Kimberly at Turn-about Ranch

This testimony was located on Yelp. All rights belongs to the author

---

Clearly anyone giving this place high marks has never gone here or is a rich white, attractive kid that got preferential treatment (yes, they treat rich white kids much better), as well as most likely a parent that pushed their kid this program, without really understanding the ramifications of sending a child here. I don't ever want another kid to go through what myself and so many others have gone through. I don't want another kid to suffer from the PTSD I still struggle with 17 years after leaving Burnout Ranch. I can personally attest to witnessing/experiencing verbal, emotional, physical abuse by staff and rape/sexual assault that would go unpunished/unreported due to staff blaming girls/calling them liars. No child deserves this.

Around 2003/2004, I witnessed staff member Myron calling a black kid a "n****r" while staff member Carl called the same kid a "tarbaby" while he was forced to do a "desert walk" (walking miles in the desert with a truck driven by staff slowly following him and shouting racial epithets), staff member Wayne smashing a lesbian's head into the wall and calling her a "dyke", director Max taking me out for "private 1 on 1" walks in the desert to press me about my sexual activity while caressing my body to "heal"... Not to mention being so hungry that I stole a box of crackers and was sent back to the first level for simply being hungry.

My mail sent to my family was read by my counselor Tina and I was punished just for trying to write to my brother and tell him what I was seeing and experiencing. In regards to my earlier statement, the 2 wealthy white girls were quickly moved into staff member's Connie house and were treated well from the beginning. Not every level 4 girl was moved into Connie's house. Just her "favorites", which were always the same type: rich white girls. The handsome wealthy white males also received preferential treatment, with a tall attractive male being nicknamed "Slick" for his best blonde hairdo and constantly being high fived by staff, while being a minority, gay, or fat made you a constant target towards negative comments and physical abuse and punishment.

Reports of sexual assaults and harassment, in addition to rape perpetrated by boys at TAR resulted in staff asking the group of males if they sexually assaulted/raped a female, to which they replied no (of course). Apparently 5 boys that are friends are believed over a girl's accusations and the girl was sent back to the first level. Ex-drill sergeant Connie called her a "slut" and a "liar" for merely being a victim. She was never taken to the local doctor and checked for signs of rape. When the same thing happened to me, I was too afraid to say anything and it continued happening for the rest of my time there.

17 years later, I still suffer from PTSD from being kidnapped in the middle of the night by strangers without knowing who they were or where I was going. I still suffer from flashbacks. All this place did was torture me for 90 days and I'd do anything to keep another kid from experiencing the pain I still feel from this place. Kids having behavioral problems deserve a safe space to heal and figure out what their problems are and how to face them. TAR is the exact opposite of a safe space for children. It's a predatory environment that breeds low self-esteem, low self-worth, encasing it in a bullshit religious agenda and run by frauds. Please do not send a child here. Stop sending your kid away to "deal" with your problem.

After TAR, I've gone through years of intense therapy and no therapist has ever said TAR was a good parental choice and how emotionally damaging it is for parents to push their "problem children" into a wilderness program as some answer. No child deserves this. Deal with the problems your parenting has created. Actively deal with the problems your children are facing so your kids know they're not alone. If you send your kids to TAR, you're a horrible person that deserves the karma coming to you for subjecting your child to torment when you're supposed to protect them.

---

The facility is currently being sued due to alleged sexual assault. Some years ago, an employee was killed by one of the children held at the facility. A lawsuit states that the tragedy happened because the ranch in search for profit took in children, which were not evaluated to be handled with the level of security for both children and employees, the facility was able to provide.

.

Sources:

• The original testimony on Yelp
• Youth sent by Dr. Phil to Turn-About-Ranch is suing due to sexual assault (Change.org)
• Inspired by Paris Hilton, woman says Utah ranch punished her for reporting assaults (Deseret News)
• Lawsuit claims Utah rehab ranch broke its own rules by admitting an addicted teen — who then killed a staffer (Salt Lake Tribune)

Walker's testimony about Telos Academy

This testimony was located on Google Maps

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

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

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

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

Source:
The original testimony on Google Maps

Kristopher's testimony about Telos Academy

This testimony was found on Google Maps.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source
The original testimony on Google Maps

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

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

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

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

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

Maybe it will change.

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

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

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

B.B. at Turn-about Ranch

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

---

This place is horrible.

My parents sent me here in 2010. The staff is absolutely horrible. They are so mean and basically torture us. That is how the students learn is by torture. The only good hearted person there is one of the counselors who was sort of tall and blonde. I think her name was Michelle, she was my counselor there and so nice. Other than that and i swear the staff is mean and scary the whole time. Like Myron and the orange haired counselor. they were mean i was scared every time they walked through the door. They made us girls, as well as me which i am like 5 feet 100 lbs, life bails of hay all day long in the hot sun, i could barely even lift the thing and they expected me to pack it onto a tall truck. I wanted to cry and some girls gave up and were crying. The only cool thing is living on a ranch with animals and trying the farm life for a few months.

Just thinking of this place makes me feel so weird and mad inside. They made me walk for about 3 days straight because of some of my and other girls actions which werent even bad at all. we had blisters on our feet. you cant even say the word sorry here! this place is horrible. DO NOT SEND YOUR KID HERE SEND THEM SOME WHERE ELSE.!!!!!

---

A murder was committed by one of the children in 2016 after he snapped as result of being put in a stress position in a stone circle, which would have been breaking international law it was inflicted upon prisoners of war during a conflict. For strange reasons this is not forbidden in the state of Utah. It was his parents who made the decision to send their boy into a situation which resulted in a murder. For any parent who might considering sending their child away, they should learn from this tragedy and just let things go.

Source:

• The original testimony from Google Maps
• Teen accused of killing had planned escape from youth ranch, sheriff says (Deseret News)

Poor schooling at White River Academy

It seems that the risk of ending up with no schooling at all when attending White River Academy in Utah is very real. A parent wrote:

White River Academy has some kind and dedicated staff however their academic program has serious problems. Our son has a high IQ and was always ahead at previous schools despite behavior issues. During his 14 months at WRA they only had him complete 2 high school credits dispite our constant expression of concern.

We finally pulled him and at the new school, within 10 months he had approx 14 H/S credits completed. We heard other parents had expressed similar concerns on parent weekends. Our son also told us that the school told the boys not to talk about what went on there and that he had felt he was being encouraged toward the Mormon faith. He said there was only a few courses to choose from. Just be aware, thats all. At the time, they had a policy of keeping a kid from doing school work when he acted up. Long after our son stopped acting up, he was still not getting anything done and they were defensive about his school accomplishments. I did not feel they abused him physically or mentally and they may have helped him a little emotionally. I'm sure you can find a better shool out there with wasting thousands with no school credits.

Again I'll say they had some caring people, but I don't know who is running the school that their academics were so poor. My son has been gone a year now from WRA and is a success story. He's come so far at the new school and we welcome him back to our lives. Hang in their parents. It can happen. Do try to pick the right school. Start with some with actual accreditation and licensing even if you have to pay a bit more and many aren't more expensive.

Sources:

• maddysmith's testimony (Yellow Pages)
• Factsheet about the facility (Fornits Wiki)

A testimony about Storm Ridge Ranch in Utah

A former resident named James Bilardello wrote on Google:

Storm Ridge Ranch is a fraud. It is a warehouse for children. The Larson's are liars who will do anything for a dollar. They make desperate parents take out loans to send their children to this facility. Meanwhile the children become slaves; yes a working ranch, read in between the lines. If your child wants to leave on time they will have to work for freedom. Meanwhile Rick's cattle makes him money. It isn't even slave labor, its worse. The parents pay to have their children become slaves. Then Maryann rubs it in the children faces, to make them have low self esteem, how their parents suffered finically to send them there.

The education is horrible, they give you a book and say read it. No one teaches you. Your child, if not self motivated, will not learn a thing. Rick has broken children's arms for little reason. He is abusive and strict, disobey and your child could have a broken nose or arm. They call it restraining a child. This is just code for torture until they comply. They are an evil family. The whole family works their. Most male staff are married to one of Rick's daughters, only one is actually nice. The lowlife husbands become horrible role models for your children. The other owner Darin, his wife is the teacher. You might think this is good, a family owned residential facility. Think again, they will cover for each other. It is like a Larson cult, but the men kept their last names because they married his daughters. Do not send your child here.

I personally was there twice. Both facilities when it was only male. It will only make your child worse. Trust me. Their are better options, please I beg you do not send your child to Storm Ridge Ranch. They monitor all communication between your child and you, this is because they do not want your child to tell you the truth. They force the children to send home "happy" letters. All phone conversations monitored so your child cant tell you what is really happening. I have personally heard Richard Larson threaten children "If you don't do what I say I will get another 3 months out of your parents, you know I can!!!" he manipulates parents with Maryann. If your child says something true, how they are abusive or mention slave labor, they will tell the parents their child is a manipulator. I was personally there over 10 years ago. I imagine it has only become worse. The man they call "Woods" is no better. I had to add that. He is a know it all, arrogant human being who only cares about his job. The staff that isn't related hates it there, as they are paid minimum wage because they are un educated.

Do not send your child here, this place is a scam. I came out worse then I went in. I was personally never abused, I believe because I was six feet tall and athletic when I was young. They were scared of me. The children who weren't as big as I was, I was a big 16 year old, were the ones abused. They justify their abuse so they could sleep at night but if your child is not a big kid they will be "restrained", aka abused. This place left me psychologically harmed, as I only left worse. I left worse because if you think your child is out of control, their is a child that is worse, your child will become friends with them, your child will gain knowledge on how to be a better criminal. Please I beg you, I know from experience, 9 months then 3 months. Please excuse my spelling I went to high school at Storm Ridge Ranch. I left worse and became a nightmare in my late teens and early 20s because of Storm Ridge Ranch. Save your child.

The facilty is located on two gender separated places in Utah. An investigation in 2014 showed that they billed Medicaid for services they didn't provide

Sources:

• The original testimony (Google reviews)
• STATE RECOVERS NEARLY $320,000 IN WRONGLY BILLED MEDICAID EXPENSES (Utah Business)

A testimony about Havenwood Academy in Cedar City, Utah

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

This place ruined my life. It did nothing for my family or I.

They tried to keep me after I was 18, luckily they didn't. I never had any problems there, followed the rules, my program, etc. Management was horrible, poorly run and planned. I gained 15 pounds living there because we ate terrible food and say on our asses all day. We rarely did any activities such as go to the gym or go rock climbing. RARELY. I was there for 8 months and went climbing maybe 4 times. I had to pee in a bathtub a lot because our toilets would clog and we (the girls) would tell staff, program director, and anyone who would listen and it wouldn't be fixed for days. This place will not fix your daughter. You will hurt her, your relationship with her, among other things.

Please for the love of god don't send your child here. Be a better parent. See a counselor. Don't ruin and steal a year of your kids life because you think you know what's best for them. This isn't it. For some it may be, for most it's not.


Sources:

• The original testimony (Google reviews)
• 527. Havenwood Academy (1000 places you don't wan't to be as a teenager

Former student from Texas at Sorenson's Ranch School

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

I'm still struggling to reverse the effects that Sorenson's Ranch School had on me. I've been suffering from PTSD ever since I left.

I've always been very comfortable with my sexuality, but when I went to Sorenson's I was treated with the up-most disrespect from the entirely Mormon staff. The program already abuses the children there, but if you were an out homosexual, you got twice the negative treatment. I still have chunks of gravel underneath my skin from when my face was rubbed into the ground by an over-weight staff member for writing a harmless letter to a girl. It was impossible to work the level system there if you were gay, because every time you were alone with another student for even one minute, you got demoted to level 1 for 'Questionable Situations'. They pulled me out of school and sat me in a field or in a room all by myself because apparently I was going to ravage any student that got close to me. I spent the majority of the time I was there by myself, either alone in a field or staring at a wall, with nothing but my own thoughts to amuse me. After a while it started to have an extremely negative effect on my still-developing brain.

And I assure any parent who feels like sending their child there that your kid is going to stay there longer than necessary, because all they want is your money. They're going to keep telling you that your child needs more work, more attention from them. When really all that child truly wants and needs is more attention from you as a parent.


The facility started as a summer camp called Koos Kamp back in 1959. It moved into the Troubled Teen Industry due to the money in the early 1980's.

Sources:

• The original testimony found on Topix.com
• Sorenson Ranch School (Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora)

Feedbacks about Eagle Ranch Academy near St. George in Utah - Volume II

This testimony was found on Reddit. All rights go to the original author which has chosen to remain unnamed.

I've thrown pieces of my story around this sub a couple of times, but nothing too memorable, so I'll just leave it short and sweet by saying I had an extremely abusive childhood, coupled with absentee parents, and was eventually put into two separate "troubled youth" facilities - one for 41 days which wasn't bad minus transport and solitary confinement and the other for a year and a handful of months, which was abusive, demeaning, and awful - for running away from home to avoid being sent to a clearly neglected - we took a tour together - facility in my home state for, as my parents stated, "someone to do our parenting for us" - yes, verbatim. I never had a drug problem, never committed any crimes, and was simply trying to take control of my life before they continued to beat me into the ground any further - wouldn't recommend it, but in my situation it was all I could do. I needed something to change.

Anyway, It's been quite some years since I've been in either facility, I'm an adult, I've moved past it - for the most part, some PTSD and anxiety still sticks around but it's nothing I can't live with - and I'm trying to make up for the time I lost. Unfortunately, due to financial hardship, I've had to move back in with my parents temporarily - with someone else, no worries, he keeps me sane - and it's been rocky but bearable. Today, however, my mother brings up that one of the program directors of the abusive facility I attended emailed her to check up the other day, and she was going to forward it to me so I could maybe have a nice chat and give him an update? To which I say - a little rudely, today has been excessively rough for a sea of reasons - "Why on earth would you forward me that? Why in gods name would I want to look back on that time in my life?" She then tries to change my attitude. "Oh brother. Why not start looking at that time as a positive, instead of sitting in self pity?" This has been a constant point of disagreement for us since I left the program. I've taken accountability for the things I did to get myself there - running away isn't acceptable, our lack of communication was all of our faults, etc. - but I refuse to believe that sending me there was the best/their only option. As well, I've gained some knowledge and changed some traits because of my time there, but I refuse to see that experience as a positive. Nothing about what I witnessed there was acceptable, respectful of the clients, or in-line with my morals. I was ripped from my bed in the middle of the night and driven three states away with a single bathroom break, no food, no water, no explanation, and constant bullying from the transporters. I was subjected to cruel and rather unusual methods of punishment, and made to feel like I wasn't a valuable human being - nonetheless a human being. Sure, I graduated high school early, but that's a small upside to the situation overall. Along with that, my parents are now in a pool of debt whilst unemployed because they spent both my and their savings on this place that is admittedly dishonest to potential customers - they'd even have us clients feed hopeful parents stories to keep their interest.

She scoffs at me any time I try and explain to her why I try and ignore that period of my life, and won't look at it as a good thing. Is it just denial, and her trying to feel alright with her decision, or is there just no hope for getting parents to believe the wrongdoings of facilities that convince them their kids are manipulating when they explain the troubles they face from these programs?

tl;dr: went to two programs, try to discuss how awful they were with parents years down the line as an adult, constantly belittled and told i'm dramatizing it. no hope to reach the same page?

Sources:

• Parents who expect you to look on your time in these facilities as a good thing? (Reddit troubled teen - link with the original testimony)
• Factsheet about the facility (Fornits Wiki)
• Other facilities (Safe Teen Schools)

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)

A testimony from a former resident at Sunrise RTC

I know not a lot of people know much about sunrise or what went on in it. I want to break that barrier. I want to make this as detailed as possible so people can use it as a reference.

If you have any questions, please please please ask. I will edit the more I remember.

• Personal Information:
• Date Of Admission: March 19, 2010
• Age Of Admission: 13
• Reason Of Admission: Depression, Anxiety, Self-Harm
• Date Of Discharge (Approximate): January 22, 2011

Please note: I have researched Sunrise on countless occasions, and it seems that the more I read about it, the more I find that what is written is outdated and incorrect. For example:

• The average stay is NOT 7-9 months. It is 9-11. I have actually seen girls stay up to 18 months.
• The pictures of girls on the front page of the website and the pamphlets themselves have remained the same since before I attended Sunrise (3-17-2010)
• The Sunrise website states that the staff ratio is between 1:3 and 1:6. It is more accurately between 1:5 and 1:8.
• You pay WAY more than $250 a day

Other Information:

• There is a level system: Safety, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
• The girls to all of the cleaning. Twice a day. (toilets, dishes, vacuuming, sweeping, watering plants, showers, etc.) If they refuse to clean, they get dropped a level.
• Phone calls are monitored. Most girls don't know this, and neither do the parents.
• One phone call a week to parents only. They can take away all forms of communication if they wish.
• They let me handle bleach and clean a library unattended with it on safety. When I complained that it wasn't a god idea to expose bleach to potentially suicidal girls, I was threatened to be put on suicide watch.
• I was told by my staff that Sunrise "isn't a school, it's a business", when girls asked why we're not being taken care of well enough/why they're so revolved around money.
• When my house "needed an intervention" (we didn't, it was random), we were forced to sit in our rooms for several ours without sleeping, making a single sound, or communicating of any sort. This happened twice. Girls got dropped levels afterwords.
• There was a cockroach manifestation that wasn't taken care of. In order to actually house so many girls, half of the girls had rooms in the basement.
• Girls were 3-4 to a room. we had bunk beds.
• A friend I had there was handcuffed while being transported.
• Yes, they DO restrain girls and use tranquilizers.
• My therapist was known for breaking patient confidentiality. She broke it with me and with another girl whose (amazing) parents sued. She was fired after I left.

There are between 32-45 girls there at a time (which I think is more than they claim). The girls are separated into two groups; Yellow House and Blue House. This makes it easier to watch over the girls and manage schedules.

They are all about DBT-based learning. Far more girls who attend Sunrise are "diagnosed" with Borderline Personality Disorder than you would expect.

SCHEDULE

You MUST get up at 6:15 am, no exceptions. Down to breakfast, then you're forced to run over 2 & 1/2 miles and play a sport after. (If you don't finish laps or actively participate, you are put on academic probation where you must do stay inside and do classwork for two weeks)
Then you have school to 2:45. If you don't finish all of you classwork by the end of the week, you get academic probation. (Ooh, fun stuff: if you are on academic probation, you can't move up a level or go outside)

After school is an hour long group therapy session. After that, one hour and 45 minutes of intense dance or yoga. Then you eat a small portion of food.

I have PTSD as a result and wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares of being sent back against my will.

During my stay, on October 17, 2010, a car accident killed a dear friend and fellow patient, Natasha Newman. Gracie James, another student, was ejected from the passenger seat and as a result, slipped into a coma and was taken off of life support a few days after. There were a few other girls in the car, and a staff member was driving. I wasn't there as I was with Yellow house and this was during a Blue House trip, but at least 10 other students watched this suburban swerve and roll. I know that many articles blame the staff driver, but I would like to kindly say that the writers of these articles don't have all of the information. The staff driver did her best to avoid a collision and unfortunately, suburbans are top-heavy. She was probably the best person to have been driving at that time, because she really did her best and saved three passenger girls.

VERY IMPORTANT: I had to learn this the hard way. If you are at an RTC and one parent wants you to stay, but one wants you to come home, chances are, YOU WILL STAY AT THE RTC.

Sources:

• The original testimony on Reddit
• Factsheet about the program (Fornits Wiki)

Mshiloh at Eagle Ranch Academy

This testimony was found on Merchant Circle. All rights goes to the author known as Mshiloh.

Self-Esteem Loss and Emotional Trauma

I was been through many trials and painful events (varying from sexual abuse to physical torture), however, the darkest and most hopeless time of my life was the 11 months I spent in Eagle Ranch Academy.

When I left the facility, I was reduced to a raw, traumatized, pathetic creature. I say creature because that's the way I was trained to view myself while there. I have never felt so worthless. They practice degrading and humiliating disciplines that still haunt me from time to time. I've been able to heal from the emotional turmoil and abuse I experienced at ERA through years of therapy and self-esteem development. I now love myself and am functioning normally, but Eagle Ranch took what little self-worth I had at the time and dissolved it with sick treatment and twisted methods of "behavior modification".

Eagle Ranch restricts communication content with family members with a term called "manipulation". Any communication outside of the facility involving negative comments about the program and their treatment is immediately intervened. Once a week, 10 minute phone calls are monitored and terminated if the we mentioned the abuse. We were allowed to write a limited amount postcards to our families. They chose postcards as stationary so they could review the letter and ensure there was no "manipulative" content.

From an outside perspective, some of the rules and practices of the facility seem normal, but much more is revealed from the inside that only former ERA residents are able to describe. The people in my "pod" and I had to play a role in order to be released from the facility. We had to, as we called it, "fake it 'til we make it". Many of the staff who were sincere quit their jobs there because of the abusive environment.They would tell us that they cared about us, but just couldn't support this facility and its tactics. I have kept in touch with my former ERA residents, and EVERY SINGLE ONE has testified of the abuse and pain from the program. Most have relapsed on drugs, alcohol, and/or other risky behaviors. Those of us who are emotionally stable today, accredit NONE of it to Eagle Ranch Academy.

The program is a waste of your hard-earned money and a damage to your child's self-worth. Please, please don't send your child to Eagle Ranch Academy. This is a genuine plead. I am an intelligent, insightful person, and I can honestly say that this program has caused me a degree of permanent damage. I thank my family and loved ones for listening and helping me to recover as much as I have. If you love your child, which I know you do- otherwise you wouldn't be considering treatment programs, seek other options.

I pray that ERA will be brought to justice, but until then, I pray that my testimonial will help parents look into other programs/treatments and other former Eagle Ranch residents to speak out. Thank you.

Sources:

The original testimony Factsheet about the facility (Fornits Wiki) Staff list (HEAL-online)

Nicole Barrett at Cedar Breaks Academy

This testimony was found in another blog on blogspot. All rights goes to the author Nicole Barrett

When I was 17, I was sent away against my will to a “residential treatment center/behavior modification program”. I was forcefully taken (because I did not comply) by two strangers (“transport team”) and was driven from New Jersey to Utah, only stopping a few times to use the restroom. I feel as if the majority of today’s society is unaware of all of the torture, brainwashing, and outright child abuse that occurs across the nation everyday. Outsiders to these programs are outright blinded and completely unaware of what is truly happening in these “programs”. I feel that if more public awareness existed in regards to this abuse, more lives would be salvaged from this conspiracy and mistreatment. Cedar Breaks Academy was eventually shut down. However, many more venues of torture such as CBA exist and are created under new names each and every single day.

With it being five years after this traumatic incident, I still feel the repercussions to this day as if it had occurred yesterday. The other girls I was held against my will with who I consider my sisters also feel this way. Many of us ran into more problems post CBA than we had when we went in. What CBA considered "problems" are what most people would consider normal teenage behavior such as lying, underage drinking, and promiscuity. If that were so, the majority of my high school class would be sufficient candidates to be essentially "kidnapped" and subjected to this teen torture that continues to happen every second of everyday.

The school closed in 2009.

Sources:

• The original testimoy found on Blogspot
• 
  
• Factsheet about the facility (Fornits Wiki)
• 
  
• 410. Cedar Breaks Academy (1000 places You don't want to be as a teenager)
• 
  

"taken-penguin" at Sorenson's Ranch School

This testimony was found on Topix. All rights goes to the original author known as taken-penguin

now this place was HELL. I could write a whole book on this one. when she first got there they searched her, they searched her things, and took away most of it. only t shirts, no solid black blue or red. only blue jeans. the girls had to grow out their hair. the boys had to have their heads shaved. the girls stayed in cabins. there were 4 of them. at night the staff would check on the kids to make sure they didn't run of. the nearest town was 70 miles well so they said and they were in the mountains . a good comparison is the movie Holes. if you havent seen it you should then compare it to this place .mame got in trouble really fast. she had to hike in the snow with just vans, blue jeans, and a thin jacket. she had to eat outside,most of the time she was alone. she tried to run off and they tackled her. they restrained her. this means they push the palm to your arm bending the wrist, laying face down in the ground. this hurt so badly that it would make people scream, even the boys. when there were no cameras and the kids talked back, they would hit them,they would call them names that no one deserves to be called. they shoved them and the kids always ended up on their stomachs. then there was mountain camp. 3 girls two staff. they slept in their own tent. they were not allowed to even look at each other. the staff made them walk in a circle around their tent for hours. would have to haul logs and when they went to sleep the kids had to sleep in their undergarments. it lasted for a week. they couldn't shower, no toothbrush, no change of cloths.

they would shove them into the ground. they had to shovel horse shit and it was its worst when it rained and they made them wear flip flops. another thing they would do is make them pick rocks in the snow for no logical reason. they would have to wake up at 5am, walk back and forth in a straight line while the staff sat in a warm room and watched them. it was always cold. hardly ever hot. the kids would get breakfast at 7am, had to eat outside then walk up this huge hill that lasts 10 miles. they were not allowed to stop until 12 and eat their lunch, bread two slices of packaged meat and a water bottle. this was a group hike. they would walk in a line as a van follows them by their side. they got to go to sleep at 11pm, then the next day it would happen again. since the kids were not allowed to talk, they sang, the vans windows were up so the staff just thought they were singing, but they would be singing their sentences, singing their stories. Mame had a best friend, her name was __. she dresses transgender.l, dressed like a guy. when she came to the Hell they took away her baggie jeans her t shirts and replaced them with skinny jeans. it was humiliating. Mame loved her and still does even though she now lives in new jersey. Mame still hears her screams in her nightmares, the screams and cries of telling the staff to stop hurting her. mame would wake up sometimes with the thought of,“i don't want to hike in the cold”, but then she remember she isn't there anymore.

The facility started as a summer camp called Koos Kamp back in 1959. It moved into the Troubled Teen Industry due to the money in the early 1980's.

Sources:

• The original testimony found on Topix.com
• Sorenson Ranch School (Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora)

Reagan King at Sorenson's Ranch School

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

This place is a hell hole. Its discusting and dirty. Constantly dead flies and hair in food. Not to mention sometimes the milk was really bad and they still served it.

Punishment is putting you in a orange jumpsuit and sitting u on a bucket in a feild from dawn to night time with no sunscreen and the sun blazing your skin and when u get not only burnt but completly blistered all over the face thry pile on more hrs for "self harm" they also do workouts manditory for level one as punishment they r hrs long and painful they r very harsh during them a kid had a asthma attack and they refused to get his inhaler then proceeded to restrain him and break his arm.the school is retarded easy I got my math credits mainly by doing extra credit of sudoku puzzles everyweek which was accepted as if it were mayh work.oyeh and a nother form of punishment is instead of goin to school u got to shovel horse shit all day.not to mention some staff were havin sex with some students and some were sneaking stuff in as well.and also the crazy amount of meds they will perscribe and it says clearly on the bottle do not crush but they would crush.neway I could go on and on but hopefully this makes ppl realize that the students who went here I can comfortably say were all abused in some way.and that should not be takin lightly!

The facility started as a summer camp called Koos Kamp back in 1959. It moved into the Troubled Teen Industry due to the money in the early 1980's.


Sources:

• The original testimony found on Topix.com
• Sorenson Ranch School (Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora)

Josh at Sorenson's Ranch School

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

Sorenson's ranch kept me in Solitary Confinement (they call it "Isolation") for 10 days straight, yes, 10 days, straight, for something that I didn't even do. They sexually abuse children, and break bones during "restraining" (getting your ass kicked). I saw a kids arm broken by the staff member during a restraint, and I also witnessed a staff member taking naked pictures of a 15 year old boy, right in front of me. The sheriff's came and investigated the incident and the child was sent home. Also, there is peer to peer sexual abuse that goes on, just like in prison. Students (age 15-17) would dump piss on other students when they were taking a shower and they would sexually assault the weaker students. The staff lie to parents during phone calls with there kids, and the kids are not allowed to have uncensored phone calls, for fear that the truth about what is going on at the school would come out.

I left this place with PTSD, no self esteem, and serious trust issues with people. Luckily I had the common sense to join the Air Force, which is the ONLY reason why I am where I am in life. Sorenson's ranch will bully, manipulate and brainwash you, as a parent, and brainwash your kid.

The facility started as a summer camp called Koos Kamp back in 1959. It moved into the Troubled Teen Industry due to the money in the early 1980's.

Sources:

• The original testimony found on Topix.com
• Sorenson Ranch School (Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora)

Various testimonies from Sorenson's Ranch School

These testimonies were found on Topix. All rights goes to the original authors

JHJ wrote:

They will make you believe things that arnt true, they are masters at convincing parents that all is well. I spent a year at the ranch back in 05 and it was a horrible experience. No child deserves that. I am still trying to overcome what it did to me. DO NOT BELIEVE A WORD THEY SAY. Get your child out immediately. Even if your child is very troubled that place will not help him. Find another route. My parents felt the same way you did and were very happy with it until they realized what was really going on and yanked me out. Please get your child out. Dont trust a word of what they say. Nothing is like it seems there

Philly1341 wrote:

I was here for 2 years and I vividly remember how violent and corrupt it was. The is no "Treatment" here, everything is forced, there are no rights here, when you ask about your rights they'll tell you your parent's signed them away for you. I received a Broken wrist because I swore at one of the staff, on another occasion I Received injuries on my ankle for refusing to hike the parking lot, still on another I was "restrained" a lot of times (meaning I got slammed by more than one staff member and got the shit kicked out of me) I left here with more problems then when I went in and the psychological toll that it had on me when I was 14 was High! it is extremely unprofessional and has a long record of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. If you have a child here take them out IMMEDIATELY! they'll thank you later and won't be angry at you for years like I was at my parents. there are other options, this one doesn't work. Trust me.

wmnc wrote:

I attended SRS school back in 1989-1990. To this day I suffer from PTSD. My PTSD started when I attended there as I was a kid who went there to get help with my ADD/ADHD. There was an assortment of kids there from all back grounds and learning issues. The staff abused me in every way almost daily for the entire year I was there. To all the parents who are considering sending your kids there please do not. Please find another place and option and do your kid a favor and give them the best possible chance in life and in school. I wish I could attach a jpeg. file of the pictures of all the scars on my body to show proof what they did to me. It amazes me to this day how they have been able to stay open with all the abuse.

The facility started as a summer camp called Koos Kamp back in 1959. It moved into the Troubled Teen Industry due to the money in the early 1980's.

Sources:

• The original testimonies found on Topix.com
• Sorenson Ranch School (Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora)

Parent feedback of Ashcreek Ranch Academy

DO NOT SEND YOUR SON TO ASHCREEK RANCH ACADEMY!!!!

Their program is absolutely nothing what their website claims to be. I recently had to remove my son from there after discovering that virtually everything they claim to be from their "accredited" school and teachers, equine therapy, drug therapy, etc, etc was a complete farce! The admissions director is a fantastic salesman and he will have you believing that this place is the answer to your prayers, but do not be sucked in!

We wasted $20,000 for literally nothing except for very expensive babysitting. It would have been $40,000 had I not responded to all the "red flags" and removed our son 4 months early. Save your family the time, trouble, and money and find another program. There are many other legitimate programs out there. This place is NOT one of them!!!

If you would like more detailed info on this program don't hesitate to send me a message and I will respond promptly.

dbs at Sorenson's Ranch School

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

I am a former student of Sorenson's Ranch School and current teacher. As a human and a teacher, I would urge parents to seek other options for your child.

In full disclosure I will specify that I attended this school in the early 90's. In most cases, I would be inclined to believe that a bad situation could be corrected in 20 years. However, in the case of this school, I am reluctant to imagine much change for two reasons.

1. The culture of wrongdoing by staff was so pervasive, and
2. The school exists in a town where everyone is blood relation and they all work at the school.

The fact that their Facebook page seems to be a place for happy feedback of students does not convince me either. The omissions and whitewashing of information to parents was honed to an art form even at the time that I attended. I can only imagine that their skills at hiding any negative feedback about the program have only increased over the years. Bottom line - if you just want to treat your child like a problem and pay someone else to deal with it, send them to Sorenson's today.

If you care about your child's future, look into other options. PLEASE.

The facility started as a summer camp called Koos Kamp back in 1959. It moved into the Troubled Teen Industry due to the money in the early 1980's.


Sources:

• The original testimony found on Topix.com
• Sorenson Ranch School (Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora)