I spent over 6 months in homeless. The staff that woulds stay inside our dorm room were on our side, they would say how its wrong what they do to us and how they are sworn to silence and if they were to speak up they got fired immediately which happend often. Everyone was given a book of Mormon and was pushed in the direction of there beliefs and if you did not participate you were frowned upon. The five main abusers of kids at the ranch were Robbie Diaz, Ricky Diaz, Danny Borchard, Shane whatever his last name is and Kyle Carter. Many times i watched students be thrown down, knees in backs, arms were broken in the restraint of students to the point where lower power staff members would turn there heads in disgust. I got along with alot of the staff that stayed with us all day such as Victor.. Josh..Steve Darvaeau....Mckay Probert but most of them were fired because they actually cared about us as people we were neglected for food especially if you were big you would get half portions and definitely neglected for bathroom privalges in the homeless part of the program medical care was only good if you had to take meds for disorders otherwise they didn't care about you, the medical staff was amazing and careing but again were held under dictatorship rule by the higher up people. On the phones you were limited what you could say and if you stepped outside the boundries of conversation your call was hung up on all my letters stating concerns to my parents were edited outside of my own words or blacked out.

I felt like a prisoner they made it seem not bad when you get there but after your parents pull down that dusty dirt road it was as if it was a completely different story i personally have been traumatized by my stay there and have developed anxiety ridden abandonment issues my relationship with my parents is good now but that is only because they now realize what I've been put through. Diamond Ranch Academy is the equivalent of a cult driven on the basis of Mormon beliefs hard labor and football. If you do not comply with those three things your time there is hell. I've have been to several other facilities in my life but none as dark and hush hush covered up as this one they are excellent at hiding what they do and could only be exposed threw an undercover student the whole program is based on a lie of saying its a boarding school when in reality its more like a prison.


Sources:

• The original testimony (safeteenschools.org)
• Factsheet about the facility (Fornits Wiki)

Christina at Diamond Ranch Academy (from safeteenschools.org)

This testimony was given on the webpage Safe Teen School by a student Christina. All rights goes to the original author.

I was there August 1, 2012 - March 27, 2013.

I was woken up at 5 am and taken by 2 people who called themselves transporters while my parents watched, my parents did not take me, they threatened me the second they saw me before even explaining who they were

One day in RFI the staff got mad at me and ripped my glove while still on my hand leaving a mark, then grabbed my arm and shoved me into a brick wall hard leaving another bruise then after I slid down and started crying from pain, grabbed my hair, slammed my face into the tile floor, got on top of me and almost popped my shoulder and wrist out of the sockets, I held my breath to keep from screaming and they said I was no fun then got off of me and left me in a locked room alone.

They gave me no breakfast or lunch and I was abused much more frequently like that after that incident , also a special person was often abused. She would take showers and if she was ever late, they would open her shower door pull her out of the shower and restrain her every time, there were only 5 staff I ever got along with, Mykin was 1 and she got fired when they found out she was being easy on us, Roxanne was another and she would give us food so would her sister Nola and Liz would try to get us everything she could but quit when they started threatening her for helping us.

We were punished for asking for water, extra food, or a bathroom break and if we weren't about to die on the spot, medical would yell at us for needing them, the school kept trying to put me on medication but my mom said no and I recently found out that my mom never knew about the pills they made us take everyday in O&A.

Before Diamond Ranch Academy I never talked to my parents and now is no different.

Sources:

• The original testimony (safeteenschools.org)
• Factsheet of the facility (Fornits Wiki)

George Lucarelli at Diamond Ranch Academy

i was a student at diamond ranch, and twords the end of my stay i really thoughti it was changing me and my family, little did i know they were houndign my parents about money and threatining to send me back home. i was also dusgusted to find that when i did get home about 1/3 of the letters i wrote in the 11 months i was there got sent back to my parents.

as a student you are forced to smile in every photograph taken of you, if not it wont go to yoru parents and you will receive a manipulation citation which in some cases could prevent you from advancing in the level program. i loved the therapy and alot of it was very helpful. the staff on the other had for the dorms was mereley just rick ( the owners son) football buddys, kids that may have been a year or two older than i was, i made friends with them we all got along and stuff but now that im out im realizing like holy crap these dudes would sit and blatantly talk to us about getting high or come to work high, a staff gave me his ipod to use, i had one give me sleeping pills like it was cool but as far as for parents looking into sending kids there its just nor a productive place to be.

the idea of forcing kids to change does not work in the long run , yes they will seem fine but its only because if they disobey then some giant football playing dick is going to jam his finger in your pressure point or you will be outside cleaning up horse shit. i was sent to another program that legitmately helped me out and id say DRA IS A NO GO


Source:
The original testimony on education.com

ProgramGirl at Diamond Ranch Academy

This testimony was found on a messageboard named ultimate-guitar.com. All rights goes to the original author known as ProgramGirl

It is very hard for me to write this email but I find it to be more than an obligation. I discovered your site today, June 21, 2005 and immediately had to contact you. I was physically, emotionally, and psychologically abused at Diamond Ranch Academy from late July 2001 to late June 2002.

I speak not only for myself. 20-60 other kids at any given time went through some of the same sickening and humiliating torture around me every day. Years have passed, but a lot of the pain has not. In fact, I still keep contact with about five people I went to "DRA" with, and we all feel the same way. Some still have nightmares to this day related to this program. (There's something strange to me about considering the idea of having a child woken up and literally kidnapped by strange men in the middle of the night to face a year of incarceration "therapeutically".) It is a very dangerous game these people are playing, indeed, and I speak from experience.

The first two weeks I stayed at Diamond Ranch was the sickest display of an abuse of power I have ever witnessed. I quickly made it out of their gruesome hell of a "first level" they called "wilderness" at the time out of sheer fear and terror.

Our sleeping, eating, and working conditions were absolutely filthy and barbaric. We were barked orders from four in the morning until very late into the day, then, when we finally were allowed sleep, we were woken up repeatedly during the night to do "calisthenics".

Our days were entirely filled with busy work that mainly included making the facility look better for interested parents touring the ranch. We were not allowed to talk to one another whatsoever. If we were caught doing so, it resulted in group calisthenics for hours on end. We were not allowed cold water, only warm water out of dirty canteens provided by the staff.

The staff always seemed ready to remind us they were only 'legally obligated' to provide us with two meals a day. Meals consisted of white rice or lentils for dinner and (sometimes) lunch, and oats for breakfast, and we were occasionally allowed rotten fruit. Spices and seasonings were only allowed twice during these two weeks because we were told we didn't deserve them. We prepared these meals ourselves over a burner. We had to use dirty sticks found on the ground as utensils. If one of us vomited, they were forced to eat another bowl or the result was more group punishment.

We were only allowed to bathe/ change clothes every two days if that, (in freezing cold outdoor "showers" of course.) We were told that that we were worth less than dirt, etc. The staff would mockingly eat healthy, delicious looking meals from the "inside" facility and candy bars in our faces to taunt us. When traveling from site to site, we were forced to march and sing marching related songs at the same time. If one was caught not singing, or crying from pain, exhaustion, or hunger; more physical and verbal group punishment.

Once, the owner's son Robbie was our staff, just for the day. He set me aside from the group and physically punished me personally by making me do pushups with my hands in sharp rocks until my arms collapsed and then decided it would be a good idea to start yelling in my face; "What's the matter with you ____?! You can't do a push up, you can't do anything! What are we gonna' do with you boy?!" etc.

Another night that stands out, was a night when an abusive, and in my personal opinion mentally unstable wilderness staff member named Brad decided to make us do "calisthenics" until every last one of us was breaking down crying. That in itself wasn't out of the ordinary, but this round, every time one of the poor students in our group who suffered from terrets syndrome uncontrollably uttered an obscenity, Brad would make us keep going and going until we were literally screaming in pain, our muscles locking up. Kids were getting sick, passing out, falling over crying and begging for mercy.

Later in my program I heard him utter things to other staff members that personally made me believe Brad enjoyed making kids suffer.

I also remember activities such as lying on the desert floor holding large boulders above my head in the blazing hot Utah sun until I felt like I could barely take it anymore. The individual shocking instances of abuse of power I was exposed to during those two weeks were endless. Luckily, my stay was short. Some people were in this phase up to six months. Half way through my stay at 'DRA', 'wilderness' was shut down due to illegal activity and changed to "unemployment", a much tamer and regulation-friendly version of what I had gone through. Needless to say no kind of contact to anyone outside of the facility was allowed during this period.

The rest of my stay at Diamond Ranch Academy was better but we were all still very manipulated and controlled. For example, after a few months I was able to mail my parents, but mail was closely monitored and read, and they ultimately decided if it was sent or not. If you did anything to expose the ranch for what it really was, you were instantly punished and knocked back down on the level system, promising you an even longer and harder stay at the program. Same with phone calls. They were always monitored and you would be instantly cut off if you said anything that could be deemed as "manipulative". Rob Dias and the staff were the real manipulators of Diamond Ranch Academy. You were always part of their scheme. If you sold the place, you went home. If you fought the place, the harder they'd make it for you. They play a sick game of power with you up until the moment you sign your release paper. You were seen as more of a dollar sign rather than a patient in the eyes of Rob Dias, the owner, who used scare tactics in order to gain respect from students, and his sons and staff are well known for physically abusing kids in ways that go WELL beyond what they would classify as "necessary restraint". What I saw there was not necessary restraint. It was bullying, physical abuse, and torture. The difference between that place on a regular day and a day when an interested parent thinking about sending their kid to Diamond Ranch came to look around was as different as night and day. Bottom line: We were treated as objects and sales tools. It was a living nightmare.

We were always hungry, scared, and filthy. We were always living and cooking in horrible conditions. Always being used as an ad campaign for interested parents. Always being hurt by staff or the conditions of our work situations. I don't know how many times I had to go the hospital for being cut with sharp objects while working in the junk yard. I can only hope someone out there thinking about sending their kid to a program reads this, and does a little more research on these places. Everything in my statement is true. I give HEAL permission to use my statement in any way they please. "

Yes, my friend, it's terrifying. Recently a kid died at Diamond Ranch Academy that we(people who follow the gulags) have found out about, only through a tip, I believe--there are no media reports on it. How many kids have died that we never found out about? :(

The boarding school has relocated their campus and some components of their program has been altered.

Sources:

• The original testimony (ultimate-guitar.com)
• Datasheet about the facility (Fornits Wiki)

Alex W at Diamond Ranch Academy

Ok let me start out by saying this place was HELL for me and everyone else i know that went there. If anything it made things worse then better. I got sent there on April 15, 2008 and graduated May 15, 2009. I was there exactly 13 months. As people said that a kid died there. That kid was my best friend. His name was Jim. now i dont know exactly how he died or any of the details. All i do know is how the staff there treated him. It was exactly a week after he got back to the ranch from a home visit. My ENTIRE dorm woke up around 4 am thinking someone was showering. We found out that Jim was puking over the side of his bed so much it sounded like a shower running! So obviously he was sick. The staff then made him sit there for over 45 minutes cleaning up his own vomit with nothing other then paper towel. No mop no cleaning supplies just a paper towel. In the morning when we all went to breakfast he was sent to sick bay and that was the last time any of the students saw him. Now it wasn't DRA's fault that he died. but he was sick and they treated him so horribly! making him clean up his own vomit at 4 in the morning, while he was moaning and groaning and throwing up some more! Thats that story. Let me get into more of my story now. When i went there i had long hair. I got an extra week in homeless (the beginning part of the program where you can eat nothing but rice, and arent allowed to talk for at least 2 weeks) just because i didnt want to cut my hair! Does that sound reasonable?! Also i was on run watch. That is where they take your shoes and give you flip flops so it is harder to run away. The reason they put me on run watch? well which one do u want? The reason they told me, the reason they told my mom, or the truth??? So they told me that my mom requested it. Later on in my program i found out that they told my mom it was because I tried to run away! When i went there i was a little fat chubby kid. Even if i wanted to run away i knew i couldnt so why would i even try?! Now for the real reason. When i found out what they had told my mom i asked Ricky (program director and son of the owner) why I was on run watch in homeless. His answer? "You were on run watch because we felt like putting you on run watch"...... DRA is also physically and mentally abusive. One time i got thrown face first into the rocks and restrained because i said "screw you" to a kid. i didnt touch him, i didnt threaten him, all i said was screw you. The only reason they stopped restraining me was because my arm made a snapping noise and they were afraid they would break it. They were mentally abusive in the fact that i STILL have nightmares about that place!!! anyway let me talk about it in general and not about my story. I saw kids there that were not there for drug issues but when left got addicted to hardcore drugs because other kids there were talking about how great they were. I do not know i single person that went to dra that HASNT relapsed on what ever they were there for. Whether it was drugs or a certain behavior. DO NOT send your kids to DRA. all it will do is making them worse. It is a TERRIBLE place and i wouldnt even go back for all of bill gates money Sources:

A testimony from Diamond Ranch Academy (II)

A human organisation HEAL-ONLINE has collected a number of testimonies from teenagers who have been forced to live at the facility. Here is one covering a period between 2007 and 2008. All rights belong to the original author:

(Dra, Apple Valley;st george, apr14-Feb12,)

I want to remain anonymous

Diamond Ranch Academy exposed

Ok bear with me everyone.

Im sorry if any information is scattered but please just read all of it,Thank you.

It started april 12 2009 I was driving down the road in St george. I was looking for somewhere to get caught up in school.My parents and I went to go check out this place they said they could me caught up in school so I took their word for it.They sat my parents down and told them that it was a good school and it would get me caugh up in school they said it was a boarding school not a rehab I knew their were drug addicts there but they made it seem like a school.I wouldnt have went there if I knew all their rules they don't fill you in on any of these until you parents signed documents you had to be there for 10 months some 12.

I think it is unjust because some people can get their problems fixed in under 10 months.

With that in mind I went in with a positive attitude and was their for school only, but Dra they took all my freedoms away besides getting food and water they strip you your first day. Im a good girl, Im already mormon but they violate that when they leave the door open when your taking a shower in the homeless program.I broke down crying because I didn't know it was a lockdown and nobody would talk to me.

My staff that night told other staff I was going to run away because I was breaking down.They put me on run watch and took me shoes and put me in flip flops for 3 weeks.Its all apart of their drama scheme they actually live off drama there the staff they hire at least.I learned this after being there staff would make fun of girls as well especially if they were homeless they'd call you girl in orange and tell you tobe positive or you'd stay in homeless longer. They treated you badly I had a panic attack a few times

One staff walked in the lunch room one day and was like I don't feel bad for any of you I read your papers. Dra automatically treats girls like they are below you by eating good food in front of you and teased us about it daily they were happy when they treated us like lower humans.I will not dramatize this but I want to make it known there is some things to look into at dra that are yet to be exposed.I can't begin because you have to "see for yourself" they have a clan of people working to make money for them and are using teens to serve as a purpose to do so.

At 18 I signed out and I chose to be homeless for a few days and lived in the mountains,but I survived because I went into town and a lady at Maverick asked me whats wrong.I told her everything and she said look you need to have a home and I dont want to see you on the streets.I told her "ok but I can't go back to Dra,I didn't like the way it made me feel" When I got to her house she treated me far better even as a stranger she didn't treat me like I was in a rehab I was very nice, and I let her know I wouldn't steal from her she clothed me properly and told me her house is open and her kitchen and let me take a shower.

At dra they don't respect you as nice as the lady I met at maverick, they automatically think your going to steal and just do everything bad,they need to change the way the operate because it won't be successful if they think something like were going to steal it's bound to happen.That's how they operated they used all their rules to make it seem effective but it backfired if someone broke one they'd add like 2 more rules everytime.Its based on scare tactics the staff actually yells at you I repeat yells at you even when working out or at dinners(everywhere).

Even when I was ready to leave they wouldn't let me go they got me to come back after I legally signed out on my 18th birthday.They even got the head staff cody to come looking for me to give me their contact card to come back.He told me and the lady who took me in that he'd buy me dinner.Instead he dropped me off at this hotel that I couldn't even get into. Yes the lady was blown out of her mind how cruel and uncaring these people were.She told me to stay with her and I did until I stayed in a motel for a couple days refusing to go back.Well I called his number after because my family told me to and he Manipulated me by saying you can leave in 3 weeks if you come back. Though they lied I was there longer for like 5 weeks longer then I was suppose to. Well after I got my ged my only way out I had a recognition February 13th. ( 2 months after my birthday)

Which brings me to another subject abuse was huge at Dra entally,verbally,physically. If you didn't participate they'd say what don't yo want to leave?Whats the matter with you? Do army crawl, do 50 man pushups ,when I say down down.They use their power for control over us they know we can't leave when we first get in so they use their power to push us around. As aggressive as they were I remember countless times they restrained girls for no reason one girl didn't want to go to homeless and the staff cody grabbed her wrists and yelled at her then shoved her into the cart, so she hit him after, but it was provoked .

Well for me I did what I could I had to put on a show that's what Dra teaches you tell on other girls, say you love the place, never tell your parents the truth if you said you hated it and told them anything negative they end your phone call.If they were real honest to goodness program they wouldn't care what children told their parents even if it wasn't good. They are trying so hard to look good that it' actually backfired there is now groups on facebook not rallying against it but they are voicing their opinions about the abuse.Dra needs to be shutdown sometime it is getting more powerful though so we need as much help as possible to help us.It is not a way to rebell I really feel like this program abuses kids when their purpose is to get kids off drugs it actually abuses them in the process which might trigger their relapse and feelings they play too many mind games and deny us of fresh water.

Please Go to http://www.heal-online.org/diamond.htm

Well I never had tried drugs alcohol smoking or taken part in anything sexual.I know that it's not all their fault that girls relapse but they would even let girls listen to songs about weed and M.I.A's drug songs this was the Girls campus head staff "Brigham".

They let the girls on the basketball team hear lyrics about drugs in a rehab...that should be forbidden.Once again staff didn't follow the rules so there was not a good example for girls there.They have staff who've committed felonies,been in jail,sold drugs, even our first homeless staff amber was a heavy alcoholic,and partier.A homeless staff! You could tell by looking at her and they would hire anyone to work for them.Even obese ladies and woman who use to be drug addicts and still were.

Let me tell you there were some good things I weighed 118 when I left I looked like a rail who hadn't eaten much and had all her portions under control and much excersise. I learned that I can do bootcamp hard things but life is not this way.It was a real transition program

Well I had a panic attack a few times and the least they could do was send me to homeless.After crying being in the bathroom saying I want to go home and shaking and shaking.I couldn't help it I was losing my mind I believe.Well a staff was called to my doorm and his name was Bryant he told me Id have to get up im like no im staying here.He said well you need to go to bed I was like I can't stop shaking.He says why Im 'like I don't know Bryant I don't know.He replied "well I'm going to have to restrain you if you don' get up,"They then radioed staff and 1 mean staff from guys side I will tell you his name once I remember it(THIS NEEDS TO BE REPORTED)

This man was escorted with a nurse into my doorm they took me to the med closet and were like I'll give you benadryl..and I said I don't want it I just want to go to the hospital.

I knew I needed medical attention since I was having a severe panic attack.Anyway they looked at me like I'm just trying to help and I said i'm sorry I just don't want medication.Well the man yelled at me and threatened to restrain me and put me on my bed,so he threatened to touch me and force me on my bed and go to bed.

He told me I was a "waste of their time and also faking this whole thing and stop playing games."Well I wasn't it was a panic attack and Dra doesn't care if your out of breath or shaking he also told me not to have another panic attack again. It was a haunting expirience I was scared and forced to lay on my bed,but I was still shaking. (This was 1 of my 3 panic attacks at dra also keep in mind I hadn't had one for 3 years)

So they resisted to give me medical attention at the hospital.This is what they did, and theres even been a death in January 2009, because they denied to give a student medical attention all happening in 2009. Its not a good place to send kids for that reason.

For me My bad habits started after going here I never did a drug tasted alcohol anything even sex!Well 4 months after my depart of Dra I went to my first rave in June and tried ecstasy and cigarettes and hung out with addicts who've done heroin and were heavy boomers.I know I never would have done this but in a way it actually reminded me of Dra.They talked about drugs in good ways and I wanted to try it.It didn't stop I also went to another rave In august and did ecstasy with coke.I can't and won't do that anymore still I believe dra had alot to do with my curiosity.I tell you this because I've actually been to a rehab before when I was 12 but it was for anger issues not drugs or anything else.I can honestly say they dont help your kids, everyone I know has either relapsed or worse and I was the girl who never tried sex,drugs,alcohol,or anything at all before Dra.Now I am alot more expirienced when it comes to substances.

I went to Dra to get caught up in school I was 1 year and a half behind I actually saw it online.They don't tell you a thing about it until your locked down and physically prevented from leaving.That place is electrically fenced and surrounded with water making it a harsh environment if a Kid actually did run away and succeed he'd die.

Thank you for your time, but I do want to say it made me very skinny I highly believe this program produces eating disorders our portions were sometimes smaller then a fist.


Sources:

• The original statement on HEAL-online's website
• Factsheet of the facility (Fornits Wiki)

Aaron at Diamond Ranch Academy

A human organisation HEAL-ONLINE has collected a number of testimonies from teenagers who have been forced to live at the facility. Here is one covering a period between 2007 and 2008. All rights belong to the original author:
I, _____ Aaron [Private]_____________, declare and state as follows:

1. [NAME OF PROGRAM]..Diamond Ranch Academy
2. [LOCATION OF PROGRAM] Hurricane Utah
3. [PERIOD OF INTERNMENT MM/YY TO MM/YY] 6/23/06-12-23-07
4. [DECLARATIVE STATEMENT] Yes
   
   Living with the ghosts--a donation to the present and future
   
   There I am torn from reality into a pseudo-society which my dog gets better treatment then these people. I have eaten out of a bright metal bowl on the ground while Utah thunderstorms shed ounces of water into my 16 oz of barely thawed out rice. Slowly and slowly I started to realize how much I had changed from a hard drug addict to a Brainwashed cult member. Being locked in a 450 square foot white cinderblock room hopeless while I am seriously wishing I was in jail where I can be myself. Everywhere I went they went single file without a word being spoken. Many nights I remember crawling in my bed with drops of urine on my sheets from a top bunk that had a teenager with a bladder issue. I found myself at times in a shower that had feces in it from a teen in my family of 10 who did not belong at a tough love facility... Adding to the issue there where a lack of nursing for anything. All types and sorts where sent to this tough love camp, anywhere between children dealing with family lose to gang members Aged 12-17 ½. I didn’t see my parents for 7 months at a time. That was against the law so they had to make an exception.
   
   Therapy was meaningless and most of the time was overlooked here you can see myself with my therapist. The kid who did all that on my mattress is in the green.(http://www.diamondranchacademy.com/therapy/therapeutic-program.php)They legally have to take you out once a week to speak with you and once every two weeks you can call your parents. In this picture my therapist decided to double up sessions to accommodate the increase in people. When this happened the normal 8 beds per dorm maximum turned into 8 people in bunks and six on the floor. Not to get into more detail about malpractice I can recall a therapist being fired for an “issue” with a girl. No one said anything and the girl got pulled from the program. Obviously something happened. A lot of this went on daily the thing is in the middle of nowhere next to a polygamist colony no one really cares.
   
   They had a system of cites which was a alternative of punishment. I ended up with over 365 or pieces of paper each paper for a different thing I did wrong one week. That’s how much I stopped caring and ended up being sent to homeless for a good 7 months of my program. This was there hardest form of punishment which had happened to be the first part of the program. I had a lot of exercise a lot of rice a lot of punishment. When they are bored at 3 am and want to torment someone you get sent out at 3 am in the morning. In the middle of winter for things as little as sharing food you would receive this. I lost over 10 pounds of muscle all my body fat and due to the fact I was always sitting Indian style I have herniated l4 and l5 discs. I was involved in and everything that functioned there and pretty much helped out at every job. I knew how they worked and it pissed them off that I knew that they lied to my parents that I was losing weight naturally. Go ahead and put fat camps out of work if you must but this is more like a concentration camp. I would try and write home or tell my parents how I felt on the phone but the more I let out the truth the more they hung up or tore up my postcards. Check this out though this is the most important factor of the program. If you write your parents your being abused they rip it up.
   
   I have seen a male physically restrain a girl while she screamed for him to get off her and started crying from the amount of force he applied to the restraint. WHERE WAS THE FEMALE STAFF HMM? Sounds FOXY to me.
   
   I have seen friends restrained in urine while urinating due to lack of bathroom and being forced to drink a gallon of water daily. Obviously they told you when you can speak, eat, sleep, turn you head to look, use the bathroom. The worst part out of everything was the rice and lentils. I would go days without any nutrients. There is mold all over the ceilings above the kitchen. When you stole staff food you would be forced to eat food with nothing but rice soaked in pickle juice and sauerkraut. They even went as far to soak oatmeal in hot pickle juice. It was so acidic kids where throwing up and I would get a bowl down and try to not throw up. Yet the thing is they made rules like if one person stole food in homeless they would make everyone suffer. That’s called blanket punishment so I gave up and stopped eating sauerkraut. After being threatened to be restrained for 30 minutes and have a fat feeding needle stuck in my arm I had a bowl of sauerkraut a day to keep the needle away. The third week there I received serious food poisoning from rice that had hand sanitizer snuck into it by a deranged kitchen staff. He was making food unsupervised at snuck behind the camera. So the cooks leave at night and leave the cooking up to the kids. Most of the teens did the work due to that fact. You can find proof that they let 13 year olds handle and manage large amounts of food without any certifications or permits after they fed “fresh” food to goats. Hands and dishes never washed. Out of everything that pissed me off I find that the place ends up taking in the teens and baptizing them into a LDS and this is with the family that owns the place. There is no limit to what the family would do. One time I tried to tell a parent and her son not to come here and was lectured on how I should express those feelings to her directly. So if reading this and trying to figure out this place get in touch with any kid and ask did you enjoy it.
   
   As far as dorms go nasty beds that have been used from 2002 have holes dust mites and 90% have urine and other fluids on them. Mold in the pipes no hot water at night unless its summer. 5 minute showers without soap sometimes. Other malpractices include hiding bedding when state inspection comes. I have spoken with state inspection but they seem to give three craps in the wind what I had to say.
   
   There have seen combinations of cocktails given to recovering minds such as high doses of three different psychotropic mood controllers and high doses of amphetamine based medication while taking a benzodiazepine. . In the morning we would be forced to take medication and eat food which had no nutritional value. Lucky me I had been given only one anti depressant. There was this big book that had all our names in it that we would sign with our name next to the medication we took. Sometimes I would catch of others pages. It seemed to me they loved giving out lithium for about everything.
   
   Early one day I witnessed a child have the most intense panic attack I ever have seen. The kid told us he had been raped beaten and abused his whole life the staff knew this and yet he had to pull a cart by himself while we watched when he snapped they had four staff one per limb towards breaking point. Not the kind of treatment someone with that emotional baggage deserves. With knees on the back of his neck, and being PINCHED on every pressure point the fifteen year old had. This also was the most distraught I have ever seen someone yet he still managed to barely breathe. I have over 30 different voices screaming out that echo in my mind from this treatment. I can recall my first day in the beginning stage where I was sent face down into lava rocks by the programs owner son, yet there was grass next to the lava. I thought to myself later on in the program what I had gotten my first day beats getting your arm broken like a thirteen year old 90 pound sixth grader did for not obeying program structure. Who did this didn’t believe the 13 year old child and forced him do psychical exercise with a broken arm. Then when the kid started crying, he was forced to do something else other and then forced to keep running.
   
   Who may ever send your child here this place is filled with deception (http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=381747488&albumID=1143602&imageID=17232469) The kids are told to smile and that’s are places/websites you can look up there so many cover ups and the staffs past which include but not limited to resisting arrest dealing and hard drug usage. The family uses this place as a front for stealing at the damage to many young struggling individuals. My family is in debt over 100,000. The things I’ve come forward about will help close doors that have been open too long and I will not rest tell this is my gone to an end. There will be more of these letters as I am very connected with lifelong friends who suffered here. There will be others including staff willing to aid in this effort. I added personal links of pictures due to my creditability based on the facts I have. It is great to read a letter of one of my homeless students (homeless is the beginning) I had mentored at the end of my program. I am grateful for a website such as this and will do all in my power to make the best description. Please understand this is an account of over a year and a half of my life.
   
   http://www.diamondranchacademy.com/program/testimonials.php They believe that there 49 percent of my custody during 6/21/06-12/21/07 “ENTITLES” them to any picture taken or letters written of or by me. I am still on DRA’s website .I called the family to take me off from a unblocked number giving my name. Yet they still have my name and a few pictures. DIAMOND RANCH ACADEMY TWO WRONGS DON’T MAKE A RIGHT -THAT’S WHAT YOU TOLD ME-PLEASE HELP IF YOU HAVE SUFFERED UNDER THE CARE OF DIAMOND RANCH ACADEMY.
   
   I give HEAL permission to use this statement. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on ___July 20th________________, 2009.

Sources:

• The original statement on HEAL-online's website
• Factsheet of the facility (Fornits Wiki)

A testimony from Diamond Ranch Academy

A human organisation HEAL-ONLINE has collected a number of testimonies from teenagers who have been forced to live at the facility. Here is one covering a period between 2007 and 2008. All rights belong to the original author:

I, ____Anonymous (verified)_____________, declare and state as follows:

1. Diamond Ranch Academy
2. Hurricane, Utah
3. 11/17/2007-9/26/2008
4. They're coming back. All my bad memories are coming back.
   
   November 17th, 2007 5am. Confusion. Where were these strangers taking me? Looked to my parents for answers. But they're faces had none. All I saw was sadness from my mom and blankness from my dad. I remember getting in their care. Seeing my parents for the last time for 5 months. I remember both of their faces. At the airport confusion was still my main emotion. Where was I going? The only bit of information I knew was that I was going to "school". The plane ride was full of questions that the 2 transporters would not answer. They covered it up with food and drink offerings. I was neither hungry nor thirsty. We landed in Las Vegas. I was tired so I slept on the car ride to my destination.
   
   I remember waking up on a highway. Desert all over. I wasn't in Las Vegas. I was in Hurricane, Utah. Middle of nowhere. In the distance I could see assorted metal buildings. Not to compare my experiences with Nazi concentration camps but you will see many similarities throughout this passage. I felt as if I arrived at Berkanau.
   
   They tried to make the place look decent. It did from one view, and then you turn your head and its desert or weathered trees. I arrive at what was called the "blue house". Looked exactly as it sounded. I entered a small room and was sat down. "What's your name?" Asked a muscular assistant program director. "CJ Clark" I said. "Your real name" he asked getting tempered already. "Christian" I said. I was stripped of all my possessions except for my shoes and coat. I was told to remove my clothes. My clothes were then searched and I was made to turn around many times, naked, to make sure I had nothing on me. They provided with me a bright orange hoodie and sweat pants. You'd think that the desert is hot all year round. Not in winter.
   
   I was told I was to be sent to the first component of the program called "homeless". I was literally homeless. Outside all the time. Breakfast was oats. Not those brown sugary oats you would usually eat for breakfast. It was oats, water, and powdered milk. That's it. That was breakfast every day. Lunch and Dinner were always the same. Either undercooked or burnt rice and a bean called a lentil. That's it. 16 days of freezing winds outside every day.
   
   Also the homeless component contained the most rigorous physical training throughout the program. First day I arrived I was to run a mile straight. No walking at all. You walk you'll run longer. I hadn't run more than a few meters in years. First 1/2 a lap I was dying. My chest was burning. Very little oxygen was going into my brain. My other companions in the component attempted to pep talk me to keep going. They were scolded and made to run more. There was no talking between anyone in this component. I staggered my way another 2 laps before just giving up. In this level of the program you had to pass 14 successful days. I failed my first day for this incident.
   
   The rest of this level was filled with 2 work projects a day. Out there in the freezing cold literally digging tracks for a new parking lot. I was a slave laborer. There was nothing I could do. The best part of my day was sleeping. The only rest I got. I looked forward to it every day. I completed my 14th successful on my 16th day.
   
   I had to make a fire out of a bow and some wood. I was then upgraded a level. I was now a student. I got to eat regular food. Not allot but it was somewhat normal. I got to go to school. It felt pretty good. Now think of this. Your life seems fucking amazing because you get to eat peanut butter and jelly instead of burnt rice. Your life is 10 times better because you now get to attend school. Regular school. While in the "inside" you were able to talk to other program students during very short time slots. During those all we talked about how we look forward to life on the outside. To see civilization again. Have a small piece of chocolate. Having the privilege to speak with your own family when you want. All these things were distant memories for us. When we weren't being terrorized by the simple fact of little contact with your family the staff had fun with your emotions. When you broke a rule you received a citation. Each cite is worth a certain amount of points which at the end of the week would add up and determine if we got put on what's called "unemployment".
   
   This was another component after school for kids that broke too many rules. You were to pull around a large cart everywhere you went. You did physical training just like you did in the first level. You were to sit silent in a room and work for hours on end. Back to playing with emotions. Staff had the power to cite anyone at anytime. So they played with you. Even if it was during a time where you were allowed to talk they would take that away. If you talked you were cited. Cites equaled a more miserable life. Even if you didn't break the rule they would cite you just to see you break down. They'll say this never happened but ask any kid that's been there. It happens all the time.
   
   And then there were the restraints. If you were out of line a staff could take you down and bend your wrist behind your back and apply pressure to "calm you down". If you have never been in a bent wrist control hold basically it sucks. But then there were the kids that couldn't help their actions. Mentally retarded kids aged 12, 13, and 14. I recount a student that was autistic. Very nice and caring kid. 13 years old. But couldn't control his anger and energy. He has his outbursts and he was cranked just like anyone else. Except he got it way more than regular kids. He had a handicap. HE COULDN'T HELP IT. And yet he was still made to run and taken down when he thought he was not doing anything bad. Think about this. Think of a brother, cousin, friend that has a mental handicap. Put him in a situation with nothing to look forward to. Always being run and restrained. Little contact with his family. I can't imagine.
   
   I've witnessed kids being emotionally terrorized by staff. I remember and instance where everyone was to partake in what was called an amnesty. We were to write down everything we'd done wrong or witnessed someone else do something wrong. Every director was there. These people had control of your life. We were given strict instructions not to look up from our paper. There was a 13 years old kid that got to see his parents for the first time in 5 months later that day. He looked to the left for 2 seconds. He was yelled at. The program director said that his visit was cancelled. He would not be able to see his parents for another long while. He straight up cried in front of everyone. Nobody came to comfort him. He was alone. We were all alone. Take a look at their website: http://www.diamondranchacademy.com
   
   90 percent of what is on that site is a lie. Ask me anything about it. It's most likely a manipulative try to get the parents' money. Everyone all I can say is do your best. Don't get sent away. Don't go through what I did. You can prevent it.
   
   I give HEAL permission to use this statement. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on __May 5th_________________, 2009.

Sources:

• The original statement on HEAL-online's website
• Factsheet of the facility (Fornits Wiki)

A parents viewpoint on Diamond Ranch Academy

We found a review made by a parent who was convinced to send his son to the ranch. The original review can be found on Yelp.com

First statement was made april 8, 2010:

I am on the fence with this one right now.

My ex-wife and parents wanted to send our son to DRA. I was not 100% on board. As, time went on I have seen a change in our son, during the parent calls he never says anything bad about DRA and seems to be improving.

At first he was very rebellious about being there, then changed his whole attitude. Well he just went back after a home visit. Seems he is afraid to say anything bad about DRA so as not to be 'Owned' That is taken down physically by staff. Also, seems he has learned to accept and go along with the program after realizing it was the only real way to fight and get out of there. Resisting and they fail your weeks and you stay there longer, go along even through the motions and you get to go home sooner. All the Mentors who are students tell the new arrivals just go along with it, it is the way out. He actually seems a bit scared to go back.

He has 6 weeks to go, yet got in a lot of trouble when he went back for not having the same shoes on when he left. The shoes he was wearing were wore out with holes in them so he got a new pair while at home. Really questioning finishing or not. What else is he not supossed to tell us? all calls and letters are monitored.

The next statement was given on december 13, 2010:

Son is home now.. I will change my review from 1 star to 2. It was quite an experience for him and for us. The first months back he was a new person. I got the feeling he was afraid to not be. Now he has settled in. He has relasped a bit here and there. Not sure if this was the best thing for him or not. Next time I think we will save the boat load of cash and instead send him off to some cult in the desert to be brainwashed... oh wait maybe that is what happened...

In fact most special boarding schools and programs which have something to hide use monitoring of all communication. If any facility suggests limiting the communication with your child due to therapeutic reasons, then pull your child. The hiring process is based on the potential of qualified workers found in the often dense populated areas facilities like Diamond Ranch Academy is located in. Similar facilities have experienced sexual abuse of the teenagers by counselors. In other cases the staff had no license to work in the particular state.

Second: If you cannot keep a changed environment once your child return home, then don't send your child. 99 percent of the problems the child will show you are based on learned behaviors and the inspiration is you. You are the parent and human children are not born blind like most animals. Their problems are learned behaviors. You might not be an addict or practice the inappropriate behavior, but at some point you didn't pick up the important signal you child was trying to communicate to you. Fact is: You can change it by starting a therapeutic process for you. If you don't change before you try to change your child you will experience what the professionals call a honeymoon period. Your childs behavior will be fine for 3-6 months - in some cases even up to two years before the old behaviors will return.

Work with yourself. Then your child will be helped for a fraction of the price a residential placement will set you back.

Source:
The original review on Yelp.com

Zach at Diamond Ranch Academy

This testimony was found on the Diamond Ranch Survivors website. All rights belong to the author Zach.

I am going to tell you my story.

I went to Diamond ranch Academy thinking I was having my first born child and I was sent to DRA. When I first got there I was on Suicide watch and had to get fully naked in-front of people I don’t even know for 3 to 5 minutes. for 10 days breakfast, lunch and dinner, and sometimes after excercising. I was miserable but the whole time i was there I was protecting the mothers number of my unborn child. I spent many more weeks at DRA because of this but I kept it and held it close. I was starving I was almost anorexic before I got there because my step father would not let me eat in “his kitchen” sometimes…. So I was starving even worse when I got to Diamond Ranch Academy and We didn’t get much to eat then we had barely a minimum amount of food we needed to feel full so mentally I felt insane and I have staff eating full meals in front of me when I am starving, feeling crazy.

So personally blame it on them being Mormon being so teased and tortured by it…. The place is a cult of Mormons. I told my therapist how I felt and of how I felt the Mormons were antagonizing everybody including my myself inside of DRA. He then told me “well Zach I am Mormon what do you think of that?” I never could get a real vent or conversation with him after that and being my second month he would just ignore what I said and I was mentally and physically in a prison.

I have so many Negative experiences I neglect to share because of their uncivilized manner it was almost a cult of antagonizing bullies. I left there a year later with just myself and I come to find the child I was waiting for wasn’t mine….

I got into forms of meth tried my hardest to try and not come home smoked pot drank and partied. I then 3 years later I have my real blood daughter newly born unto me and find the love of my life I now am getting married this year and I thank God for the plan he had waiting for me and I am against Diamond Ranch completely and am here to say I am a real person , an adult , and a father and you guys are not alone.

-Zach

Source:

• The original testimony from the Diamond Ranch survivors website
• Diamond Ranch Academy factsheet (Fornits Wiki)

When a boy died at the ranch

January 10, 2009 should have been a day just like any other. At the ranch a 14 year old boy was in the final stages of his stay at the ranch, when he fell ill. The ranch located miles from the nearest town was not a place where you should fall ill.

Even ordinary illnesses could turn fatal and then of course the so-called counselors - the musclemen guarding the teenagers - have to be convinced that the complaints of one of the residents are not act planned to get them to transport the teenagers to a place where it is easier to escape. When the boy entered the hospital it was too late. His life was cut short and ended way too soon.

All that delay which is kind of ordinary when taken into the account that the victim lists of teenagers who have died while they were placed in such treatment programs are way too long. There is only one conclusion for parents thinking of sending their children to facilities like Diamond Ranch Academy: If you child have even the slightest health problems then keep them at home!

For the 14 year old James Richard "Jim" Shirey his stay at Diamond Ranch Academy ended with his death. Back in 2009 they tried to find the cause of his death several times. It is not clear whether the cause was found. Maybe the autopsy was performed locally under the stress of keeping jobs in a small community with few jobs and an economy under pressure. In fact it would not be the first time when the cause of death is altered to keep the facility out of the case. Just remember the Martin Lee Anderson case.

There is no reason to blame his parents. They fell for a very crafty marketing machine. How many websites are promoting to fix the problems of teenagers? Thousands!! A lot of the so-called educational consultants are paid by both the parents and the facilities when they recommend certain wilderness programs and facilities to the families. In fact most in the Ed-con industry would not be able to keep their business running if they were not small recruiting outlets for the wilderness programs and special boarding schools.

It is a business built on scams. Just look at the cases where parents have been made into believing that a certain boarding school is better than a local offer by a school district. Modern school district have experts. They know about the double payment educational consultants receive and they are no longer giving in. They take their day in court and they do often win.

But unfortunately parents are still being fooled. They don't have the knowledge professionals inside the education system have. They are easy pray, when parents in some cases are paid or given discount in exchange of praising a certain schools or wilderness programs.

It is easy to say that deaths can be accidental and fewer children dies at the ranch compared with other schools but when is a death one too much? We believe that every death is one too many and that even one death should result in an evaluation of the entire business.

The tragedy which took place on January 10, 2009 should have resulted in a suspension of the operations just as it has been the case with many other schools and wilderness programs. For reasons unknown to us it did not happen.

James Richard "Jim" Shirey got only 14 years in this world. May he rest in peace. We will pray that he is in a better place than the "hell ranch".

Sources:

• Victim list 2005 - 2009 (Fornits Wiki)
• James Richard "Jim" Shirey - memorial website

Samantha at Diamond Ranch Academy

This testimony was found on the Diamond Ranch Survivors website. All rights belong to the author Samantha.

I was there for 18 months, Oct. 2008-April 2010.

I was there when they called the first level “homeless” and only fed us rice and lentils mixed with food from the day befores dinner. Because I was vegetarian I usually only had undercooked carrots/or green beans, and rice and lentils. I spent a lot of time in that component of DRA because I was a “tough” case. I didn’t want to conform and go with the flow of the program, and I didn’t honestly want to to home so I was stuck. Some horror stories I have are like my first day there as we were warming up for our 6:30 am calisthenics there was a “code red” which was a student running. A boy was trying to outrun a homeless staff on the boys campus. He was caught, restrained and even while he was barely moving, I guess he told the staff if they let go he would run again so the staff “Tucker” broke his wrist. Later that month, Tucker had to “leave” his DRA job.. I’m pretty sure the kids parents weren’t to happy. Another experience I had is we had a diabetic/suicidal girl named Shelby Cron who had little control on her diabetes.. and during one of her sugar highs or lows? she was restrained for being too angry. this was done by a higher up named Cody.. a program director on girls campus at the time. She was screaming to let her go and she was fine and we could hear her in our classrooms and it was a little horrifying.. and of course, the stories go on.. I had a girl in homeless with me toward the end of my program, Devyn Stange? Stangy? something like that, who was prone to seizures. As we were standing in line to use the porta potty (which if you’re in homeless you have to during the day during one of the 2 or 3 scheduled bathroom times) Devyn had a seizure and fell to the ground. Because I was in homeless again and had been at the program for a year by then the staff trusted me to find a higher up staff to call 911. The staff didn’t believe me at first and only called our own nurses to go down there.. who told them she was having a seizure. Finally close to 20 minutes later an ambulance came for her. She came back later that day close to dinner and the staff was told to let her rest, and that she had already ate at the hospital, but the staff failed her day because she “refused to eat” and “refused to join in calisthenics”

then some lesser stories, I wasn’t allowed contact with my mom at the end of the program, my last month there, because they knew she wasn’t going to pay the next month and was pulling me. One of the homeless staff, Kyle Carter, was arrested for being part of a prostitution sting in March of 2010.. his wife was a staff as well, we had a staff named Dory, who hated us and admitted it. She looked through our files for fun one day and came downstairs to tell us that she didn’t feel sorry for any of us, we were all bad. She would cite people if their underwear was showing when the bent over, or if they farted near her or something.. she was an extremist.

Jim Shirey died while I was there, but I wasn’t allowed to tell me mom about it, and my first week there the girls in my dorm poured water in my shoes, and urinated in the bathtub if they knew it was my turn to clean it..

Although I was there so long, my relationship with my mother was never fixed.. I walked on my 18th birthday in February of 2010 and Ricky told me I was stupid and would never make it on my own.. So after spending a couple of nights with an older gentlemen, I went back because my mom agreed that I could just get my GED and come home.. and they were very cocky and frustrating to be around since I had “caved” in and come back. Because I live clear in Missouri and nobody could help me out I really didn’t have a rescue team to bring me home haha. Although I was never brainwashed from the program, my mom still is, and recommends it to people.. I have told her time and time again how terrible I had it. but whatever. I made the best friends of my life there, and I made tons of drug connections.. now in my life, I’m sober because I’m married and have a 1 year told beautiful little girl. I keep minimal contact with my mom, and its easier to move on with my life.

Source:

• The original testimony from the Diamond Ranch survivors website
• Diamond Ranch Academy

Focus week: Diamond Ranch Academy

In the state of Louisiana a 17 year old girl is soon risking banishment to Utah. Originally the father wanted to take the daughter to a country in the Middle East, but everyone knows the movie with Sally Fields so it was not an option.

Until recently she was happily living with her mother but the surroundings and values was too western and liberal to suit the opinions of her father, so he sought some place the court could accept. A behavior modification facility marketed as a therapeutic boarding school with a shady past which forced them out of Idaho to Utah where they are located today has accepted to detain the girl until she is 18.

Because we work for liberty and basic human rights for children, we have decided to make Diamond Ranch Academy as the facility is named the attention of some articles.

For the next couple of days parents and former residents will provide testimonies regarding their experiences with Diamond Ranch Academy. We will also provide information about the past of Diamond Ranch Academy and their time in Idaho.

We hope that the increased awareness will help ending the ordeal this girl will be put through. If it is not the case we hope that this special focus series will lower the enrollment at Diamond Ranch Academy and other facilities just like them.



Sources:

• Judge Dawn Amacker of the St. Tammany Parish of Louisiana, Family Court: SaveVictoria (Change.org)
• Factsheet of the facility (Fornits Wiki)
• Diamond Ranch Survivors

New page for Diamond Ranch Academy survivors

We have learned that a new webpage has been created where people who have been forced to live on the campus of Diamond Ranch Academy can share and tell about their experiences.

Here is the address: DRA Survivors