By Kyra: 2014-2015 Four days after New Year 2014, winter of my freshman year of high school, my parents made decision to send me to a wilderness therapy program in Utah based on the recommendation of my psychiatrist and education consultants. I’d been struggling for years with trauma, behavioral and relationship difficulties – both internally [...]

By Sasha: 2007 My name is Sasha Oates and I am a survivor of multiple abusive programs. When I was 14, I was struggling with self harm, depression, and an eating disorder. In April of 2007, I was taken from a psychiatric hospital by two transporters, put on a plane, and arrived in Salt Lake [...]

By Anonymous: 2014-2015 I’m a survivor of Heritage RTC, aka the Heritage Community, in Provo, Utah. I was sent to Heritage by my school district due to being suspended for getting into fights with other classmates, however I strongly suspect that my autism diagnosis was a major factor in the district’s decision to place me [...]

By Beetle: 2017-2019 On October 27th, 2017, I was woken up at 2:07 am to two strangers coming into my room, dragging me out of bed, telling me I could go the easy way or the hard way and that I didn’t deserve to be with my family anymore. During my time being transported I was [...]

By Alisa: 1994-1995 I was taken off the porch of a home in Saranac Lake, NY owned by Adrienne who had recommended the house to my family and then helped them set up the plan to take me when I was 14 years old. I was tied to a hospital bed when I arrived at [...]

By Anonymous: 2013-2017 Kids suffer from extreme abuse, me included. I was verbally, physically, and mentally abused here for almost 5 years. I was sexually assaulted multiple times by a boy and nobody helped me, in fact they didn’t believe me when I told them. The kids are used as free labor and is too [...]

By Bailey: 2018-2021 I was 13 when I emerged from the woods after a long and grueling 3 months at wilderness. I was 13 when they took me to Maple Lake Academy; I was a child. I still had hope at that point. When my parents wrote a letter to me during my stay at [...]

By Anonymous: 2016 My experience at the Deveraux Glenholme School in Washington, CT was nothing short of traumatic. I still remember the day on February 1st, 2016, I was only 12 years old. Now, almost 19 I still have nightmares every night. I’m not gonna make this too formal because there’s just so much to [...]

By Anonymous: 2012-2016 I was placed here for Asperger’s Syndrome, ADHD, and an uncategorized bipolar disorder. I was not allowed a phone; I was only allowed a few websites. When I was in trouble for impulsive behaviors I could not control, I was restrained unfairly and bruised or scratched. I was placed in a walled [...]

By Ari (Part 2): 2019-2021 I entered the troubled teen industry on April 27, 2018 when I was thirteen after a suicide attempt. After two weeks in psych and a short stay at an RTC in California, I arrived at Uinta Academy on June 27, 2018, a few weeks after I turned fourteen. I was [...]