I was a student at the Second Nature Cascade program when it was first begining. I was in Cindy’s group (she was my therepist), I can say that Wilderness was a very beneficial time for me. I learned to be self sufficient and I gained back confidence that I was missing due to social difficulites as well as a heavy drug abuse issue. I was there past my 18th Birthday which any one will tell you is a very difficult time. I made the desicion to stay and finish the program, I left on Water Phase, which is no small accomplishment.
This being said, my parents then sent me to a place called the Oakley School in Utah which was a Thereputic Boarding school. where I was placed on Off-Form For having a “Negative Attitude” and I will be the first to admit that I did. however, after being placed on Off-form I was removed from the community for 6 Months unable to communicate with anyone. This was one of the most depressing times in my life. i eventually earned my way to Lower Form and was able to talk to people again. however many of the staff continued to reffer to me as a “Black Hole” and warned other students not to associate with me. This was not true even my therepist disagreed with this treatment of me. Due to all of the Verbal Harassment I suffered my therepist and I decided it would be best if I left. so in january I did. shortly there after roughly two weeks. I was again living with my parents and trying to get help to reverse the immense depression the Oakley School had caused, but I slipped further down and finally attempted suicide. I did not succeed, obviously, but I was able to get the help i needed, to overcome the immense depression Oakley had Caused
I understand that all of the parents out there who struggled with children who have issues similar to mine, wan tto listen blindly when you are told your child needs a second program. I am hear to tell you that it is true only for the vast minority. having watched many fellow students in these secondary care centers get worse and relapse I urge you to due more research and really think if they need it. many of those places are Profit Seeking Ventures and hire incompitent employees who emotionally abuse the students whom they do not like. not to sound like a conspirisist but the number of kick backs and special retreats for high preforming Educational consultants is discusting. I Implore you to LISTEN TO YOUR CHILDREN we are not trying to manipulate you, as you are so often told. you are being lied to by the administration at most of those places.
I will again say that Wilderness helpped me SO much and i was able to overcome my drug abuse issues through wilderness, and it all was un-done by the RTC.
I wish you all the best with your struggle and I hope you can see a little hope when i tell you that I speek with my parents on a daily basis even though I am out of state at college.
Sources:
Monday, May 6, 2013
Saturday, April 20, 2013
my Experience at Casa....
the reason i went....
well i was pretty much a good kid. the only think that every really went wrong with me was that i smokes Cigarettes (but my dad bought them for me so that wasnt really the problem) smoked weed, drank sometimes, and ran away. well it seems to me that that is very normal.... all but the running away. the only reason i ever ran away was because my dad used to hit me all the time and i used to have bruses all over my body and the police would do anything about it.
the day i left for mexico
i had just woken up at home being arrested the night before for running away from my dads house again, and i got on the computer. i guess my dad thought (infact he told me) i would sleep in because i always do. but being a runaway i always stayed in place where i felt unsafe, so i always woke up early.
sitting on the computer talking to my best friend Amber online and my best friend Ray on the phone, i heard the front door open. i just figured if it was for me then my dad would have called me down right away. about 5 miniutes passed by and he called for me to come downstairs. i told Amber and Ray that if i wasnt back in 5 minutes that i was in trouble.... and i never came back. i went down stairs to see what he wanted and we was blocking off the front door so i could get out. 2 people walked out from behind the wall and made me sit down on the couch. they told me i was going to a school and that was it. i asked more qeustions but they told me that they would tell me later. and that was the last time i seen my dad before i left. he didnt even tell me bye or tell me that he loved me...nothing he just walked out the back door. i asked to go get my smokes out of my room and they told me no. then i asked if i could go get my bra, they aslo said no. i had no time the night before to put the shoe laces back in my shoes after i got out of jail so i was looking really funny. handcuffed to some lady who i had no idea who she was with no bra on, hair messed up and no laces in my shoes. they took me down a street i knew and (god i rememeber it so well) we were passing by cool cone (the ice cream place) and they told me that i was on my way to mexico. natural i flipped out. we drove down to Detroit Michigan, since i am from Lansing i guess my air port wasnt good enough for them.
my arival
i walked into the front door or the complex and was completely flabergasted. i had some mexican ladies asking me a bunch of questions in spanish. and i literally only knew taco, burrito and hola in spanish lol thats the honest to go truth. they took me in this small room and made me strip to my bra and panties (the people stoped by a store to buy me a bra lol) then made me take off my bra and panties. it was the most humiliating time in my life i had 4 mexican ladies staring at me while i was naked. then they let me put my cloths back on and they took me to this room with about 20-25 sleeping girls. they layed my mattress on the gropund in the middle of the room and i cryed myself to sleep.
mexico
i woke up the next morning to having a whole bunch of girls staring at me. (kinda weird for me) i was so embarressed i grew up with my dad always saying that crying was weak, and the girls where starring at me when i knew my eyes were puffy and red. they gave me my uniform which was hot kakis and a blue button up collared shirt. most of the time after that i kinda blurred out.
the night all hell broke loose
the night the program shut down was one of the best days of my life. i rememeber wakingh up that morning to hot breakfast (which we NEVER had) and to seeing health inspectors with the mexican police. i asked myself why health inspectors needed police and i had no idea why. i prayed that day just like everyother day for the program to be shut down but on that day i prayed even harder. they made us stand in the hot sun for 1 hour until we were aloud to sit down for 1 more hour. in mexico it is extremely hot (at least when you come from Michigan) and standing in the sun for that long was killer. finally they let us go back to what we were supose to be doing at that time. for my family (Glory) it was gym. all i remember next was being in the upstairs classroom and a man coming in saying that the program was shutting down. the whole room cheered. everyone started taking everyone's phone numbers and time after time the upper levels would take them and rip them up. so i had to rewrite phone numbers about 20 times that night. the first thing i did was grab my shoes. (we where no aloud to have our normal shoes in fear that we would run away i guess) then i walked and talked to my best friend Julia without a third person! it felt awesome kinda like i was sticking it to the man ya know? then i stayed up all night and got my hair braided which i wasnt aloud to do normally lol. i remember the tears most of all, every girl that went away it was hard on me, i had made some life long friends in there and they where going away one by one. the night of the second day came and the people who where left was put on a bus that was headed for the border. i remember tying my hair ties around my bag of stuff so i would know mine stuff from everyone elses. i remember seeing the first american stop sign in three months and i yelled, (LOOK!!! it says STOP not ALTO!!!!!) we where taken to a hotel where we where waiting the fate of being transfered, having our parent take us home, or being put in foster care. needless to say my father picked me up and told me that he was sending me to Iowa (Midwest Academy) and two days later i was in Iowa.
thats my story i hope it helps those who have been through it cope, and thoughs who have there children in the program rethink about what they are really doing. Sources:
well i was pretty much a good kid. the only think that every really went wrong with me was that i smokes Cigarettes (but my dad bought them for me so that wasnt really the problem) smoked weed, drank sometimes, and ran away. well it seems to me that that is very normal.... all but the running away. the only reason i ever ran away was because my dad used to hit me all the time and i used to have bruses all over my body and the police would do anything about it.
the day i left for mexico
i had just woken up at home being arrested the night before for running away from my dads house again, and i got on the computer. i guess my dad thought (infact he told me) i would sleep in because i always do. but being a runaway i always stayed in place where i felt unsafe, so i always woke up early.
sitting on the computer talking to my best friend Amber online and my best friend Ray on the phone, i heard the front door open. i just figured if it was for me then my dad would have called me down right away. about 5 miniutes passed by and he called for me to come downstairs. i told Amber and Ray that if i wasnt back in 5 minutes that i was in trouble.... and i never came back. i went down stairs to see what he wanted and we was blocking off the front door so i could get out. 2 people walked out from behind the wall and made me sit down on the couch. they told me i was going to a school and that was it. i asked more qeustions but they told me that they would tell me later. and that was the last time i seen my dad before i left. he didnt even tell me bye or tell me that he loved me...nothing he just walked out the back door. i asked to go get my smokes out of my room and they told me no. then i asked if i could go get my bra, they aslo said no. i had no time the night before to put the shoe laces back in my shoes after i got out of jail so i was looking really funny. handcuffed to some lady who i had no idea who she was with no bra on, hair messed up and no laces in my shoes. they took me down a street i knew and (god i rememeber it so well) we were passing by cool cone (the ice cream place) and they told me that i was on my way to mexico. natural i flipped out. we drove down to Detroit Michigan, since i am from Lansing i guess my air port wasnt good enough for them.
my arival
i walked into the front door or the complex and was completely flabergasted. i had some mexican ladies asking me a bunch of questions in spanish. and i literally only knew taco, burrito and hola in spanish lol thats the honest to go truth. they took me in this small room and made me strip to my bra and panties (the people stoped by a store to buy me a bra lol) then made me take off my bra and panties. it was the most humiliating time in my life i had 4 mexican ladies staring at me while i was naked. then they let me put my cloths back on and they took me to this room with about 20-25 sleeping girls. they layed my mattress on the gropund in the middle of the room and i cryed myself to sleep.
mexico
i woke up the next morning to having a whole bunch of girls staring at me. (kinda weird for me) i was so embarressed i grew up with my dad always saying that crying was weak, and the girls where starring at me when i knew my eyes were puffy and red. they gave me my uniform which was hot kakis and a blue button up collared shirt. most of the time after that i kinda blurred out.
the night all hell broke loose
the night the program shut down was one of the best days of my life. i rememeber wakingh up that morning to hot breakfast (which we NEVER had) and to seeing health inspectors with the mexican police. i asked myself why health inspectors needed police and i had no idea why. i prayed that day just like everyother day for the program to be shut down but on that day i prayed even harder. they made us stand in the hot sun for 1 hour until we were aloud to sit down for 1 more hour. in mexico it is extremely hot (at least when you come from Michigan) and standing in the sun for that long was killer. finally they let us go back to what we were supose to be doing at that time. for my family (Glory) it was gym. all i remember next was being in the upstairs classroom and a man coming in saying that the program was shutting down. the whole room cheered. everyone started taking everyone's phone numbers and time after time the upper levels would take them and rip them up. so i had to rewrite phone numbers about 20 times that night. the first thing i did was grab my shoes. (we where no aloud to have our normal shoes in fear that we would run away i guess) then i walked and talked to my best friend Julia without a third person! it felt awesome kinda like i was sticking it to the man ya know? then i stayed up all night and got my hair braided which i wasnt aloud to do normally lol. i remember the tears most of all, every girl that went away it was hard on me, i had made some life long friends in there and they where going away one by one. the night of the second day came and the people who where left was put on a bus that was headed for the border. i remember tying my hair ties around my bag of stuff so i would know mine stuff from everyone elses. i remember seeing the first american stop sign in three months and i yelled, (LOOK!!! it says STOP not ALTO!!!!!) we where taken to a hotel where we where waiting the fate of being transfered, having our parent take us home, or being put in foster care. needless to say my father picked me up and told me that he was sending me to Iowa (Midwest Academy) and two days later i was in Iowa.
thats my story i hope it helps those who have been through it cope, and thoughs who have there children in the program rethink about what they are really doing. Sources:
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Book: Christian School Confidential
It is well written. It captures everyday incidents too well and it keeps the reader hooked to the book until the last page. We can only recommend it.
Source:
Blog with more information about the book
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