09-19-2014, 01:15 PM
Thank you!!! I don't know if I've mentioned this before but she was in treatment last year. I found the first place she attended and we hired an ed consultant for $3k to find the second. The second looked good on their website and by phone but they were horrible. I'm still so fucking furious (and they know it) at the people who recommended it. Anyway, my daughter wrote this yesterday at the request of some woman who runs a website to "save our kids" or something. I'm proud of her for taking action and it certainly helps explain her caution. Long read. I don't care about names being included... That fucking place cost us $26k out of pocket. Grrrrrr.
She wrote:
I arrived at Discovery Ranch for Girls (DRG) on December 18, 2013. My dad was the one who brought me and was with me upon initial arrival. I had previously attended another residential treatment center by the name of Mountain Valley which I had enjoyed and felt I had made a tremendous amount of progress at. Because of my positive experience at Mountain Valley, I was excited to be attending another place I assumed could help me further overcome my struggles. I was allowed a short couple of minutes to say goodbye to my father before he left. I was sad to see him leave but staff promised me I would be able to call him and my mom whenever I wanted. I later realized that was a lie. They hardly ever let me call them for fear that I would come across as anything other than perfectly happy. In the unusual event that I was permitted to phone my parents, the call had to be put on speaker phone so staff could listen to every word exchanged. We were also only authorized to talk for a very limited period of time and if at any point in the conversation I started to speak negatively about DRG, they would cut the call even shorter. Anyways, after my dad was gone, the atmosphere changed drastically. I was rushed away to a small room where staff searched through all of my luggage and informed me of what I could keep and what was to be thrown away. I was also strip searched and was told to urinate in a cup so they could test for drugs in my system. I was uninformed that this would be happening beforehand and was shocked that they would feel the need to do all of this. I had never had any problems with drugs or addiction and I knew both of my parents and former therapists had made it crystal clear to the staff at DRG that I was not there for those reasons. Despite this, I continued to be drug tested and strip searched regularly. Matters only worsened after that. Despite the fact that I had showed up to DRG voluntarily, I was treated as though I was a prisoner. Us residents were humiliated and demeaned on a constant basis. The staff acted as though we were less than human. For example, privacy was nonexistent. We had to have staff no more than an arms length away from us at all times. This meant that when we used the shower, went to the restroom or changed clothes there was always either a staff in the bathroom with us or standing right outside of it with the door open. Another case in point of their less than humane treatment of us came in the form of rarely enabling us to sit in chairs or on couches. We had to sit on the dirty floors instead. As well as this, we were taunted and mocked and often referred to as spoiled and entitled brats who did not even deserve to be treated as kindly as we were supposedly being treated. We were continually informed of this and over time a lot of us began to believe it. However, in actuality, it did not matter how well we behaved. No matter what we did, we were never good enough for staff. We were rarely allowed to talk or make any noise whatsoever. Staff told us we had to stay on what was called "Mute". While on Mute, we would get in trouble if we so much as coughed, sneezed or made eye contact with anyone. If we disobeyed with anything the staff told us to do, we were punished however they saw fit. If we did anything that they saw as being really offensive, they would make us put on these bright red uniforms which seemed to be seen by other staff as a free pass to treat us even worse than they already did. I even saw one staff knot a piece of rope around a girl's wrist like you would a leash to a dog's neck and pull her around by it. The staff holding the rope and the other staff watching were laughing like they thought it was hilarious. The girl did not seem amused. Staff at DRG also strongly believed in group punishment. If one of us forgot to take the trash out, we all had to go out in the middle of the night and scrape ice off of the sidewalk. Heaven forbid one of us clogged a toilet, staff would make us all line up next to the clogged toilet and have us all unclog it. They would do this by making the first person in line unclog the toilet with a plunger. When that first person succeeded, the staff would purposefully stuff toilet paper down the toilet, effectively clogging it again, then make the next person in line come forward and unclog it. Once that person unclogged it, the staff would intentionally clog the toilet yet again and the next person in line would come unclog it. This would go on for however long the staff wanted it to. Staff then told us that we would have to relieve ourselves in plastic buckets while they watched if we did not stop clogging the toilets. Other punishments included making us all sit or stand unmoving, sometimes for minutes, sometimes for hours, just thinking about what we did wrong, making us clean our cabins until they were spotless, then trashing them so we would have to clean them again. In addition, we were always working. Discovery Ranch for Girls was home to a lot of farm animals, hence the "Ranch" in Discovery Ranch. We worked for hours with those animals no matter what time of day it was. It would be below freezing and pitch black out, yet you would still find us outside scrubbing out barrels of horse and cow manure with our bare hands. Usually, we were forced to go out underdressed while the staff got to wear jackets and gloves. We also had to wear mucking boots that were either way too small or way too big on our feet. Myself and other girls had feet that were covered in bruises and blisters. Because of the cold weather and the germs we were exposed to, almost all of us were in poor health throughout our entire stay there. Those of us who were sick were still forced to work with the animals and do chores no matter how severe our symptoms. The worst of us would be throwing up all over the place, defecating in our pants, (gross, I know) or literally passing out but not once did we receive medical attention. When I did eventually go home, I immediately saw a doctor who informed me that I had a horrible case of pneumonia along with an equally as horrible case of the stomach flu. Thanks to DRG, I had to use an inhaler for months after I left just so I could breathe somewhat normally. I also could not hold any food down for a very long time afterwards and lost a significant amount of weight. I believe the tendency of us residents to fall ill also had to do with what we were fed and how little we were being fed. I remember days where all breakfast consisted of was a miniature Smucker's jelly packet. Staff would permit us to have at most two per person and would tell us to scoop it out with our fingers and lick it off. Of course, whenever we were having important visitors or inspectors, staff always prepared large meals and made sure to treat us kindly in front of them in order to make it seem like that was how life at DRG was like. Nobody knew how awful DRG actually was. When staff take parents and other potential future residents on tours of DRG they always point out how beautiful the area is and how there is even a gorgeous lake on campus. I find it funny that they always leave out the part about how many residents have attempted suicide by jumping in that lake after they have had enough of the staff's torment. Thankfully, on February 23, 2014, my parents pulled me from DRG. I was able to subtly hint to them in some of our rare phone calls about how unhappy I was and how bad of a place this was. They were able to understand the message I was trying to convey to them and could peel away the nice and happy facade that DRG had convinced them was true. Because of this, my relationship with my parents has not been damaged. I would like it to be known that there are currently two people that I hold primarily responsible for the abuse and neglect that occurred and still occurs at DRG. These people are Andrea Burgess, the executive director and Matt Crosby, the residential director. They were both very aware of everything that went on. They also had the power to put an end to it, yet they chose not to. I would also like to mention that I never had any issues with the teachers at DRG. I do not think they really knew what went on outside the classrooms. They were the only staff that did not treat us badly. Unfortunately, because of the staff that did treat us poorly, I lost a lot of the good progress I had made at Mountain Valley. I already had disorders such as depression, anxiety and PTSD amongst other conditions and, yes, they were added to because of my experiences at DRG. The PTSD I already suffered from was worsened more than anything. I will soon be checking in to another treatment facility to hopefully reverse some of the damage the staff at DRG did to me and get my life back on track. Finally, I would like to say that the instances of abuse and neglect that I have just listed does not even begin to cover everything that DRG has done. It would take days to type everything they did. I am also sure more occurrences will come to mind later on that I have forgotten to mention. Furthermore, I am only one person. I know there are tons of former residents and staff of DRG out there who will hopefully tell their story too someday.
Please keep me anonymous. Thank you.
She wrote:
I arrived at Discovery Ranch for Girls (DRG) on December 18, 2013. My dad was the one who brought me and was with me upon initial arrival. I had previously attended another residential treatment center by the name of Mountain Valley which I had enjoyed and felt I had made a tremendous amount of progress at. Because of my positive experience at Mountain Valley, I was excited to be attending another place I assumed could help me further overcome my struggles. I was allowed a short couple of minutes to say goodbye to my father before he left. I was sad to see him leave but staff promised me I would be able to call him and my mom whenever I wanted. I later realized that was a lie. They hardly ever let me call them for fear that I would come across as anything other than perfectly happy. In the unusual event that I was permitted to phone my parents, the call had to be put on speaker phone so staff could listen to every word exchanged. We were also only authorized to talk for a very limited period of time and if at any point in the conversation I started to speak negatively about DRG, they would cut the call even shorter. Anyways, after my dad was gone, the atmosphere changed drastically. I was rushed away to a small room where staff searched through all of my luggage and informed me of what I could keep and what was to be thrown away. I was also strip searched and was told to urinate in a cup so they could test for drugs in my system. I was uninformed that this would be happening beforehand and was shocked that they would feel the need to do all of this. I had never had any problems with drugs or addiction and I knew both of my parents and former therapists had made it crystal clear to the staff at DRG that I was not there for those reasons. Despite this, I continued to be drug tested and strip searched regularly. Matters only worsened after that. Despite the fact that I had showed up to DRG voluntarily, I was treated as though I was a prisoner. Us residents were humiliated and demeaned on a constant basis. The staff acted as though we were less than human. For example, privacy was nonexistent. We had to have staff no more than an arms length away from us at all times. This meant that when we used the shower, went to the restroom or changed clothes there was always either a staff in the bathroom with us or standing right outside of it with the door open. Another case in point of their less than humane treatment of us came in the form of rarely enabling us to sit in chairs or on couches. We had to sit on the dirty floors instead. As well as this, we were taunted and mocked and often referred to as spoiled and entitled brats who did not even deserve to be treated as kindly as we were supposedly being treated. We were continually informed of this and over time a lot of us began to believe it. However, in actuality, it did not matter how well we behaved. No matter what we did, we were never good enough for staff. We were rarely allowed to talk or make any noise whatsoever. Staff told us we had to stay on what was called "Mute". While on Mute, we would get in trouble if we so much as coughed, sneezed or made eye contact with anyone. If we disobeyed with anything the staff told us to do, we were punished however they saw fit. If we did anything that they saw as being really offensive, they would make us put on these bright red uniforms which seemed to be seen by other staff as a free pass to treat us even worse than they already did. I even saw one staff knot a piece of rope around a girl's wrist like you would a leash to a dog's neck and pull her around by it. The staff holding the rope and the other staff watching were laughing like they thought it was hilarious. The girl did not seem amused. Staff at DRG also strongly believed in group punishment. If one of us forgot to take the trash out, we all had to go out in the middle of the night and scrape ice off of the sidewalk. Heaven forbid one of us clogged a toilet, staff would make us all line up next to the clogged toilet and have us all unclog it. They would do this by making the first person in line unclog the toilet with a plunger. When that first person succeeded, the staff would purposefully stuff toilet paper down the toilet, effectively clogging it again, then make the next person in line come forward and unclog it. Once that person unclogged it, the staff would intentionally clog the toilet yet again and the next person in line would come unclog it. This would go on for however long the staff wanted it to. Staff then told us that we would have to relieve ourselves in plastic buckets while they watched if we did not stop clogging the toilets. Other punishments included making us all sit or stand unmoving, sometimes for minutes, sometimes for hours, just thinking about what we did wrong, making us clean our cabins until they were spotless, then trashing them so we would have to clean them again. In addition, we were always working. Discovery Ranch for Girls was home to a lot of farm animals, hence the "Ranch" in Discovery Ranch. We worked for hours with those animals no matter what time of day it was. It would be below freezing and pitch black out, yet you would still find us outside scrubbing out barrels of horse and cow manure with our bare hands. Usually, we were forced to go out underdressed while the staff got to wear jackets and gloves. We also had to wear mucking boots that were either way too small or way too big on our feet. Myself and other girls had feet that were covered in bruises and blisters. Because of the cold weather and the germs we were exposed to, almost all of us were in poor health throughout our entire stay there. Those of us who were sick were still forced to work with the animals and do chores no matter how severe our symptoms. The worst of us would be throwing up all over the place, defecating in our pants, (gross, I know) or literally passing out but not once did we receive medical attention. When I did eventually go home, I immediately saw a doctor who informed me that I had a horrible case of pneumonia along with an equally as horrible case of the stomach flu. Thanks to DRG, I had to use an inhaler for months after I left just so I could breathe somewhat normally. I also could not hold any food down for a very long time afterwards and lost a significant amount of weight. I believe the tendency of us residents to fall ill also had to do with what we were fed and how little we were being fed. I remember days where all breakfast consisted of was a miniature Smucker's jelly packet. Staff would permit us to have at most two per person and would tell us to scoop it out with our fingers and lick it off. Of course, whenever we were having important visitors or inspectors, staff always prepared large meals and made sure to treat us kindly in front of them in order to make it seem like that was how life at DRG was like. Nobody knew how awful DRG actually was. When staff take parents and other potential future residents on tours of DRG they always point out how beautiful the area is and how there is even a gorgeous lake on campus. I find it funny that they always leave out the part about how many residents have attempted suicide by jumping in that lake after they have had enough of the staff's torment. Thankfully, on February 23, 2014, my parents pulled me from DRG. I was able to subtly hint to them in some of our rare phone calls about how unhappy I was and how bad of a place this was. They were able to understand the message I was trying to convey to them and could peel away the nice and happy facade that DRG had convinced them was true. Because of this, my relationship with my parents has not been damaged. I would like it to be known that there are currently two people that I hold primarily responsible for the abuse and neglect that occurred and still occurs at DRG. These people are Andrea Burgess, the executive director and Matt Crosby, the residential director. They were both very aware of everything that went on. They also had the power to put an end to it, yet they chose not to. I would also like to mention that I never had any issues with the teachers at DRG. I do not think they really knew what went on outside the classrooms. They were the only staff that did not treat us badly. Unfortunately, because of the staff that did treat us poorly, I lost a lot of the good progress I had made at Mountain Valley. I already had disorders such as depression, anxiety and PTSD amongst other conditions and, yes, they were added to because of my experiences at DRG. The PTSD I already suffered from was worsened more than anything. I will soon be checking in to another treatment facility to hopefully reverse some of the damage the staff at DRG did to me and get my life back on track. Finally, I would like to say that the instances of abuse and neglect that I have just listed does not even begin to cover everything that DRG has done. It would take days to type everything they did. I am also sure more occurrences will come to mind later on that I have forgotten to mention. Furthermore, I am only one person. I know there are tons of former residents and staff of DRG out there who will hopefully tell their story too someday.
Please keep me anonymous. Thank you.
Commando Cunt Queen