Interview with Orangebelpeper (from: antiwwasp.us)

This story was originally written on a message board called called antiwwasp.us. All rights and credits goes to the author Orangebelpeper, who gave the original testimony on antiwwasp.us.

Hi, my name is ..... and I attended Horizon Academy, if anyone has any questions about it I will be happy to answer them!

Question: we'd love to hear what it was like and your experiences there. we've never had anyone on here who went to horizon. is it true jade robinson runs it?

Yeah, Jade runs it. Him and his wife Cassie. I think out of all the schools Horizon had it the easiest, or from what I hear of. I thought that I had it hard but until thease last few days I have been reading up on everything, and I am thankful for my time at Horizon being so easy, I was never restrained or touched but the emotional scars play a big part in my life now.

It was in death valley, super hot during the day but freezing at night.

When I first got there I was like the 17th girl or something like that, so it was pretty new.

Alot of scandelous stuff went on between the staff and students which I'm not sure if i'm supposed to talk about so let me know if I am.

We were always told that Casa By the Sea was shut down because some of the staff that worked there were not allowed or something like that. Little did I know it was because child abuse was occuring.

The girls there never believed that Tranquility bay existed we thought that they were just trying to scare us until one day a student came to our school, he was only 13 (I went through Discovery with him) he had been at tranquility bay for a while but they thought that it was to hard on him, but after a while be got sent back to Jamicia.

Thoes are some of the things that I can think of right now, If were to ask me questions I think that it would be easier.

If you want to talk about scandolous things, please leave names out of it and maybe speak in general terms (like, "some staff sometimes did this with some students"). we don't want to get sued or anything. so what were the conditions like at horizon? how was the food, how was the school? did any students ever get restrained or anything?

Food was discusting, the first five days I was there I droped almost 10 pounds. then after that I slowly went from about 115 to 140 in six months, they day I got home I walked into my closet and tried on all my clothes, nothing fit, and I mean nothing, I had to throw EVERYTHING away. I was discusted with myself, but since I have been home I have lost some of my "Program Weight" I weigh about 125-130. and I'm happy with they way my body looks. for once.

But yeah food was nasty, it was weird because we were ALWAYS hungry, but we gained weight, (we all used to joke about how they injected it with fat or something) so one day I was fed up with being miserbly hungry all the time so I wrote home and I told my parents that I don't get enough to eat and so Mr.Jade let us have seconds on salad, with no dressing.

I know one girl came to the program and she refused to eat for about 6 days, and ate absoulety nothing, on the seventh day she dissapeared and a few weeks later we heard she got sent to jamaica. personaly I dont think that someone should be punished that harshely for not eating.

well school work was horrible, everything you did by your self on the computer, and if you needed help you would get on this loooooooooooooong waiting list to get help and when your name was called a few days later, you were already over the problem or the help that you did get wasnt enough or didnt make sence. I got barely any school done when I was there, when I came home I skipped high school and jumped right into my community college, thats what I am doing right now.

so about the scandelous stuff. there was alot going on and even more now from what I hear of. when I was there a few girls made run plans, and it was that one of the girls would have sex with one of the male staff members, claim she was raped and get pulled, them something about getting the other girls out, they got caught before it happened, but the weird thing was the staff member was going along with it (he didn't know the second part of the plan though) never got fired, he stayed working there, I was always scared of him from that point on. it discusses me.

there was also this one incident that proved to me how rediciouls our medical help was. a girl got sent to horizon about a month before I did, she always complanied about her back hurting and would puke occasionally, one day during p.e. she froze and was screaming in pain, she got took to the nurse and the nurse said that it was a sist popped, a few weeks later everything got worse, and she ended up being 6 months pregnet. I felt so bad for her having to go through more than half of her pregnecy in a program.

with the staff restraining students, I never witnessed it nor was I ever put in that situation. so I couldn't say. I think that it is just a matter of time though. I think that every program is a matter of time until bad stuff starts happening, than it gets shut down, than the just open a new one, its like a never ending cycle.

Sources:

• The original thread on the antiwwasp.us message board
• Factsheet about the boarding school on Fornits Wiki

A testimony about Discovery Academy

This story was originally written on the old CAFETY website. This website crashed and was reconstructed but lost a lot of testimones. The message board called the Fornits Home for Wayward Webfora managed to save some of testimonies. Here is one of them:

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I was close to finishing the freshman year of highschool when my aunt and uncle sent me to Discovery Academy. I can understand some of the reasons they had. I was experimenting with marijuana and had tried LSD. I was starting to act out. I was into grunge and punk and rock, ( I had long dyed hair, dressed like a freak - way cooler than I dress now) Typical adolecent behavior. I figured that I was doing pretty good for a kid that had spent his first 12 years of life living in the fostercare system. I was on the varcity soccer and baseball team. I had reasonable good grades. I know that I was starting to withdraw from my peers.

Well, I can understand that my parents overreaction to my normal behavior is a typical one. My folks had hired an educational consultant , Miriam Boudean ( bay area , california ) and she had referred me to the private highschool I was attending and she definalty referred me to Discovery Academy when my folks were "trying to save my life". I was fortunate that I wasnt kidnapped and taken to discovery that way. I have heard the stories. I am fortunate that I didnt have to goto any of the wilderness hiking hippy bullshit programs. I flew there on my own accord thinking that this was a boarding school. I thought that I would be gone 3-4 months. Little did I know that there is a year minimum of enrollment. I was there for 2 1/2.

Immediatly on reaching the place I remember being in the parking lot and all of a sudden a huge mutha sucka comes running up and acting very aggressive with a serious hyped up look in his eyes. He wouldnt stay more that 2 feet from me. Well we went in the place and Terry started shmoozin the folks and crap and they took all my stuff to be "approved". Half my friggin clothes and almost all my music, books were NOT approved. When I went to discovery they hadnt switched to uniforms yet. I was still there when they were in the early stages of picking the uniforms. I swear to god that Carol Thorne was like a crazed old child playing with her dolls in her big dollhouse. Often times the new students are put into Unit 1 ( solitary supervised confinement ) Parents are billed ridiculous amounts for this "service". I guess since I thought I was actually in a boarding school they decided to let me into the general population. My second day there they told me that I could go get my hair cut off or they could hold me down and shave my head. Having already spoken to some of the other students I realized that I was )#(%&ed and went the route of the hair cut. Discovery has a punishment system called demerits. One demerit is 25 minutes of standing inches away from a wall, hands at your sides, no talking - deviate from those rules and you will be restarted. I have stood thousands. I have stood till my ankles and knees were ridiculously swollen. I have been restrained, i have been shot up with thorazine. I have been incorrectly diagnosed. My therapist was Alan Thorne. This worm of a man was the owners son. Dr Gene Thorne started this school. He is a evil, self important, pug of a man. And very, very rich.

I have taken the time to read everyones profiles and I empathise with the horrors that you all have had to endure. I feel especially bad for the individuals that had to deal with the jamacian school, paradise cove. I can only imagine the helplessness that you must have felt in the face of not only being trapped out of the country, but also being abused so severly and being coerced to commits acts of abuse.

I might go into detail at a later point some of my experiences that I have gone through while attending Discovery Academy. I cant beleive that the Discovery Academy Forum is down. What a croc. I think I finnaly convinced my aunt and uncle that Discovery was doing more harm than good, and for my senior year of high school I was sent to John Tylers boys ranch. This was a group home facility set in the suburbs of spokane, washinton.

I can say that this place was a huge improvement. John has a true heart and really cares about youth and young adults. There were a few times that I was ready to kill one of the staff there in particular, but for the most part I endured my increase in freedom. One of the things that really messed with me was that I was back in public school. After the pisspoor education system of Discovery I was hard pressed to catch up the first few months. Discovery takes dated text books and chops them up by chapter. They call these "Concepts". You then take a test on the chapter. You are not allowed to test below a B. This is how they maintain thier bullshit excellent GPA of the school. Not only was there a weirdness of being able to react to kids living so called normal lives and not knowing what you are going through but I felt a little socially retarded. My previous contact with girls for the last 2.5 years had been a little supervised coed. Well... there was that one time that involved some serious mission impossible stuff but thats another story. Now Im a senior in high school that cant see anyone outside of school. LAME I had girls wanting to go to the prom with me. Cant do that now. I wanted to get a job so I could have some experience before I moved "home", knowing I was going to be on my own. no go. I know that someone else had mentioned that they felt like they had been robbed of thier adolescence. I feel like I never was a kid.

I have been independant with almost no help from my aunt and uncle. They did help me when they wanted me to goto school. I didnt think I was ready yet. I dropped out after 2.5 years. I have been through substance abuse issues and severe depression since I have been 18 now and have not sought any sort of professional help because of my negative experiences. I was able to kick my meth habit on my own.

At this point of the game I am a 26 year old young adult professional with a great job and a wonderful group of friends. I work as a Youth Support Coordinator for the System of Care initiatives. I now get to tap on to that life experience and hopefully make a difference in someones life. I work as a advocate for youth and Young Adults that have SED or Mental Health diagnose(s). I ran across this site not long ago and was very encouraged to see that there are being steps taken to regulate these child prisons.

I will try to add more to this site in time. Sources:

• Discovery Ranch (The original testimony on the Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora)
• Factsheet about the facility (Fornits Wiki)
• The new website for the Community Alliance for the Ethical Treatment of Youth (CAFETY)

Erik at Discovery Academy

This story was originally written on the message board called the Fornits Home for Wayward Webfora.

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I attended Discovery Academy (DA) from the summer of 1997 through January of 1998. It was among the most psychologically damaging experiences of my life. Please don't send your children to Discovery Academy. DA is a very punitive place.

For example, if a student does not make his bed to the satisfaction of the DA staff, the student may be made to stand up to five "demerits", one demerit being defined as standing for 25 minutes facing a wall. Demerits are liberally doled out for any offence, from slight infractions of the rules such as cursing or complaining, to large violations, such as attempting to escape from DA. An attempted escape typically prompted between 100 and 500 demerits, or more. That is between 2 and 9 days, approximately, standing facing a wall.

Five minute breaks were allowed between each 25 minute standing session, as well as breaks for sleeping and eating. When most students arrive at DA, they are upset and they show it. As they become familiar with the way Discovery Academy works, they learn to conceal their anger and any other emotions that are indicative of problems. When the DA staff sees this, they take it as the student's problems being solved.

If the symptom disappears, the cause must have disappeared, is the logic that Discovery Academy operates by. However, in reality the student's problems remain, and are made worse by the habitual concealing of them that DA's punitive/"therapeutic" system rewards. I picked up on this rather quickly, and was able to rise rapidly through the level system and complete a good deal of coursework in a fairly short time.

In light of this, and my newfound ability to conceal my emotions, I was able to convince my parent to remove me from DA after about six months. During the time thereafter that I lived at home, I worked as hard as possible to conceal my true feelings from my parent. Those true feelings, if expressed, had the potential to land me back at DA, something which I was not about to let happen.

So, parents, the moral of this story is: If you want your children to never tell you the truth again as long as you are their legal guardians, to disown you in the future, as well as to add to their unhappiness, send them to Discovery Academy. I am not exaggerating or dramatizing the consequences. Before you send your child anywhere, I strongly recommend that you read the book Smart Love by Pieper & Pieper. If you have any questions that you'd like to ask me about this, please feel free to email at: xxxxxx@xxxxxxxx. (email-address removed due to privacy)

Sources:

• New List of Reportedly Abusive Programs In Utah (The original testimony on the Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora)
• Factsheet about the facility (Fornits Wiki)

greenpea at CEDU High School (From:HEAL-online)

This testimony was made on the survivor message board belonging to the human rights organization HEAL-online. All rights belongs to the original author.

I went to Cedu High School which is owned by the Brown schools.

Most of it is a blur, but I do remember that I experienced a lot of terror. Since my experience there I have nightmares every night involving the school in some way, and wake up with anxiety accompanied by sweats and a fast heart rate.

I recall that while I was at the school I was on a heavy sedative called Remeron for depression, anxiety, and a sleep disorder. It was prescribed to me by a psychiatrist before I went to Cedu, and it made it almost impossible for me to get out of bed in the morning. Our dorms had no air conditioning, even though all of our parents were paying $10,000 a month for us to be there.

The only way they dealt with us was through discipline and scare tactics. I had fallen asleep without a shirt on one night because it was so hot in our dorms. Before the alarms went off to wake us up, one of the upper class students came into my room and pulled the covers off me. She yelled at me "get the f*ck out of bed!" She pulled me out of my bed and threw me in the bathroom and told me to do my morning chores. I did so, in a half asleep state because of my medication, without a shirt on until the girl gave me permission to get dressed. She had been given free reign to do this to me by a counselor, and she did without supervision. This type of humiliation was normal, and went unnoticed.

The fact that I was on a sedating drug wasn't taken into account. The brilliance of their methods was that they turned the other students against you, and promoted their (other students') mean spiritedness to get across the school's message.

When I was caught for kissing a boy later, I was told that I was a "sexual predator" and put on a restriction where there was no singing, smiling, laughing, touching, or talking. It was called a "full time". They pulled me out of my schooling and put me on a "stump". This meant that I was left in the middle of nowhere with a shovel and a small saw to dig a tree stump out of the ground.

There was no staff around to make sure I was alright, and I was forbidden to talk to anyone. Like I said before, no singing, smiling, laughing, touching or talking. The phrase was spoken to me so many times I still have it memorized, 6 years later. This was in the 100 degree weather. I had to wear steal toed work boots, jeans, and a collared shirt. At night time I ate alone and had to write in a restriction booklet.

They would give me assignments and pushed "issues". If your mother was dead, they'd make you write about that. If you had a mental illness they'd make you write about that. For me, considering that I was a christian, they made me write about "how I hide behind God". You couldn't say "I don't hide behind God" or anything like that. You had to submit to the idea given, or you would never get off your full time.

They challenged me on everything. After dinner I was assigned "pots and Pans", which meant I had to scrub the pots and pans that the cooks used to make the entire school's meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. By myself I did this, for about a month.

Eventually I was pulled out of the program early by my parents, but the most sickening part about it is that they don't want to talk about it. It took me until this year (6 years) to get them to listen to what they had put me through. Leaving Cedu was terrible. I feel like I left a piece of myself there.

Their policy was to break down the student and then build them back with discipline. But my experience was cut short, and I only progressed through the breaking down process. I left Cedu feeling like I was a nothing. I was unable to make friends and relate to the people at my school.

My parents put me back into public schooling the next day. I remain bitter about the whole thing. The moral of the story is to not send your kids to these places.

Sources:

• Link to the original testimony on the message board belonging to HEAL-online
• Factsheet about CEDU (Fornits Wiki)

Shayla at Midwest Academy

This story was originally written on a message board called called antiwwasp.us. All rights and credits goes to the author Shayla, who posted the original story on antiwwasp.us.

I went into midwest academy four months from turning 18. I knew I was leaving then, therefore, I felt a lot more real with myself and detached myself away from their brainwash. I suggest you read this long report that a highly educated parent wrote in response to their realizations toward the seminars and treatment of individuality that these boarding schools offer.

The staff at midwest academy are not these professionals that the pamphlets/ websites/ students or directors explain they are. They are either middle-aged burnouts who reek of cigarette smoke and have no real motivational wisdom to offer their "children" that they stay with all day, OR they are cute-college kids who drink and party outside of their silly job. As far as their medical system goes, it sucks. I got a yeast infection and did not get help for it for days. It was about three weeks until the yeast infection was finally gone because our five minute showers did not give me enough time to fully cleanse myself, and I don't know if the nurses were too busy taking cigarette breaks, but they simply did not give attention to my numerous requests. For the amount of money that you are currently paying this school, you are recieving minimum service from the poorly trained staff.

When a group of girls and I went to get our gynocologist exams, the nurse left the vent open and was scolding my best friend about how she was not a virgin and she was lying to her. Everyone within fifteen feet of that vent heard her horrible talk of the way her vagina looked, and how there was not possible way she could be a virgin.

The reason why the directors/family reps (more low IQ burnouts with given status) predict you the reactions of your kids is because they do not want you to believe the fact that you child is extremely miserable and think so low of herself for being there. BRAIN WASH. Yes, it is true that once you move up in levels you do feel better because you are given privileges (such as taking 15 minute showers *OH MY GOSH*), but by then, your child will be brainwashed, her values altered, and her views changed for the views of the program. When you are on bottom levels, you have no say, no trust, no voice, no opinions, no soul. Upper level students can make up bogus lies about anything to get other lower status students in trouble and there are no questions asked. It is a ridiculous system that does not make room for justice or fairness.

The education is just terrible. no teachers-just desperate graduates in need for jobs. don't be fooled by the pamphlet. I did not learn one thing from the classes i took off those horrible outdated schooling programs- except maybe that I will never send my child to one of these schools. Basically, you answer 10 questions and you move onto the next level. No projects, no speeches, no real world experiences. There are even chapters that incorporate the bible into them. Now, my religion is based on the bible and yours might be as well but think about this. What about those who do not believe that Jesus is our savior- Is it really fair for a schooling program to force a student to answer "Jesus is our savior" in order to pass a unit if they have different values and beliefs? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

The food-Horrible quality, unhealthy and bad tasting. The money you are paying for food is ridiculous. it just packs bad pounds onto students and creates stretch marks, high cholersteral and other potential health problems (like diabetes). I have seen girls cry over the stretch marks that they gain going in that place. And yes, while their are going through their brainwashing stages by moving up levels, they live by their inner beauty and the stretch marks go away. But when your daughter comes home and if she is covered in stretch marks and excess weight, you can expect the tears to come again.

The threats. oh the threats. You are threatened with intervention constantly. If you don't give information that you know-intervention. Don't follow rules- intervention. I told my frineds that I was leaving and I was threatened with intervention. Intervention is a pasty white room illuminated 24/7 by an unnaturally and unhealthy bright light. The walls contain scratchmarks from students who have tried to beat their ways out of it. The carpet is filthy and duct taped from other trapped students who go insane from staring at nothing. On the door is a square foot window where staff keeps an eye on you. there is also a camera. Yes, a camera- how degrading. This is your daughter, not a state prisoner. Basically you sit in there until they decide that you have served your time or behaved. That can be anywhere from five hours to a whole week.

I remember there was a girl who went crazy at the academy, took a picture off the wall and started beating anyone who was in her way with it. She broke it over a staff's head and beat one of my frineds with it. Parents were not informed of this madness and infact, if any students were to discuss of it they were given a consequence. You see? Their threats keep their terrible treatments a secret. My parents were not aware that the whole facility was infected with stomach flu and were up for three days straight throwing up. Parents do not realize that their child is no longer thiers anymore once they are in the facility. They no nothing that goes on accept what their family reps are saying. Your daughter is now owned by the state.

I have hundreds of horror stories from this place, but I spent too much time on here already but I thought I should skim the surface on why your daughter SHOULD NOT be in a boarding school. She is young and young girls make dumb decisions. I woould have preferred that my aprents sent me to a family member's house for a couple months. The program helps for only so long. It institutionalizes students to believing that their little system is reality and that is why it seems to work while students are in there.

Think it over. I wish you the best!

Source

• The original thread on the antiwwasp.us message board
• Factsheet about the boarding school Fornits Wiki

Cody Seth Crawford at Dundee Ranch

This testimony covering abuse at Narvin Litchfield’s Academy at Dundee Ranch in Costa Rica was sent to us from the author Cody Seth Crawford who maintains the all the credits. Here is his testimony:

My life began as an uneventful birth at a local hospital in Portland Oregon, on September 26 – 1986. I was a good baby as my mother puts it. I was not a crier and would sit where I was put. I was the second male child of two proud parents, Ted and Robin Crawford. My dad worked at Boeing as a machinist and my mom was still working real estate selling mobile homes.

I was the first Newberg school district kid to be put into early intervention (Special Education) in 1991 for unspecified central auditory processing disorders. School was tough for me as I was always the butt of jokes and it seemed like people would just choose me as an easy target for their frustrations. Fast forward to when I was eight and lucked out by getting big role in a movie! I was cast as Michael Cunningham in the Hit NBC miniseries “DEAD BY SUNSET” (1995). I also did a lot of radio and television commercials, and was a cast member of the Portland Opera for 2 years.

I did not start drinking until a neighbor that owns a vineyard and was trusted by my family would give me wine mixed with cool aid when she would volunteer to watch me and my brother. We ate cheese pizza and got smashed and I was only nine. I subsequently was abused and did not report it at the time. My father took my movie money and split the day before my tenth birthday. All the abuse was kept hidden from my mom, who does not drink. This went on until I was 11.

I was 13 when I started using Cannabis to calm my anxiety and fears. At the time I thought of it as a medicine that kept me stable as I had a new diagnosis of NON VERBAL LEARNING Disability,, My friend Channing Hammonds introduced me to the drug. I was in 8’Th grade and the only student that was in Special Ed and the Nova program (talented and gifted) at my school. I was doing a special project on medical marijuana for the Nova class and got in too deep into the druggie culture at the school.

I was arrested for distributing! My name was associated with cannabis so I was to blame. I was no longer able to self medicate away my life problems with cannabis (pre-trial drug testing), so I switched back to alcohol. This was a horrible mistake. My friend Channing lived a rougher life and came from a broken home. It was not a great leap for us to steal the first couple of cases of wine from the Red Barn tasting room on the Maresh Winery in Dundee Oregon. We each had a motive, mine was to suppress pain and take back from my abusers, Channings was money (he sold his part he did not drink). We stole wine from the same place three times. This was all one summer in 2001.

My drinking increased and four more teen boys were subsequently involved in stealing alcohol with me. I finally got to trial and all the charges were stacked so high I saw no exit. I had been in and out of the Yamhill county detention lock-up more times than I could count by then. But my mother’s sister Jamie Baxter offered hope! Jamie and Jeff(her husband) told a wonderful story of therapeutic youth reform through the wonderful WWASP program(World Wide Association of specialty Schools and Programs). I was rooting for it too, since Judge Collins gave me an option of graduating the WWASP program before my 18’Th birthday or be award of the state till I was 21. Jeff Baxter testified in Collin’s courtroom about how the WWASP program had saved his own son Steven (my cousin) and how I would not receive corporal punishment. And how all my special needs would be met! The program had a representative testify over the phone as the Judge looked through the glossy pamphlet about the Academy at Dundee Ranch. I was so hopeful that I would finally get the therapy that I so desperately needed! Reality check, my mom was court ordered to pay 2,000 a month in tuition when she had lost her job. I was released from juvenile hall and my mom and sister drove me to San Francisco where I got a passport in only two days. Then I was on a plane to Sanjose Costa Ricca. I was positive and so hopeful.

My first day at Dundee, after driving for what seemed like hours in the middle of a huge jungle and past smoke spewing volcanoes and crossing a mountain range the climate was like someone left the shower on highest heat and shut the door. I was sweating, and had on shorts. My mother and sister were not allowed to examine the School; they only got to see the preplanned show they put on for all parents and officials. I said good bye and that I loved them.

Narvin Lichfield, Mr Bailey and Locksley and Conrad had the control now. I was always trained to make eye contact with the people around me (special education) this was the first thing I was in trouble for since it was against the rules at Dundee. We ate nothing but rice and beans and water (I had not earned the privilege of meats and juice). I was in shock at the conditions. I was new and lowest level so I had a bunk in the hall, no air-conditioning, no mosquito nets, and we slept under a tin roof. There were bats and birds and all manner of insect that lived with us. As I recall the (dorms I was in housed over 100 boys). It was about 70 feet by 25 or so. The upper level students had rooms that slept from five to 8 students and they had fans or air-conditioners mounted in the windows - the windows with bars on them. We shared a toilet that was regularly clogged. There was no soap to wash my hands, and no toilet paper most of the time and we would use old magazines or worksheets that you would have to do when violating one of the many rules. We did line count first thing in the morning and before lights out. All students were required to walk in line formation to the front parking lot and Hollar our number in order. We had forty five seconds to a minute to jump out of our bunks and get our shoes on and be at that count - twice a day.

The upper level students were allowed to give us punishments; there were many cases of intimidation and black mail of first level students. Our education was a complete scam! The textbooks were nothing more than very badly photocopied textbooks with many of the pages unreadable and any color chart in theme made absolutely no sense! I was promised I would be allowed to use my special education laptop for my diagnosis of AUTISM. This was stopped by upper level students complaining to Daniel (family representative) that it was unfair that I was allowed to type assignments on the computer.

I was accused of smuggling in Marijuana! Mr. Locksley claimed to have found three cannabis seeds in my belongings. Instead of fighting them I had learned to go along with the program. So I wrote a 15,000 page S.A. in pen about how I had smuggled it in and what were my intentions. I consider it the greatest work of fiction I could ever write. I was not allowed a meal or restroom breaks until I completed the S.A. This was more than one day, but Mr. Locksley helped me with the content and told me specifically what to write.

Then I was put into Observation placement for one day. it is a little shed with two bare rooms about 7x7 and my face was pushed into human excrement by one of the staff. I was not allowed to look to see who. I was then made to kneel on my knees with my nose on the wall for the rest of the day. I was not allowed water and there were little stones that hurt to kneel on so much. I remember crying and being told that was punishable too. I also have a knee disorder that is genetic and is called Osgood-Schlatter Disease that made this worst.

I survived the punishment and was allowed to attend my first and only “SEMINAR”. The seminar was led by a red haired woman that appeared to be late forties /mid fifties. I had trouble telling if she was a she even. I remember beating the floor with a towel and cussing about how much I hate my parents (this was required of all Dundee students) we were screaming, crying, and forced to do this if you wanted to graduate. The girls we never saw were at the same seminar( in the computer lab) and were made to get up on the little “stage” and admit to being sluts and prostitutes , to call themselves bitches and whores! The audience was encouraged to join in and did cheerfully. I had never read the lord of the flies but this was it!

I was partnered up with a young woman. (About 14) that whispered to me she was raped at the school by staff. I was so concentrated on my own program that I did not do anything about this and knew to keep silent, don’t look people in the eyes and just stare at the ground. I was sick the whole time at the place, with some form of dysentery. I received no medicine for this and sometimes was not given my allergy medicine( I was allergic to rice) I had an asthma attack every day during forced exercise in front of the calm looking swimming pool. I remember MR. Baily say “look children, the nice cool water. You will never get to touch it”.

We did one to three hour workouts depending on the mood of the staff and if it was to unbearable for the staff to even sitting drinking ice water watching us. I would hear other kids screaming and begging for help from the observation placement, when they would return they would be silent and sometimes have many bruises on their body and face. We were not allowed access to a phone, my grandma was dying and I got one phone call of about 3 minutes, and they hung it up once I told her that it was bad there. The school was shut down and raided by the Costa Rican’s shortly thereafter and I was told I could leave. So I first left on my own through the jungle. I was caught by Mr. Locksley and Conrad (Jamaican staff/enforcers) they caught up to me in a mango grove. I picked up a tree branch then dropped it. Conrad and Locksley were on me and slapping me in my face. They got a call on their warlike talkie and I was put on the back of a motorcycle and driven to the school again. This time I got right off at the gate and ran to the Costa Rican police and he looked just as shocked at the situation. There were kids running loose, staff chasing kids, upper levels chasing lower levels with sticks.

I saw a Costa Rican woman and asked her to save me. I walked out the front gate past the armed guard with for other kids. We all jumped in the back of the PANNI truck which was driven by the woman. Me and CJ jumped out at the first town and flagged a taxi, the Taxi driver knew we had no money and only drove us to a little bar. We asked them for Water. We got real ice water! The police and the woman pulled up and we got back in the truck. I remember throwing my Dundee Ranch shirt out on the dirt road - A Farwell to that chapter of my life.

Me and the others were sent to a police substation were we all tried to call home. I do not believe any of us got through. It was nighttime now and we were loaded into a range rover that was set up for search and rescue. The one girl with us was intimately involved with one of the other boys now so they had a nice drive it would seem. We were taken to a children’s shelter, given a happy meal each and me and CJ went to the park right up the block to find a payphone, I remember a Costariccan man trying to talk Spanish to us that had followed us from the shelter. At the park CJ met a drug dealer and bought a joint for a handful of skittles the police had given him. We stood there smoked it right in front of the PANNI worker. I was calmed down then and wanted to get more happy-meals.

Me and CJ were transferred to a Bars on everything child orphanage in San Pedro. To me I thought it was a prison and a little boy from Jamaica that was there who the only English speaker was told me about how he was there for two years and had not seen his parents the whole time. I asked if he wanted to come, He said he was afraid. He was a big help and held my belt while I twisted it around the bars to the laundry room, I used a wooden leg I tore off the bunk beds as a leverage device. I had to strip nude to slip through. I then found myself locked in another room with no windows to get through. There was a metal roof however and I piled washing machines on washing machines and kicked with everything I had. It was noisier than a storm! I got through and jumped from the edge of the roof over a razor wire fence which was a 12 – 14 foot drop.

I was out to find the United States embassy, and was praying to be reunited with my family. I was not reported missing by WWASP or the Costariccans for ten days. I met my mom at the airport along with some journalist I had contacted through a Good Samaritan Named Isaac Wabe that was my street guide for the week.

This is a very simple condensed history of my time at the Academy at Dundee Ranch.

The Academy at Dundee Ranch was shut down by the authorities in 2003. However due to escape of the employees the legal proceedings against the owner was not successfully.

Source:
Factsheet of the facility (Fornits Wiki)

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)

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)

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

Testimonies from Danes

At the blog called Vidnetsbyrd fra det mørke asyl which can be translated as Testimonies from the dark asylum, Danes will tell how they experienced their stay at Danish group homes, boarding schools or treatment centers.

United States is far from the only country in the world where children suffer when they are forced to live outside their family home. It is time to deal with the abuse worldwide.

What is the present situation in Denmark?

For the next 3 years the government will conduct a survey of the situation for the 14,000 children living in foster care.

The area is a costly area for the public sector. In Denmark there are few programs for private customers. Often the continuation schools are used instead. In Danish they are called “efterskole” and are basically normal boarding schools, but they are strict compared to the level of freedom Danish teenagers have compared with teenagers in the United States. The reason for using only light precautions in cases where teenagers act out is that there is more awareness of life of teenagers.

Teenage pregnancies are rare due to the fact that the law allows teenagers to get birth control medication without parental consent at age 15 and the minister for social services has attacked TV-shows like "Teen mom" followed up with action of social services against some of the Danish participants basically without reason in order to scare teenagers from being mothers. Alcohol is legal to purchase if the percentage is below the safe limit of 16.5. Parents do know that their children drink because there is no reason to keep it a secret when it is legal and partly integrated in the educational system (A lot of the high schools have Friday bars which are actively marketed so they can attract students). Drug use is seen but due to the easy access to alcohol not so widespread as in U.S. High Schools and are you caught with drugs in town you will normally get a two year ban from the night life which is equal with no life for a Danish teenager or young adult.

But for the approximately 14.000 Danish children who are placed in the foster care system life is a nightmare. They are bounced around in the system. 25 percent experience that they are shipped either home to possible neglect or sent to a new group home / foster family within a year.

Abuse of the children in foster care are seldom reported and even when this happen, complaints are ignored even the complaints come from teachers, neighbors and therapists observing marks from beatings on the children.

The main concern is that the authorities keep no regular supervision of the children in foster care allowing violence between the children and abuse from the adults in group homes and foster families.

A report from the department of social services revealed that it was impossible to show an improvement of the situation of the child because it was taken in the social services compared to being left in neglect back home.

None seem to know what do work and what doesn't work.

Hopefully the survey will show what the authorities should do to improve the present situation. Today is only possible to pray.