Kristen Chase - one of girls who never got back

There are many wilderness program graduates out in the normal society. Post traumatic stress disorder is a term which sadly is all to well-known to them. It is a difficult issue to struggle with. It takes tons of therapy to make daily life happen.

But even more sadly there are also teenagers who never got home.

Kristen Chase was one of them.

In 1990 wilderness therapy was the thing. Many teenagers without issues were exposed to the concept because their parents believed so-called experts that wilderness therapy could fix everything. Even putting amputated parts back on to the body again. It was an insane time.

One of the teenagers who were exposed to the wilderness therapy concept was Kristen Chase.

Her health was far from perfect. Articles state:

. . that Kristen suffered from bouts of coughing up blood, stomach pain, urinary burning and frequency, difficulty running, menstrual difficulty and a knee injury."

Regardless of clear evidence that she never should have been anywhere near a wilderness program, she ended up in one. It resulted in her death.

She was not the first teenager to die in a wilderness program. She was not the last. Today she is just a number in a huge list of teenagers who have died in in-patient programs. For her family she was more than a number. She was a daughter, a family member who never got to live out the potential she had.

Today there are memorial blogs for teenagers like her who never got back home from what was supposed to be treatment. And these blogs grow. New names are added.

Each name is a tragedy, a loss.

When will it ever stop?

We cannot answer this because legislation allowing teenagers to live a good life with friends, beers and parties are not in place.

Here are some links about her:

• Father sues Challenger over daughter's death (Deseret News)
• Kristen Chase - 1990 (Today a child died - memorial blog)

Roxanne at Second Nature Wilderness program

This testimony was found on Yelp. All rights go to the original author Roxanne

I highly doubt that anyone researching programs will look here.. on Yelp, but I would be remiss not to warn parents and families at every turn of this abusive program. Second Nature makes fantastical claims of it's success rates, safety, and the qualifications of its staff but a little intensive research yields the truth: Second Nature programs are no more effective, and absolutely no different than programs like Utah's now-closed North Star Expeditions/Challenger Foundation. In fact, wilderness programs and boot camp-style "tough love" treatments have zero peer-reviewed studies which show they are effective. I am 100% fo' serious (research it!).

I am a former camper, and I ended up swept through the system, and away from home for a bit more than two years. Second Nature refused me my inhaler while hiking despite the fact that I have had documented athsma my entire life (claiming that although I take asthma medication, that I was "lying" about my condition). 2N also espouses isolation as a successful form of therapy (most campers will spend 6-7 days on "Solo," not a single person in sight, completely alone with no idea where staff is located). Please read any literature related to the recent Kelief Browder tragedy if you're curious about whether or not isolation/solitary confinement is an effect form of treatment. 2N Counselors (who hold no degrees, certification, and are often 20-somethings with sleeves or tattoos and no career aspirations) were often incredibly cruel, telling a sick campmate of mine that she was "disgusting," or calling young girls brats, fools, manipulative liars if they were sick, "idiots" and more. Worst of all, the program is recklessly-run and thus, dangerous. Our group was lost one afternoon with no water and no food, and 1 of my fellow campers fainted from dehydration.

1. Any program that monitors, censors, or severely limits the contact you have with your child raises a big fat red flag. Your child should be able to have unmonitored contact with you, in the case that they are being mistreated or are in danger. 2N censors written letters written by campers, and phonecalls (which are a privilege granted before one leaves) are always in the presence of 1 or more staff member.
2. A program that deals with frightened, sick, or abused children and teens as "manipulative, liars, entitled brats," and more is also a red flag. "Being immature," is not a reason to send a child to treatment (a child or teen, by definition, is "immature").
3. Programs that do not require staffers to have advanced degrees, and years of experience in the field= red flag. Qualified individuals should be a first-priority of any program which conducts it's "treatment" in conditions as extreme as 2N's.
4. Programs which ask you to waive your power of attorney over to their staff and ask that you not sue in the case of severe illness, major injury, or death= red flag.

Essentially, there are far too many horror stories but the bottom line here is: do your research. Now do more. The troubled teen industry is just that- an industry (not-so-fun-fact: supported by Romney's venture capitalist firm, Bain), and their first and foremost priority is to make money for themselves and their friends at therapeutic boarding schools, "escort services," and "educational consultants." Profiting off a family's vulnerability, confusion, fear, or even worse abusive and dysfunctional dynamic is morally reprehensible. Torturing teens doesn't make anything or anyone better, it makes things worse. In the best case scenario, you will be exorbitantly wealthy and able to send your child to a "therapeutic boarding school," a program which I can only describe as abuse-lite. Parents- you have options! Please, please, please arm yourself with facts/peer-reviewed and unbiased statistics and studies regarding troubled teen programs, and not sales propaganda. Best of luck to you!

Sources:

• (The original testimony on Yelp)
• Factsheet about the program (Fornits Wiki)
• 327. Second Nature Wilderness program (1000 places You don't want to be as a teenager)

Alli, Melanie and Kathy about SUWS (The School of Urban and Wilderness Survival)

This testimony was found on Yelp. All rights go to the author Alli

I was sent here 8 years ago for what my parents were told would only be 28 days - this was the first scam, I was not told when I would go home and my parents had no idea when i would come home either, it ended up being a total of 66 days (3 months) before I was released and everyone has varying lengths of stay, 3 moths is about average.

The second biggest scam was after SUWS my parents and almost 90% of the other students "graduating" from the program were convinced we needed further help and needed to go to a therapeutic boarding school (TBS) somewhere else for long-term help. Most of the students stay in these TBS until they are 18, these programs will mess up your kid more than help them, I became agoraphobic after leaving my program because the owners threatened my parents and told them I would have to be put through more ongoing brutal psychological punishment for trying to leave their program early.

If you are thinking of sending your kid away please dont listen to the academic advisors they are being paid by these programs, i am open and honest to talk to you please email me at alliloweart@gmail.com

Allie at Second Nature Wilderness program

This testimony was found on Yelp. All rights go to the original author Allie

I had a horrible experience in this program. The reason I decided to go is that I had gone through a traumatic experience and I started seeing a therapist who recommended it.

I was expecting to feel supported and get to know the staff and other people in the program. Instead I was treated like a criminal even though I've never done drugs or broken the law.

The staff you interact with on a daily basis are not trained therapists. They were often emotionally abusive. I was told that if I left the program early my parents wouldn't want me back. I have a very close relationship with my family and knew that was bull****. At the time I was on disability at my first job out of college and had moved back home.

We were often bullied and treated with disrespect. We hiked in over 100 degree weather most days . I was on a lot of anti anxieties bc I would get panic attacks which made me extremely tired. Sometimes when I needed a break from hiking (which btw i love hiking and used to do that most weekends before I was mentally I'll) I was told I was lazy and that I could not take a break.

During most of the program I was not allowed to talk to my parents. The therapist kept telling them I needed to stay longer. Btw they charge something like $5,000 per week which isn't cheap so they have a strong incentive to make you stay longer.

Finally in order to leave the program I would just flat out lie to the staff and say everything they wanted to hear. When I finally was allowed to go home my parents were very upset and I was very depressed for months. When I was finally able to communicate with my parents during the program I was terrified to tell them about what the program was like. The therapist was on the phone line and told me what I needed to tell my parents if I wanted to leave any time soon.

I'm happy to say that now I'm doing very well . I'm a full time grad student and work 20 hours a week at a university. If anyone wants to talk to me about my experience I welcome it and am more than happy to answer questions.

Of course this is only my experience and I know there are ppl who benefit from it. If your kid has serious behavioral problems or addicted to drugs they might benefit. If your kid is feeling depressed or anxious I wouldn't recommend it. It could make their problems worse.

Sources:

• (The original testimony on Yelp)
• Factsheet about the program (Fornits Wiki)
• 327. Second Nature Wilderness program (1000 places You don't want to be as a teenager)

Rebecca at SUWS

This testimony was found on Yelp. All rights go to the original author Rebecca

It's been over ten years since I was at SUWS and it still a sore spot between me and my family. I can honestly say I will never forgive my parents for sending me here and will always hold it against them. My parents regret listening to so called experts, who may have been profiting from recommending us.

The experience was horrible and arbitrary. We were made to hike long past our limits and ostracized by our group for being unable to continue. The staff put us in situations made to break us down and were unsympathetic to our suffering. I was misdiagnosed and abruptly taken off necessary medication leading to a break down. I was forced to drink excess amounts of water until I felt like gagging.

The other members in my group did not fare well either. Few viewed the program favorably. The one I stayed in touch with turned more into drugs after the program than before.

As a formed student I urge parents to think about how much their child will suffer if they attend.


Sources:

• Factsheet about the program (Fornits Wiki)
• 140. SUWS (1000 places You don't want to be as a teenager)

Conner at Second Nature Wilderness program

This testimony was found on Yelp. All rights go to the original author Conner

Don't buy into the positive reviews, this place is terrible. You are a monster if you go through with sending a child there. What this place does to people is comparable to rape or molestation in the shame and how it outcasts you permanently from ever really feeling back at home again. When you are out there, the staff have no problem letting you know this is a business and that they are using the willingness and trust of confused and frustrated parents with money, and feeding you into an expensive system where therapists and professionals convince the parents that their child needs expensive boarding school, or other "after-care" programs.

I was there summer of 2010 Group4 and I wish this never happened to me. Never have your child kidnapped people. That's what mine did. That's what this program may have you do, many in my group did. They had two huge Richmond gangster African American men burst into my room at 4am and drag me out of my room, threatening to handcuff me if I resisted at all. Others in my group had been beaten bloody by their "escort service" for resisting. Do not listen to the positive reviews. Maybe for a few this might work, but this has made my life hell in unimaginable ways. I'll never forgive my parents for what they put me through with this, and I wish I could organize a joint lawsuit and get together with former "clients" and sue the hell out of this place for the damage they have caused us. You are a monster if you send your kid here.

Don't buy into the recommendations of professionals. This is not how you should treat any sort of problem. You are sending your child to a marching internment camp where they could be eaten by a bear because someone else brought food in their pack to bed. Which there aren't tents here people. Just a boat tarp you string up with paracord, so rats run over you in the night, mosquitos swarm you in the hundreds, so loud their buzzing is what wakes you in the morning. Where if you don't make a fire with sticks successfully, you can't sit by the group fire or eat group food, forced to eat cold tuna envelopes while everyone else eats. Where they make you walk miles without water on "dehydration hikes". Where staff members taunt you that you aren't going home and that the therapist will convince your parents to send you to a boarding school.

I was just a kid with depression who smoked some weed. A psychologist and his recommended "educational consultant" convinced my parents to have me kidnapped the day after I finished my school year and spend my 16th birthday and the next 3 months in the custodial care of this abomination of a program. Please. I beg of you. For your child's sake don't go down this road if you care anything about having anywhat of a normal relationship with your child. I can answer more questions if you'd like.

Sources:

• (The original testimony on Yelp)
• Factsheet about the program (Fornits Wiki)
• 327. Second Nature Wilderness program (1000 places You don't want to be as a teenager)

Trails Carolina experience

This testimony was found on Google. Today Trails Carolina is mostly known in the public due to a tragic deaths of one of their students in 2014. The wilderness area is very much dense forrest making it difficult to determine where you are.

Oh let me start from the top with this place. In all honesty, I cannot begin to fathom where I should begin. Let me start with my experience going thru the program. To protect my privacy, I will not name specifics in regards to timing of my dates.

I was one of the lucky ones in terms of having knowledge beforehand that I was going. When your parent or legal guardian enrolls you, the admissions counselor tells them to not inform your child of when or where they are going. They have these little deceptive services they use and the rest of the students called them "goons" They came to your house in the middle of the night and literally forced you to pack your things and to get in the car with them to go to Trails Carolina. I was lucky enough not to go thru this, but everyone else in my squad did. I could tell that Trails did not like that I knew ahead of time because they called my parents and told them that I had contacted them for more information. I have documentation supporting that in case it is disputed for any reason in a response.

What was supposed to be a therapeutic experience has left me with nothing but sheer PTSD for the past years following my graduation from the program. Nightmares ensued and still ensue now even years after. The minute I walked into my first day and I was dropped off, I was sent to a room where they made me strip out of my clothes while someone watched, and change into some kind of uniform. A green t shirt and a red hoodie and these quick dry pants and some hiking shoes. I was there for a little over two months during the winter season. In the North Carolina mountains it can get below 0 degrees with the wind chill at night. This place is anything but therapeutic. Let me tell you the menu of food we had to eat. By the way, they told us when we could eat. Yes. There were times when we were not allowed to eat. Mondays breakfast was oats which we made using a pot filled with water from the creek which was boiled. Mondays lunch? Oh the same with every lunch. One tortilla with honey. Thats it. Everyday for almost 80 days. Dinner on Monday was rice and beans. They portioned the meals into a green cup that everyone had. You had to eat at least half a cup and a maximum of 2.5 cups which you told the person making it before. We carried the food around everywhere with us. Tuesdays dinner was called mush. What is mush? It's literally everything that you didnt use from the week put into one pot and served .This included sometimes noodles, peanut butter, garlic, and whatever else wasnt used because Wednesday was resupply and we were not allowed to keep any food. Each week each person got a bag of food that was called a "p-bag" inside was a ziploc bag of raisins, mixed nuts, 1 jar of peanut butter, 6 oranges, and apricots. If we didnt eat it all we couldnt keep it. Heres the funny thing my first day, I came in on a Monday, so the next day was the last day, I got my p-bag and I had a full jar of peanut butter and all the rest of the kids were mad. So after I turned in my food bag for the night, the staff opened my jar of peanut butter and scooped out half of it to make it "fair"

So Trails has 5 different stages of the program. The first is called Trailhead, then Waypoint, then Legend, then Barron which is the red book then navigator then guide. I never made it to navigator thank god. Honestly, and I'm not going to lie, I learned nothing during those 70 days, I learned after I left that my parents almost had to hire a lawyer to get me home because the therapist assigned to me, Todd Green would not let me leave. He said that I wasn't ready. I was there for a minor reason compared the rest were there for drug trafficking offenses, and he had the audacity to suggest to my parents that I not return home but instead be sent across the country to a therapeutic boarding school. This place is a mess do not send your child here. I promise you it will be a nightmare.

Source:

• The orignal testimony (Google)
• Trails Carolina - new program (Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora)