“Does my teen need help?”
The McGill Daily’s Nadja Popovich looks at abuse in “tough love” rehabilitation facilities for teens.
In 2006, Martin Anderson, a 14-year-old Florida teenager, died at a “boot camp” for troubled teens. When a video surfaced showing a group of guards repeatedly attacking the teen while a nurse appeared to look on, public outcry against this type of correctional facility came to a boiling point. Amid controversy over whether Anderson’s sickle-cell blood trait was the cause of death, the verdict was finally rendered that he had, in fact, died of suffocation from the guards’ abuse.
While Anderson’s boot camp was a state-run facility, privately-owned versions abound. “Tough-love” rehabilitation camps for teens are prevalent throughout the United States, with a disturbing lack of formal regulation.
“No one knows how many of these programs there are out there. They aren’t very regulated,” says Maia Szalavitz, author of several articles and books on abuse in tough- love programs and senior fellow for Stats.org, a media watchdog web site. “Many programs work outside the States too: in Mexico, Samoa, Jamaica, all over really. And they have these incredibly ironic names. like ‘Tranquility Bay.’”
Though not always manifesting themselves as a “boot camp,” all of these so-called tough-love programs seem to be based on the same approach: with enough confrontation, kids may undergo a sort of “reality check” that will allow them to put their past behaviour behind them when reintegrated into society. But according to many recent studies, including a National Institute of Heath State-of-the-Science conference statement on Violence and Related Health-Risking Social Behaviour, this is simply not the case.
“No matter what these places may call themselves – boot camp, ‘tough-love’ drug rehab, or emotional-growth boarding schools, or wilderness programs – the basic concept is always the same: break the kids down in order to fix them,” says Szalavitz.
Though much more prevalent south of the border, it would be naïve to think that Canada was devoid of boot camp rehab centres.
“I was shocked this place existed in Canada!” attests Rebecca Smith, a former “client” of a Canadian tough-love drug rehabilitation facility. “My Canada, which I know has a great human rights record. I could not fathom that this place was allowed to exist. While there, more than once I said, ‘You can’t do this! I have rights!’… and they said, ‘Druggies don’t have rights.’”
The breakdown
Szalavitz has traced the proliferation of most modern teen rehabilitation programs from Synanon, the first “tough-love” rehabilitation prototype, in Santa Monica, California. Initially a drug rehabilitation centre in the late fifties, Syanon gained cult status by the seventies, before it closed its doors in the 1990s. Its legacy still casts a large shadow on the drug rehabilitation field.
Founded in 1958, it was the first program of its kind, and it promised “lifetime rehabilitation.” The basic therapeutic idea behind Synanon was a “game” in which youths were encouraged to use humiliation and insults to break each other down. The organization, by then named the Church of Synanon, was raking in millions each year. It gained public infamy after a report was issued by a Grand Jury accusing the facility of child abuse – stunningly, no steps were taken to shut down the organization at the time. Synanon closed in 1991, however, facing financial problems and a multitude of allegations.
Since the closure of Syanon, a host of other tough-love teen rehab programs have come and gone. Even with crusaders like Szalavitz making their cases against these programs, the moment one centre closes, another one opens.
The latest in a line of controversies came from a rehabilitation chain named Kids Inc., a successor to Synanon’s breakdown model. Though no Canadian Kids programs were ever officially opened, so many Canadian youths were sent to Kids of Bergen County in northern New Jersey that a Kids of the Canadian West program, based in Alberta, was in the works in the early 1990s. But following several allegations of abuse against various Kids facilities, centres all over the United States were shut down.
Plans for such a Canadian Kids facility were scrapped. Instead, the man set to head the Kids camp in Alberta, Dr. Dean Vause, went on to found his own facility: the Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre (AARC), in Calgary. While there have never been any formal charges laid, and the AARC firmly denies any allegations, a preliminary report done in 2003 by the nonprofit International Survivors Action Committee (ISAC) concluded that the AARC bore an all-too-striking resemblance to its Kids predecessors.
“With respect to allegations of abuse, I have yet to encounter one,” an AARC representative wrote to The Daily in an email: “If this did occur, however, it would be considered a critical and urgent clinical issue to be addressed by our clinical committee.”
Confined to recovery
One of the biggest problems with many of these programs is that they promise a quick-fix solution to deep-seated psychological problems. Usually these tough-love facilities are not staffed with psychological professionals.
The AARC, for one, touts its “teen-on-teen” care as integral to the rehabilitation process. “Addicts are adept at manipulating and conning others. But they can’t con a con,” reads the AARC web site. In fact, many peer counsellors are graduates of the program itself. “They know all the lines and have heard all the excuses – they’ve used them. Many counsellors have degrees, giving them a powerful blend of real life experience and clinical expertise.”
This model, however, cannot provide kids with adequate psychological help if they really do need it, asserts Szalavitz. Helpatanycost.com, Szalavitz’s accompaniment to her book of the same name, notes that one of the major questions parents should ask when considering sending their wayward children to one of these programs is: “What are the qualifications of the line staff who work directly with the teens?” According to Szalavitz, anything less than a Masters-level psychology degree for all group leaders should be considered a red flag.
Meanwhile, what Rebecca Smith and many other clients of tough-love programs find most unsettling about these facilities is the basic and uncompromising confinement that is integral to the rehabilitation models. As minors, teens have no control over their placement or stay at rehabilitation programs. As long as they are deemed “in need,” their parents can send them to any private rehabilitation facility, separated from friends, family, and the greater world, for an indefinite period of time.
This unconditional confinement is frustrating for those enrolled in these programs, but it can also be dangerous. Though she has grouped a wide range of programs into the tough-love category, Szalavitz argues that categorizing a program as specifically for “troubled” teens leaves youth stigmatized and vulnerable. When combined with a lack of control over their own circumstances, this labelling can prove deadly.
Szalavitz recounts a story from her book about a teen named Aaron Bacon who died of internal bleeding after a treatable ulcer ate through his stomach lining in 1994, during a “wilderness therapy” excursion.
“The ulcer could have been treated with over-the-counter medication,” she says, “but, instead, it ate through his abdomen over the course of several weeks. The program insisted he was faking.”
“An ‘outward bound’ trip with so-called normal kids can be very good and nurturing,” she continues. “But that’s with normal kids, so, [if you complain of something being wrong] you’ll be believed.”
Troubling labels
Tough-love programs’ remarkably low requirements for admittance is another troubling element, according to Szalavitz.
“I would call [what really drives admittance] a wallet biopsy,” she says. “If the parent can afford it, the child needs the program…[and] if you fill out any of the forms you can make a normal teenager seem troubled. These are not legitimate mental health evaluations.”
One web site, bootcampsforteens.com, offers a “Does My Teen Need Help?” section to guide parents through the process of evaluating their child’s “need” for these camps, concluding with: “When it comes to seeking help for a child in danger it is better to have sought help a little too early than a little too late.”
Not according to Szalavitz, however.
“Some [parents] have been terrorized by the drug war into thinking, ‘Oh my God, my kid is smoking pot, they’ll become a heroin addict.’ This won’t happen; the vast majority of marijuana users never even try heroin. People think, ‘It’s better to be safe than sorry,’ but these programs aren’t safe,” Szalavitz says.
She argues that most teens do not need medical attention for being “troubled,” arguing that developing better communication with teens and family therapy sessions with schooled psychiatrists, social workers, or psychologists as one route, and postsecondary education as another.
“If you actually want to prevent long-term addiction, get your kids through college!... Finding meaning and purpose in their life is the key to overcoming addiction, and you can’t force people to find meaning and purpose.”
Some names have been changed in this article to protect the privacy of those involved
Sasha Plotnikova / The McGill Daily
Comments
Ursus wrote:
Interested readers of this piece would do well to check out an AARC Survivor forum containing several survivor stories from this criminal enterprise: http://fornits.com/smf/index.php?board=4.0
There are also other boards/forums on fornits pertinent to other programs/cults also mentioned in Popovich's article.
Thank you for bringing attention to this disgraceful history of abuse.
Apr 08 at 05:27 AM
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Greg Elliott wrote:
AARC uses a practise that is a hallmark of Kids, which had itself descended from Straight. The clients are separated from their families, spending nights in the family homes of other clients, called oldcomers. The oldcomer is given control of the newcomer, and in fact the oldcomers locks the newcomer in their shared bedroom at night. My spouse was in AARC from 1995 until 1997. She was sexually abused by a male oldcomer in his home. Additionally she was assaulted by several other female oldcomers in their homes. The host home practise is still used in a variety of Straight-descended programs. After being assaulted she was accused of self-mutillation and deemed to be suicidal. She did not, at any point in her stay in AARC, see a psychiatrist. Nor did she see her Probation Officer, despite the fact that she entered into AARC as a condition of a court sentence.
Apr 08 at 09:44 AM
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Greg Elliott wrote:
One of AARC's stated goals is expansion. For anyone struck by the notion that a version of AARC is needed in your area, here are a few facts: Prior to starting AARC, Dean Vause was not a doctor. He obtained a PhD from The Union Institute, after writing a Project Demonstrating Excellence about his own facility. He is not licensed as a psychologist in Alberta, and, as of this writing, none of the clinical staff are. The clinical staff is composed of former clients and Vause's step-daughter. AARC has never been licensed as a treatment facilty. It's only official mandate is to receive money as a registered charity. Three graduates, out of a total under four hundred in fifteen years, have been charged in relation to murders in the last twelve months. As for allegations of abuse, I reported a number directly to the Minister of Justice, whose ringing endorsement of Vause and AARC, given in the Alberta Legislature, feature prominently on AARC's website. The Minister referred me to a Deputy Minister in Health and Wellness, although Health and Wellness does not license nor regulate AARC. The Deputy Minister told me to call the child abuse hotline, after statting that it would be difficult to fully investigate "the disturbing allegations" I had made.
Coming soon to an industrial park near you.
Apr 08 at 11:04 AM
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Charles Carlin wrote:
I appreciate the concern the author is expressing about abuse in therapeutic programs. Those abuses are real and ought to be addressed. However, to say that the basic concept in all such programs is to break clients down in order to fix them is simply false and clouds the issue.
In wilderness programs, where I work, for example, there are a huge range of programs varying from the abusive programs described in this article to clinically sophisticated and supportive programs geared towards insight oriented therapy. Such programs utilize the healing power of wilderness in a caring and supportive way.
To simply lump all therapeutic programs in with the Synanon legacy dilutes the author's argument because it is so easily contradicted. It would be much more helpful to specifically identify abusive approaches, such as Synanon's, to identify where they are being used, and to advocate both for the closure of abusive programs as well as acknowledging supportive and successful treatment approaches utilized by other programs.
Charles Carlin Second Nature Entrada
Apr 08 at 12:45 PM
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Ursus wrote:
Not wishing to "simply lump all therapeutic programs in with the Synanon legacy" as Mr. Carlin suggests, it might nonetheless be helpful to point out to savvy readers that all four of Second Nature's Founder/Partners worked at Aspen Achievement Academy and/or Aspen Ranch prior to forming Second Nature.
While Second Nature's approach may appear clinically more sophisticated to some, to others it may feel more like "same old sh!t, different wrapper."
Apr 08 at 03:03 PM
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greg elliott wrote:
Among other sophisticated treatment techniques employed at AARC is the use of snitches. On a field trip away from AARC in 1996, the vehicle in which my spouse and her fellow AARC clients were travelling broke down. A passer-by picked up the group, and drove them back into town. My spouse sat in the front seat. Upon arriving in Calgary, one of the girls reported my spouse to AARC staff for failing to ask the driver to change the radio to ShineFM, the Christian station that was, at the time, the only station to which clients were permitted to listen. This infraction resulted in my spouse being set back in her "program of treatment".
Apr 08 at 03:36 PM
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Carey wrote:
This is a very good article. It addresses a lot of the concerns that we as advocates have with regard to the placement of teens in programs that are aimed at "modifying" behavior.
I say kudos to Popovich and Szalavitz for their hard work on this very controversial topic.
To learn more about this unregulated industry and the people who profit off of it visit my website at www.careybock.com.
Apr 10 at 02:15 PM
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Christine Melbourn wrote:
Addiction disorders affect 5 percent of the population. Programs like WWASP and those offered by PURE are fraudulent at best. True addiction requires intervention, not just a college education, as suggested by Szalavitz. Both the extreme approach of WWASP/PURE (the Sue Scheff model) and the author are simplistic and wrong. Get information from experts like those from the National Institute of Drug Abuse and those who are experts in psychiatric disorders. Keep your kids close to home, but get help from highly educated and trained medical experts. Neither PURE/WWASP nor Szalavitz are educated or trained in adolescent addiction or phychiatric brain disorders. Get the facts.
Apr 12 at 04:33 PM
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Greg Elliott wrote:
The Seed, the original spin-off of Synanon, was given one million dollars by M. Melbourne's NIDA. The founder of Nida, Robert Dupont, was a paid consultant of the Seed's spin-off Straight. Miller Newton, who started Kids, was the Clinical Director of Straight prior to starting Kids. Get the facts.
Apr 13 at 10:41 AM
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Greg Elliott wrote:
All of the Synanons, including AARC, were founded by amateurs, and all received money from government agencies in spite of their complete lack of proven scientific merit. Chuck Dederich founded the Synanon. He was a failed stand-up comedian. Art Barker, founder of the Seed, was also a failed comedian. Miller Newton, Clinical Director of Straight and founder of Kids, had two PhD degrees from the Union Institute, the same Union Institute that provided AARC's Dean Vause with his PhD. The Seed and Straight relied on government grants, and AARC has received millions from the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission, in spite of it's lack of a license, and the indisputable fact that it evolved out of Chuck Dederich's religious group. Get the facts.
Apr 13 at 11:30 AM
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Janyce Lastman LL.B., Education Consultant, Case Manager wrote:
I am an education consultant who has worked with youth and families across Canada for more than 20 years.
I share Ms Popovich's concern for the welfare of teens in care. She correctly asserts that indifference and neglect, emotional, physical and sexual abuse, unethical business practices, corruption and greed have all occurred in publicly-funded and private programs purporting to help troubled teens. However, her one-sided article that categorizes all residential therapeutic teen programs as dangerous, corrupt and abusive. This is not only misguided but incorrect, and represents highly irresponsible journalism at that. Her article relies heavily on Maia Szalavitz’s well-intentioned but highly biased book Help at Any Cost which I reviewed for professional purposes when first published in 2006. http://www.strugglingteens.com/artman/publish/article_5278.shtml
Families in crisis are vulnerable and often conflicted. They deserve understanding and support - not scorn and derision – for doggedly pursuing alternatives often at great personal sacrifice and financial hardship. Despite Ms Popovich’s off-handed references to “Canadian programs”, effective, appropriate and accessible placements or therapeutic growth opportunities for teens and families in crisis within this country, are few and far between. The families I see who seek assistance beyond our borders are exhausted and desperate. They have already tried multiple interventions, strategies and therapies, sometimes for years, only to see issues spiraling out of control. Just this month, frustrated parents forced to pay for private treatment for their children dubbed themselves The Tragically OHIP, and rallied along with their children to highlight the appalling shortage of funded residential therapeutic treatment in Ontario for teens with substance abuse and addiction issues and mental health challenges http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/414567 .
In her article, Ms Popovich maligns this very necessary and misunderstood industry as a whole, based on completely unacceptable actions of a few. However, the majority of adolescent residential therapeutic programs are licensed, regulated, well established and effectively run by dedicated, ethical and competent staff including psychologists, RN’s, MD’s and psychiatrists. These well-run, creative and compassionate residential treatment programs cannot be called “boot camps” any more than dedicated and caring teachers, religious or community youth leaders can be labeled child predators, despite some unfortunate crossover in both populations.
Without even a cursory attempt to investigate other views, Ms Popovich has not provided a cautionary tale. Instead, she exploits parents’ worst fears and uses the very scare-mongering and reactionary tactics that she criticizes in the marketing thrust of certain programs. Even more disappointing is that this piece does not reflect the high standards of thorough research and balanced reporting that generally characterizes our Canadian university presses.
Finally, for the record, I do not accept financial incentives from programs for referrals, nor do I work with programs that offer kickbacks. My education consulting practice is ethical, established and diverse, with high-risk adolescents forming only one portion. I have no vested interested in promoting any one “education experience” over another, but rather in providing information and advice that is balanced, practical and appropriate to each unique situation. Should Ms Popovich continue in journalism, I suggest she re-examine the importance of balanced reporting not just in terms of her professional responsibility as a journalist, but given her personal, moral responsibility as a Canadian.
—Janyce Lastman | Toronto
Apr 22 at 08:17 AM
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Tony wrote:
Never place your child in a facility where you aren't allowed private access to them "at any time" without any prior notice. You should be allowed to visit your child everyday, at any time you wish and also allowed to leave the grounds with them from day one.
Apr 22 at 08:22 AM
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Tony wrote:
Never place your child in any facility where they are isolated from communication with the outside world or are denied current events and media.
Apr 22 at 08:22 AM
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Tony wrote:
Never place your child in any facility that denies them the right to communicate, unmonitored, with you, an attorney or the authorities by phone at any time they wish.
Apr 22 at 08:23 AM
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Tony wrote:
Never place your child in any facility that is in another state or outside of the country.
Apr 22 at 08:24 AM
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Tony wrote:
Never sign waiver of rights or liabilities from physical or emotional harm done to your child. Never sign anything regarding your child without good legal counsel examining the contract to protect your family.
Apr 22 at 08:25 AM
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Tony wrote:
Never place your child in any facility where a level system is used as a means of progression. The first level or phase is where the nervous breakdown is incorporated and is a vital time to have access to your child to monitor their behavior yourself. You know your child best.
Apr 22 at 08:25 AM
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Tony wrote:
Never take any organization at their word, always demand evidence. If all of your questions aren't answered in full, there is probably something being hidden.
Apr 22 at 08:26 AM
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Tony wrote:
Never interview with "hand-picked" kids and parents, insist on talking with every child involved in the program in private. If this isn't allowed, leave immediately, this is a sign of hidden abuse.
Apr 22 at 08:26 AM
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Tony wrote:
Never allow your child to be placed in any section of a facility that you are not allowed to visit at any time.
Apr 22 at 08:27 AM
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Tony wrote:
Never give allegiance or obedience to any program, you are paying them for a service, they work for you. You are the boss. This is a sign of cult-like requests and is not an acceptable behavior from a legitimate organization.
Apr 22 at 08:28 AM
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Tony wrote:
Never make decisions based on emotions especially when amplified in an environment constructed purposefully to do just that. This is a well known tactic used to imply a false urgency in an admission interview.
Apr 22 at 08:28 AM
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Tony wrote:
Never believe false excuses produced by any organization about why you aren't allowed to see your child, speak to certain children or an explanation of your child being manipulative. These are all signs of secrecy and deception. These are trademarks of an abusive facility.
Apr 22 at 08:29 AM
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Tony wrote:
Never place your child in any facility where they aren't allowed to attend school or church from day one (in an environment apart from the facility).
Apr 22 at 08:29 AM
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Tony wrote:
Never place your child in any facility that claims to use treatment or therapy based on confrontation, a peer group, or getting the child to "open up and share personal information about themselves". These are tell-tale signs of brainwashing and should not be overlooked.
Apr 22 at 08:30 AM
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Tony wrote:
Never believe that you cannot be fooled. This industry is based on trickery, these tactics and methods have been used to deceive the most intelligent of people and have been refined over the years to specifically target desperate parents.
Apr 22 at 08:31 AM
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Tony wrote:
Never deny your gut instinct, even if everything seems emotionally pleasant, professional and logical, your gut instinct may be sensing something that your other capacities do not perceive. My father still remembers how his gut instinct was telling him something was wrong when he put me in the program, and wishes he had acted upon this instinct by taking me home.
Apr 22 at 08:32 AM
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Tony wrote:
I would like to personally thank Nadja Popovich for writing this article. Having been placed in a program at age 14, I realize the importance of exposing the damaging methods that this industry continues to employ. I have thoroughly researched a vast array of programs for the last 6 months and have yet to find a program that I would consider effective or beneficial. Having experienced the insidious ways of a torturous program, I am keen to the warning signs of such programs and can identify detrimental methods, whereas others may not. Survivors of abusive programs might be hired as regulators to accompany State and Federal officials to investigate programs due to their innate ability to locate signs of psychological abuse in programs. We are interested in the safety and welfare of children and adolescents. We wish to put an end to the hidden abuse that we ourselves endured.
Apr 22 at 08:53 AM
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Gillian Findlay wrote:
To any who read this -- Tony and Greg in particular: As a journalist working for a Canadian current affairs program, I am interested in knowing more about the experiences of those who attended AARC. confidentiality assured. pls contact:
gillian.findlay@cbc.ca
May 06 at 02:47 PM
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Greg Elliott wrote:
Fortunately for Janyce the same kind of people who shipped their offspring from Calgary to Kids of Bergen County still exist.
May 07 at 02:06 PM
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T. Brown wrote:
I am the mother of a young man currently in AARC. He's been in this facility since the summer of 2007 and has recently turned 18.
We were grossly deceived by this program, it's destroyed my family.
The program claims a client's home is not safe to live in until further in treatment so the client stays with another family until the whole family has gone through therapy. The key issue with this concept is that to restore the family unit the family needs to talk to each other. This does NOT happen at AARC.
AARC claims you speak to your child, but it is a closely monitored exercise in which the client explains an experience of drug or alcohol use. The parents say "I love you" and that is all. I don't consider this conversation and I don't consider this therapy. This type of exercise would not restore the family unit. In addition to this, the "Talk" exercise is only allowed if the client has "earned the right".
My son has an autistic sibling. I was under the impression that my son and I would meet at the program twice a week for family therapy. This is not what happened. We were required to attend the program twice a week for a lecture by Dean Vause which didn't vary much from week to week. Even though the topics would change the content was the same. We are told our children are bad, they hurt us, they have an incurable disease and we need to detach from our children and work our own program to protect ourselves when our kids hurt us. Example after example of former client's "gone wrong" were given to us, those who took their own lives, took the lives of others, were in jail or for whatever reason no longer with the AARC program. The only former clients who seemed to be ok after graduation were those still directly connected to the program. We are told some our kids will die in treatment, this is terrifying! They hold the parents hostage through fear, guilt and manipulation. They withhold information and gain your compliance bit by bit. Once you comply with anything they ask you are basically hooked.
While in AARC my younger autistic son was being counseled without my knowledge or consent, he was given a workbook to complete that was totally beyond his reading and comprehension level. This workbook has been evaluated by professionals and deemed to have no therapeutic value and could only be detrimental in the context of family therapy. In addition to this the leading questions only isolate the family members opposed to uniting them.
The program was highly bizarre in that as a parent you are required to provide increasingly more of your time and resources to the program. The time commitment is more than 2 days a week as originally stated. The program decides what a parent can afford to pay even though they claim they don't turn anyone away due to financial difficulties. And the program restricts what a parent can earn due to time constraints as well as not allowing anyone else to live in the household. Some people such as me rely on this help with the rent.
Parents do not volunteer their homes as host homes. There is no choice or option here. Running a host home is a requirement of parents with the expense that goes along with it.
These "host homes" are unlicensed, if they were licensed they would violate city fire by-laws. The homes and the people in them do not undergo a child welfare check or a police record check.
Parents are told not to participate in the treatment clients receive in the host home; the newcomers are directly the oldcomer's responsibility.
The "oldcomer" clients participate in "oldcomer training week" which prepares them for their job as an oldcomer in which they are directly responsible for "newcomer" clients.
One week of training to look after the "worst of the worst" drug addicted kids who are, apparently, too destructive and disruptive to be treatable at any other facility.
I have personally seen "oldcomers" falling asleep in their chairs at meetings due to sheer exhaustion.
Once on level 3 (of 4) of the program the clients are attending the school at AARC, they are still oldcomers responsible for newcomers and they may (in the case of my son) work for another family in the AARC program. These clients are paid a very low wage compared to the labour market and they are required to open a joint bank account.
Even before my son was back in school it has been decided for him that he will travel to another country and study addictions. His only drug related charge was removed from his charges to accomplish this.
I know my son lost his independent counsel and was appointed a new lawyer who is also on AARC's "legal committee". At that point I lost any say over what happened to my son who was still my dependant and still under the age of 18.
Any deviation from the program requirements will result in a termination from the program and complete alienation from your child.
Siblings who can not participate in the program are required to be removed from the household. If this can't be arranged the parents will be terminated from the program, deemed unwilling to co-operate with what is expected of them and they will lose contact with their child.
This child is then convinced they need to avoid contact with their family for their own sobriety. This is what happened in our case.
100% compliance is expected and if the parents for whatever reason can not comply they are considered sick, unhealthy and in denial. Program participants are told that the other parents not in attendance don't care if their child lives or dies, or else they would do what is required to be there. I know of several parents, including me who have been terminated from the program.
Parents who place their children in this program have the option to remove them.
Children who are court ordered to this program without parental consent do not have this option.
According to the Gov't of Canada, private treatment facilities are a completely unregulated industry. It's a "Buyer Beware" industry.
This being the case and since there is no protection for youth as there would be had they been ordered to attend a regulated facility, it is my belief that the courts should not have jurisdiction to order youth to such facilities. There is no accountability.
These youth in particular have no protection through Children's Services. The onus is on the parents to protect their children, and parents of these court ordered children are unable to protect them. The Child Advocate can not help them as they are not "child welfare" clients and the youth lose all rights.
During my short time with the AARC program I witnessed and heard accounts of many serious abuses, including but not limited to: Rape, beatings in the host homes, clients being spit on, and clients cutting themselves in treatment and receiving no psychiatric or medical help. I've witnessed clients being absent for several meetings, clients being "set back to step one" for frivolous reasons that have nothing to do with the 12 steps of AA. I've witnessed people's values being shredded and horrible public displays of humiliation.
This program has deceived the clients, the parents, the public, the media and the Province of Alberta.
From my own experiences with the AARC program, I agree with Greg and Tony's statements.
I would like to mention that from reading this article it doesn't seem that the author is discrediting licensed and regulated facilities; it's the deceptive, unlicensed facilities that are of concern.
As a parent of special needs kids, I was completely blind to the fact that a facility such as this one would not have to be properly licensed and regulated by at least Alberta Health and Wellness or AADAC or even Alberta Mental Health.
Brainwashing vulnerable kids and their families to join the ranks of these facilities and holding them hostage psychologically is simply unethical they need to be stopped.
Thank you for writing this article.
May 12 at 04:02 PM
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Noah wrote:
I've been graduated from AARC for about 7 months now. I'm still sober and my life is better than ever, I was never once abused not have seen any abuse throughout my experience in AARC. Although marijuana and mushrooms were my drug of choice, (usually seen as not a problem by parents) I was high all day everyday, and selling both substances. I had dropped out of school, and my life was out of control. AARC was very hard to go through as it was the biggest change I've ever had to make. And I am forever grateful for it. 11 and a half months of hard work and repairing my life is definitely worth it in the long run. I'd rather much spend 11 and a half months straightening up my life and living a happy one at that, to an older age compared to living a life of despair and chaos for a shorter amount of time. If anyone has questions feel free to email me!
Jun 11 at 01:23 AM
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Noah wrote:
You can reach me at deux.ex.machina@hotmail.com.
Jun 11 at 01:24 AM
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T. Brown wrote:
So Noah,
You walked out the doors of AARC 7 months ago and never looked back?
Don't have to "give back"?
You AND your parents are no longer going to meetings at AARC?
Your family is no longer acting as a "host home" to other clients?
You're no longer attending holiday dinners at AARC?
You didn't leave "AARC" and join the "Alumni"?
You were never refused use of a telephone or access to your own family during any of your time at AARC?
You were at school 10 months of the year?
You were never physically restrained and could walk out the door anytime you wanted to?
The way you describe your "addiction" could easily describe many of the people I went to high school with who outgrew this behaviour and became responsible, contributing members of society.
Jun 23 at 11:40 PM
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concerned Albertan wrote:
So Tami Brown. You have publicly tried to shame a kid who has had the courage to say he needed treatment and that the place in Alberta truned his life around. and you are ridiculing him and questioning whether he even had a problem. Kettle calling the pot black, I think
Aug 18 at 04:35 PM
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T. Brown wrote:
concerned Albertan,
You are mistaken, that is not my name. I have in no way tried to publicly shame "Noah". His post seems to welcome questions.
Noah says he was involved in AARC for almost a year, and this seems like a "past tense" experience. From the experiences of others I am questioning that his involvement with AARC is now over.
I also question the severity of the addiction because I know of people who were not addicted, but diagnosed as addicts in the program. I do know people whose lives could be described as Noah described his own who simply grew up and are doing fine. Using drugs, even abusing drugs is not the same as addiction.
I'm sorry if you interpreted these questions as an attack. This is something I feel strongly about, but my apologies to Noah if this seemed like an attack or ridicule. I am happy for him if he is doing well in his life.
I would still like to know the answers to the questions.
As far as the pot calling the kettle black, that would not be the case as I am not in the same situation as Noah.
Aug 29 at 11:33 PM
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Concerned AARC Graduate Parent wrote:
T.Brown bottom line you had your own problems and may or may not be an alcoholic--only you can diagnose your own disease. You simply did not want to face your own issues and that is why you walked and left other people to take on the responsiabity of your son. Time and money. You have him now living in denial and he is going down as he is in a totally disfunctional home. He is justifying his behavior to get your approval and love. How sad. Your son would still be in CYOC/Jail if it was not for you rescuing him and YOU placed him in AARC. You got both your sons bitter and believing the lies,denial and disfunction. I pray for people like you as you did not want to do the work, the time commitment or work on your own recovery. Everything that goes around comes around and you will both pay your dues. God knows you are the one that put him in there then expected the parent group to carry him as you chose to walk.
Sep 12 at 02:30 AM
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Concerned Member of AA wrote:
T. Brown, are you attending regular Alanon meetings?
How about AA?
Most people that walk out of AARC it is because they do not want to be made to get their own program or recovery. The do not want their life on a microscope. AARC believes they must treat the entire family as it is a family disease, so since you and your other son have not been treated, and the alcoholic Levon is back in the disfuntional home with untreated people it is just a matter time and he IS going down. Back to jail this time adult jail, not kiddy jail at CYOC. Talk about a con, you both used people, AARC, all the famlies, the judicial system, someone should report him to his parole officer, that's a good idea. He has broken his probation, not living in recovery, and both of you admitting to the fact that he lied just to get out of jail. You are a disgrace. Other familes and staff at AARC loved your son, and cared for him and you spit back at them. God knows and what goes around comes around, you it will come out in some way you will be revealed and God knows the truth. Obviously, if your son was in jail/CYOC and you got him removed from Jail and into AARC he was much better off in loving caring homes in AARC, HE WOULD STILL BE IN JAIL IF IT WAS NOT FOR AARC. Your son got treated like gold in there, he loved it in there. Dr. Vause treated like a son. I pray for you and your family, you really need it. Even Dr. Vause took your son in like his own son. I pray for you as you need it. With the denial though and living in a dysfunctional home Levon is setting himself up to fall, drink and use becuase his denial has told him he is not an alcholoic/addict and he wants his mom to be a good mom even though she walked out on him in treatment. He wants his mom to be right and AARC wrong. He wants approval and love from his mom How sad, how sick, how disfunctional. I am afaid if your son does not live in recovery Levon will self destruct and he will end up in jail or dead. There is no way he conned all the staff at AARC saying he was only a criminal and not an alcoholic/addict, NO WAY! GET REAL! Who would steal that many cars, and have numerous charges and get charged for beating up his own little brother unless he was stoned or drunk, GET REAL, he had how many charges against him 50? or 100? How about Levon's grandma she attended AARC frequently and the AARC graduation and said that the AARC staff were wonderful, did so much good for her grandson, that he was a changed person. That is what Carol said. She thought AARC was the greatest thing that ever happend for her grandson. She explained how many changes he has made positive in his life. GET REAL. Grandma did not lie and she put it in writing. God Bless you.
Sep 12 at 03:08 AM
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Levon MacKillop wrote:
It's pretty sad when people like you have to go around dissing people for your own amusement, whatever the fuck happened to live and let God.
Get a life, live your own recovery quit bashing people to try to make yourself feel better.
Peace
Nov 28 at 12:31 PM
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D.K.F. wrote:
The AARC sounds like a cult full of brainwashing and I think we have a few examples of this in the comments on here by those brainwashed by the program.
As listed above, no parent should place their child in a program where they cannot access their child at any time. AARC does nothing but deceive and fool people. T. Brown was smart enough to figure the program out and do her research.
What I find totally frightening is that this can be a court ordered abuse(not a real treatment). Using peoples private homes as treatment with out police checks or regulation? That is very scary.
Also, people need to realize they need help. Forced treatments do NOT work.
Talk to any REAL counselor and you will hear over and over that if the client does not think they need help they will not properly be rehabilitated.
Good luck T. Brown, Greg Elliot and Tony.
Dec 10 at 09:34 AM
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T. Brown wrote:
Albertan wrote:
"I would love to see the train wreck that little sick Lev and his mommy will create."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, the ONLY people to ever call Levon "Lev" were AARC members, they refused to call him by his "real" name.
"Little sick Lev" has been out of AARC for over 6 months now - he hasn't looked or gone back, and aside from his experience at AARC is doing better than ever. So what exactly is your point, and what type of "Train wreck" exactly are you expecting??
Levon knows who bought him his Christmas presents this year.
Last year Colin Brown told Levon that the shirt I bought and wrapped for Levon was his own, that he didn't want it and Levon could have it.
Levon's stocking I provided was emptied and the contents were presented to him as a "random donation" to the center!
Who would do that???
You're either in or out of this place. Just like a cult!
If you don't agree with everything they say and expect of you they WILL banish you and do their VERY best to destroy your family relationship.
Over the last several months Levon has discovered that this is only one of oh so many lies that were told to him. Information from AARC was the only input the kid had though, what was he supposed to believe?
No contact with the outside world at all, or his own family. And AARC claims to be "outpatient" as shown here:
http://www.calgaryaddiction.com/pages/addiction-services-guide/youth-specific-services.php
I guess this helps them avoid compliance with several Acts that exist to protect the citizens in this province and country.
Open your eyes, and check the fine print.
Dec 28 at 05:00 AM
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T. Brown wrote:
Dkf wrote above:
"What I find totally frightening is that this can be a court ordered abuse(not a real treatment). Using peoples private homes as treatment with out police checks or regulation? That is very scary."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I couldn't agree more DKF, and what I also find frightening is that the courts can have jurisdiction to order someone to a program like this with NO accountability from any source. The justice system is not accountable because they don't regulate the program like they regulate jails, the child welfare system is not accountable according to them because this program is not a child welfare approved facility and the youth there are not child welfare clients. Alberta Health and Wellness is not accountable because they don't oversee the program like they do AADAC programs.
So how do judges have the authority to order youth to something like this with NO outside advocate, not even the youth's own parents!
Dec 28 at 05:07 AM
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Levon MacKillop wrote:
Wow why so much fuss about me why whould people from AARC care so much about one person and there "disfunctional family" When they have a Army of other teens to look after?? Sick lil lev?
okay buddy
Dec 30 at 05:01 PM
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interested party wrote:
Because lil Lev and mommy dearest, you continue to kick up a fuss and try to trash a place that has been PROVEN to help those who have the courage to really look at themselves and do what is necessary to change.
Why did you two use the good folks at AARC, Lev? you sure took their kindness, time and support and then turned around and spit in their faces. why didn't you walk away?? instead of wasting their time, taking resourses and time that could have been invested in others?? You must feel very proud of yourself!!
Jan 01 at 01:18 PM
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T. Brown wrote:
Interested Party... I was merely responding to Concerned et al, who were "kicking up a fuss". Am I just supposed to sit here and read all this garbage about my family after the way my family was violated by AARC this past year and not say anything???
Why are you ragging on Levon? Saying he's turned and spit in AARC folk faces.
That's absolute rubbish!!! How has he "spit in anyone's face? Exactly??
Realizing a blatant LIES like the "hand me down shirt" from Colin Brown was actually his CHRISTMAS PRESENT from his mother, and being told that his family has walked out on him when it couldn't be further from the truth is now "spitting in faces"???
What exactly has Levon done besides tell you all to mind your freaking business and let him live his OWN life!
Why is trying to help Levon wasting everyone's time and resources? I thought that's what the service was supposed to be for!!! Helping a kid out!
Does he OWE you something now? He was a 17 year old kid when he went to AARC, WANTING help for cripes sake.
He agreed to go, not like most of the kids and adults who are ambushed and put into treatment against their will.
What do you people expect from him? A LIFETIME of servitude to all the AARC "folk"? When does it ever end and he can just be himself???
Go mind your own business, attend your meetings and gatherings and leave my family alone!
Jan 01 at 06:25 PM
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T. Brown wrote:
Oh, and while you're at it.
Don't drink the Kool-Aid
LOVE you Albertan LOVE you Concerned LOVE you Interested
Now let's hold hands (and bladders) while we listen to "Seasons in the Sun"...
again...
Jan 01 at 06:34 PM
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T. Brown wrote:
Someone wrote:
Talk to any REAL counselor and you will hear over and over that if the client does not think they need help they will not properly be rehabilitated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AARC Grads will tell you that THEY came to realize on their own that they were addicts, and that THEY eventually realized they needed help.
The problem with this is that when you live in a completely isolated environment and receive "treatment" for a "disease" every minute of every day for months on end, you soon start to realize that you're never getting out of there until you "get with the program" ... "work the steps"... etc., which IS admitting you HAVE the disease and will do what's expected to manage it.
Live like that for a year and tell me you won't be "changed" when you finally get out.
WOW
Jan 01 at 06:45 PM
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T. Brown wrote:
SPC, I understand you're saying AARC isn't as bad as jail and given a choice of the two, AARC would be preferable. I've never been to jail, let alone the pen, so you could be right.
It's not really a fair assessment to compare the two even though the clients of AARC are for the most part there against there will, can't leave, and will be brought back with consequences if they try.
I think the similarities end there.
AARC is supposedly a treatment center, and jail is well a correctional facility.
I can't comment much on the job the justice system may or may not do in regulating their correctional facilities, but I do know they are responsible for them, and if there are complaints and problems the justice system is accountable and has a process for dealing with this on a provincial or federal level.
AARC not so much. Who is responsible for regulating rehab centers? Investigating complaints, or protecting the interests of those involved?
You would think AADAC or Alberta Health and Wellness, but they're not because AARC isn't under their umbrella of services... it's an independant program.
AARC is ONLY licensed as a charity.
I think the boys and girls clubs have more accreditation than the AARC program.
Who else would be responsible?
Justice? Nope Children's Services? Nope Alberta Health? Nope
The Correctional system is not a "buyer beware" industry with no accountability.
Call AADAC or Health Canada, and find out who is responsible for residential treatment for youth.
No one.
Jan 13 at 07:33 AM
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T. Brown wrote:
On a side note.
Levon's been home for 6 months, he's stayed completely out of trouble and has NO intention of ending up in jail. His case officers and his probation officer are all very happy with him.
So, I'd say this "Bubba" scenerio is pretty far out of the picture.
True, an inappropriate number of "rehabilitated" AARC graduates DO end up in jail for especially violent crimes, so you might get more information talking to them about the jail conditions compared to AARC.
Unfortunately for them, they've ended up with both.
Jan 13 at 07:42 AM
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Also interested wrote:
seems T. Brown has gotten very stirred up!! understandably though . . it is difficult living in such an unsecure situtaion - it is only a matter of time before her and her son end up exactly at the same place or some version of this, which they were when they came begging for AARC's help. I understand they and a couple similar sorts have got some very unethical journalists co-signing their incredible sickness as well. well, when their finale crisis hits, their options will be nil . . they will find NO other place that will be able to help them. Jail will be good for Lev but really the 'mother' should be the one to go. It is all very sad though, for a number of reasons. Slipshot journalism has waded into an area they have no capacity or expereince to understand or investigate ( they just have misguided hubris) and disturbed 'families' like this one are then encouraged to continue to be a drain on society without ever truly looking at what brings them to places like an incredible facility such as AARC... then AARC takes the heat . . very very sad state of society that we live in.
Jan 18 at 12:43 PM
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T. Brown wrote:
I should be going to jail "interested"? Why is that?
Our crisis is now over, as much as you would like to believe we are somehow "doomed".
I know I have a newfound appreciation for my life and my loved ones.
Any heat that AARC may be taking was entirely created by AARC, if it can't stand up to scrutiny then maybe it's time to pack up a few peer counselors, change the name and move to another location.
We'll see what these slip-shot award winning journalists uncover.
Jan 18 at 05:24 PM
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also interested wrote:
dear t. Brown - calmed down now?
Sorry, I did not realize you can not understand what costs you have caused in society and will likely continue to create. For clarification, some parent's parenting skills should warrant jail time (in my view) BECAUSE their incapacity to parent costs the taxpayers of Canada quite a bit of money - to name just a few - the costs of housing their kids in jail, court costs prosecuting their kids, costs for sluffing the kids off to govt-funded treatment agencies etc. etc., not to mention what kind of costs are inflicted on other canadians by their criminal behaviour of untreated addiction. comprende?? probably not :o(
And then some might say - well you are blaming a parent when their kid is 'ill' . . Some parents have way more to deal with because their child has some kind of limitation or illness but they do so in ways that you surely could never comprehend and which in the end does not involve blame of others or cost other canadians money. You appear to create more problems and costs for all you expose yourself and family to . . you definitely should not have had children.
You really have such a huge ego thinking anything that you or your b-team could come out with would cause AARC to close their doors as you say. . . AARC succeeds with too many kids and families. Granted they still can't reach ones like you and your buddies but that is the nature of their business and represents a very, very small percent. Then because you still want to blame others for your problems and some journalists need to justify entertainment, you get the WEE crowd (in comparison to an overwhelming majority) screaming what really amounts to, is pure BS. No matter what happens, AARC will continue to help families in Canada and you and your kid will continue on your path that likely will have you back in a court room or something worse than that.
At least AARC is a positive in society unlike these kind of journalists and you etc. . . .
keep whistling in the wind, honey. you can bet your addicted son is not going to be some great asset in society and you seem to be his only model for that.
Jan 23 at 05:08 PM
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T. Brown wrote:
Interested,
I'm just a mom who loves her kids. It's really as simple as that!
I guess it's lucky for me that people like you aren't making the laws in this county hey?
Rest assured I have done nothing to break the law, and as much as you'd love for Levon to be "deadinsaneorinjail", he's pretty determined not to be and he's doing a pretty good job!
I understand your need to come here and try to make me appear as unreliable as possible, you don't want readers to give any credence to our experiences in the AARC program.
I can perfectly understand that, and your comments reek of desperation.
Does a realistic look at the AARC program really have you that nervous?
What has you so worried that you need to belittle journalists?
If we hadn't experienced these things first hand, I'm sure I would be skeptical hearing all the stories of those who have suffered from their experience with AARC.
As you sit there in a cloak of anonymity pretending to know anything about me/my family/our life, we just carry on going to work and school, enjoying our life as a family and paying taxes like everyone else.
We get a good laugh from your comments.
Please keep it up, because it shows the readers what kind of treatment they can expect should they question anything about AARC.
I guess Levon is only a "fine young man" and an asset to society if he devotes his life to AARC?
Did you really expect him to avoid his own family for the rest of his life?
Of course you did.
I guess we're stronger then you thought hey?
Jan 26 at 07:04 PM
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Interested wrote:
You definitely are one confused woman and it is easy to see why your son can expect little substantial support and that he would write in with you here! You would like to believe otherwise, however, AARC has no worries when it comes to scrutiny. What is disconcerting by poor journalism fueled by the likes of you is that good families and kids will suffer . . period. I am sorry you have created such a destructive family life for your kids that you ended up in AARC (that was NO mistake and I am sure you know it). However, your contributions in society as illustrated by attacking the kid 'noah' and AARC in the ridiculous way you do make it very difficult to have any sympathy for you. I am sorry you are just some normal little happy family going to school and paying taxes uh hmm and ending up at AARC like every other 'normal' little family. Uh huh . . you think you are not hilarious, think again sweetpea. I am sure you will have some ridiculous comeback but LADY, it will only confirm the thinking that put you in a place like AARC. But of course - Go for it - you can have your little soapbox, it is all yours and it looks like the only one you have secured!! LOL
Feb 20 at 02:47 PM
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T. Brown wrote:
"You definitely are one confused woman and it is easy to see why your son can expect little substantial support and that he would write in with you here!"
"You would like to believe otherwise, however, AARC has no worries when it comes to scrutiny."
"What is disconcerting by poor journalism fueled by the likes of you is that good families and kids will suffer . . period."
I guess only the families that go to AARC and stick with AARC are "good" families? Pretty black and white mentality there.
"I am sorry you have created such a destructive family life for your kids that you ended up in AARC (that was NO mistake and I am sure you know it)."
"However, your contributions in society as illustrated by attacking the kid 'noah' and AARC in the ridiculous way you do make it very difficult to have any sympathy for you."
I asked questions (which he welcomed) and to which I have yet to receive answers.
How you twist that into some type of "contribution to society" is beyond me. I think you have some issues if you can't find anything better to do than try to psychoanalyze my comments.
"I am sorry you are just some normal little happy family going to school and paying taxes uh hmm and ending up at AARC like every other 'normal' little family."
"Uh huh . . you think you are not hilarious, think again sweetpea."
"I am sure you will have some ridiculous comeback but LADY, it will only confirm the thinking that put you in a place like AARC."
"But of course - Go for it - you can have your little soapbox, it is all yours and it looks like the only one you have secured!! LOL"
Feb 23 at 04:06 AM
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bannedbillw wrote:
Well, it really is against my better judgment to post on this forum. I have been following the messages for some time here and have managed to keep my opinions to myself. AARC saved my life so one could say that I am on the pro AARC side of the debate.
That said there are a few things that I would like to comment on. First off, I strongly believe that anyone who watched the fifth estate documentary "powerless" on aarc will clearly see the bias reporting that created such slander against AARC. We have heard many of these arguments..No parents used in the interview with the exception of Jordan’s, 405 graduates and 4 angry graduates have a large podium to hammer AARC from. I would like to point out a few subtleties and comical nuances that I noticed.
First off Rachel claims that her "assessors" were unqualified and were close to her in age. Later in the documentary it is shown that Rachel volunteers answering phones for the suicide prevention line. I found this comical.. I wonder what training Rachel has? Clearly she is critical of supposedly untrained personnel working with addicts. What about untrained, unqualified personnel working and responding to people who are in suicide crisis? Better call CBC and get them on this one!.... I think not. More critical judgment would tell me simply that Rachel is overseen by someone in authority, with training and expertise. Much is the same at AARC. Yes the peer counselors may ask some questions on assessment and yes peer counselors may conduct group and individual sessions with clients as well. These counselors are overseen by highly qualified and experienced staff throughout this whole process. I would hope and assume the same happens for Rachel at her volunteer position.
Secondly, Rachel is shown doing yoga...nice. Bodana is shown gazing out of the Calgary tower.... also very deep and thought provoking...clearly she is pondering life. Christine is shown in her Sunday comfies on her couch. Jordan...hmm lets show him hacking a cig in the dark of night with eerie music playing in the background. Come on people use your heads! It is crap journalism that portrayed a small sliver of a much bigger story. Enough about that.
Kids and AARC. A long debate. Dr. V a mini Miller Newton? Well there is not and has never been a denial of the fact that Dr. V did receive some training at Kids in New Jersey. This is a fact. It is also a fact that Dr. V left this facility and came to Calgary to start a centre that could treat addicts without the abuse that was present at Kids. This is also a fact. One can plainly see however that the two programs differ in many ways. If you cannot see this I encourage anyone to read these forum threads on AARC and on KIDS. One will see in the KIDS forums that there are many hurt and damaged people who were victims of long-term abuse. Many of these individuals have likely had long-term PTSD effects from their treatment. You look at these forums and there are no graduates of this program that are supporting it let alone claiming that it saved or dramatically changed their live's or the life of a loved one.
One looks at the AARC forums and it is blatant that there are many people who claim to have been powerfully changed and moved in a positive way by the program and the people at AARC. I see this is a fundamental and undeniable difference. These two programs have some resemblance but it is very small. Please people lets be objective.
Lastly, just a side note....Tammy Brown is a loon. If she were the poster girl for "anti AARC" I would say AARC does not have much to worry about. Look at the various threads on AARC and you will see Tammys postings. Total rubbish. Get a job Tammy...spend half the time you do on the internet and go and work. Quit soaking up tax payer dollars...Levon already consumed enough tax payer and AARC donor money.
Feb 26 at 12:53 AM
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T. Brown wrote:
BBW are you trying to bury my comment so much that you posted yours 3 times?
Feb 26 at 02:17 PM
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T. Brown wrote:
This is a true testament to the level of confidentiality employed by the AARC and it's followers.
I have to laugh, these AARC/AARC supporters either trying to act like "Joe-Interested-Citizen" or "close-to-someone-who-knows-someone-from-AARC-but-not-directly-involved" get upset because the truth is getting out there, and people are very likely to pay attention this time.
They are worried, and need to discredit all possible leaks of damaging information.
They know me so well that they don't even know if I'm employed or not. I'll have to remember to "stop soaking up taxpayer money" and to "get a job" when I go cash my paycheques!
How much credibility can you give to all the other things they've had to say about me and my family?
So far according to AARC/AARC supporters, I'm:
a) a drunk b) a liar c) unemployed d) bad parent who should have been sterilized e) a loon
Did I miss anything?
They tried to do the same thing here:
http://fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic....it=tami#p313735
and here:
http://fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic....it=tami#p313741
and here:
http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.php?s=&postid=2834237#post2834237
And I see BBW just posted there as well.
Don't cross AARC or they will do their very best to "out", discredit and intimidate you, throwing all forms of standard professionalism completely out the window.
Feb 26 at 02:20 PM
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T. Brown wrote:
Interested wrote:
"You definitely are one confused woman and it is easy to see why your son can expect little substantial support and that he would write in with you here!"
"You would like to believe otherwise, however, AARC has no worries when it comes to scrutiny."
"What is disconcerting by poor journalism fueled by the likes of you is that good families and kids will suffer . . period."
I guess only the families that go to AARC and stick with AARC are "good" families? Pretty black and white mentality there.
"I am sorry you have created such a destructive family life for your kids that you ended up in AARC (that was NO mistake and I am sure you know it)."
"However, your contributions in society as illustrated by attacking the kid 'noah' and AARC in the ridiculous way you do make it very difficult to have any sympathy for you."
"I am sorry you are just some normal little happy family going to school and paying taxes uh hmm and ending up at AARC like every other 'normal' little family."
"Uh huh . . you think you are not hilarious, think again sweetpea."
"I am sure you will have some ridiculous comeback but LADY, it will only confirm the thinking that put you in a place like AARC."
"But of course - Go for it - you can have your little soapbox, it is all yours and it looks like the only one you have secured!! LOL"
Feb 26 at 02:23 PM
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Interested wrote:
interesting display of obsession, Tami.
haven't the time or inclination to read ALL your comments anymore - just same old thinking that resulted in your family arriving at AARC's doors, I am sure
. . . . so so far behind, ya think you are ahead!
keep writing though, it looks like you need another place to delude yourself. And if all else fails be sure to check in with your funny buddies, GE and CL. They'll always co-sign your stuff and vis versa.
Feb 26 at 07:21 PM
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bannedbillw wrote:
Tammi you comment a lot on the education of the aarc staff. Can you inform me of your credentials and level of education?
Thanks
Mar 03 at 03:31 AM
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T. Brown wrote:
From: It must be terribly frustrating to go to aarc all day and be able to force people to do as you say and then go on the web and find that the world is full of people who not only do you have no influence over but who also are laughing at you. They keep telling themselves it will work. I'll translate the last post. I think it means "Oh my god I'm so scared you'll expose the motives of my leader and then I'll have no friends and no job and I don't know how to make it in the world so I'll just say 'you suck' and hope that you don't investigate further"!
Mar 05 at 02:48 PM
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T. Brown wrote:
Should read:
From: http://fornits.com
Mar 05 at 02:49 PM
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bannedbillw wrote:
I dont understand your last email Tammi. It was a failiy strait forward question that I was asking. What are your credentials? What is your level of education? I believe that this is important to consider. When I am reading responses I consider two things. a) What has the individuals involvment with aarc (if any) been? and b) Are they qualified to be making the claims they are making...hense the reason I am enquiring about your credentials. Please answer the question directly.
Mar 05 at 04:48 PM
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bannedbillw wrote:
figured
Mar 07 at 04:02 AM
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T. Brown wrote:
BBW wrote:
"Lastly, just a side note....Tammy Brown is a loon. If she were the poster girl for "anti AARC" I would say AARC does not have much to worry about. Look at the various threads on AARC and you will see Tammys postings. Total rubbish. Get a job Tammy...spend half the time you do on the internet and go and work. Quit soaking up tax payer dollars...Levon already consumed enough tax payer and AARC donor money."
BBW - I'm very surprised that you would ask such a question.
You already believe I'm:
If you know enough about me to state all that how could you have missed my credentials and level of education?
To answer your question. My credentials and level of education is none of your business.
Additionally, unlike diagnosing and providing treatment for a disease, being involved in a program and stating opinions on the experience doesn't require an education or credentials.
I guess I'm more concerned about why you would want to know.
Like I said before, I'm here to explain our experiences with the AARC as it relates to the article. No diploma required.
Mar 07 at 11:33 AM
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bannedbillw wrote:
translation-i have no education translation-i have no credentials translation-i have many unfounded opinions
Mar 10 at 03:23 AM
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T. Brown wrote:
I'm sure BBW that your opinion would not change no matter what my education or credentials are. There's no doubt in my mind about that.
Once again, regarding education or credentials I really don't need any to have experience with AARC and to have opinions regarding AARC.
If education and credentials are not required to run a residential rehab center in Alberta isolating adolescents for a year at a time, why should the parents require an education and credentials to have an opinion on this?
Don't even answer that, I really don't care what you think.
Toss in another Red Herring to sidetrack the issues BBW, you seem to be good at that.
What do they call this? Trolling?
Mar 10 at 06:08 AM
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T. Brown wrote:
"i have no education, i have no credentials, i have many unfounded opinions"
Pretty much sums up the oldcomers, peer counselors and recovery home parents delegated to rehabilitate the youth in Alberta.
Mar 10 at 06:16 AM
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Interested wrote:
I see nothing has changed here - Tami still remains incredibly far behind, hence has confused that with thinking that she is ahead!
It is so amusing how she gets sooo pissed off when you ask for official verification of her lack of education. . . . but have fun bannedbillw
Mar 11 at 07:18 PM
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Kelsey Harrison wrote:
T.Brown you know who I am and I have no problem saying who i am. I'm Levon Mackillops ex girl friend. I am 16 years old. Reading everyones views on AARC is in some way annoying for me. Instead of LOOKING at the problem you turned to T.Brown and Levon telling them they are doing wrong. I understand that everyone has their different opinion on AARC, but you shouldn't be bashing someone who is making a point. She was simply asking an AARC graduate questions about being in the AARC program. Thoes are questions that i would have wanted to see answered.
Levon's family has changed a lot since he went into AARC. I was with him before he went in. I still blame myself for part of the problem but I dont want his family to be put down. T.Brown was making a point and standing for something she witnessed during her sons time in AARC.
Watching the family and talking to them as they were unsure of what the outcome was going to be hurt a lot of people. T.Browns son who is autistic went through a lot with his brother being in AARC program. It hurts me to see that people dont understand what they are doing. With what i have heard and seen that AARC had done to people in the program bothers me. watching the news bothered me as well because i could picture things happenening to him.
Levon was Brainwashed yes, he forgot a lot of things and had a lot of questions. His family was his main focus in the program because he didnt want them to worry.
It doesent matter what education T.Brown has. I have enough education in grade 10 to know that what they are doing is wrong. T.Brown also had a lot of strong points.
You have to look at people that went through a bad time in the program and let them speak. You shouldnt have to send your kids to a program like this so them come out more wounded than when they went it. I can see their are a few people who came out fine, which is good for them but they stuck to the program. Even with some people who did want to complete the steps properly did not have a good time in their. There are many things in families that have been affected by AARC that hurt to see. The government needs to either make changes in the program or, get rid of it all together. It should be an invironment where parents should be able to see their kids and talk to them like they are humans, not following what someone tells them to say. That is what helps families get re-connect.
i am an adopted child and i know how being able to see your family will help you connect with one another. not being able to see them or talking to them like a human wouldn't be right. if my social worker told me what i had to say to my mother i wouldnt have a social worker anymore. its the same as AARC. you have expectations in both, but its just how you want it to be. my mom told me "your in the drivers seat. Drive" when it came to Social services and thats what i did. i drove. I dont have the government controling my life, as no one should. you are your own individual and you have your choices. people shouldn't be beating you, raping you spiting or making it public that your an "idiot". it harms them with self esteem and also people get hurt seeing you like that.
And dont tell me i have a lack of education. Im a teenager who alos has a voice like any of you. maybe some of you have to go and experience someting like Child services or watching your son or daughter getting taken away, not being able to see them, being crushed, or bringing your child to a program like AARC and watching them coming out Crushed. Simple.
Mar 26 at 05:08 PM
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S.Blige wrote:
Its amazing how people went from talking about the problem to making fun of tammi. Its a little stuck up that all of you want to turn around at a grown woman and call her Under educated. I dont care how under educated she is. This is not the PROBLEM. I agree with Kelsey that we are looking at a problem With AARC. I went to AARC and came out worse. Its not fair to people you dont know. i dont care if you are a counslor for any type of thing. Your a shrink and you didnt go through the program. You got to see all of the people that went in and out. Big whoop. You go into AARC and you tell me that it wasent bad. Its up to how you look who you are and how you act. I cant remember anything about my past thanks to them. I was one of thoes people that was spat on and made fun of. Good on you Shrinks. Tammi i believe you can make a difference. I saw you on the news. My mom was very happy. If my dad was here he would have been proud too. Thank you for making such a huge difference and trying to bring everyone that went there to rest. Everyone else should go through AARC the same way i did. This is a hard thing to talk about. nad all thoes people that said i couldnt do it i have 2 words im not going to say to you but if you want to you know who i am. Thanks Tammi
Mar 26 at 06:36 PM
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S.Blige wrote:
Bannedbillw....Wow....i just read some of the s* you put on a different fourm...Can you get any lower? can i ask you something. So you work at AARC or something? or how about been to AARC? I think i have tolerated enough of your S* for long enough. You bashing a woman....sending out her sons Bebo page and looking at his face book? GET A LIFE and LEAVE THEM ALONE. I went there. and for a 14 year old boy to have had his bebo account with pictures? If your a guy....Do you remember being a boy? teenager? or are you some stuck up piece tht needs to pull the stick out of his a? i think the only way to put this is Past=Past Today is now so get over yourself. You harass her about her son saying Most happiest when having sex? Okay so you remember when you went into your sex stage? all you wanted was sex? you were a boy he made it when he was a boy he is a grow man and he is wounded as i am with that AARC made us swallow. TALK TO ANYONE who went to AARC and you ask them what the worst thing was? not being able to talk to your family caus they were acting weird because of shrinks telling them what to say? thinking your family was constantly over you and did like you anymore? crying cause you didnt know what to do? figuring out how tomorrows going to be? waiting to go home, or somewhere other then that f program? im not a happy person and no i dont like arguing with ppl that dont know s* about AARC. EXPERIENCE IT TODAY its a new day and age so get over youyrself already because im OVER YOU BASHING OUR RIGHTS AS AARC KIDS. i came i saw and i came out hurt and i want you to go there and go through the same thing. Court ordered kids should be able to go somewhere else if things get bad. when s* like that happens no one helps not ever shrinks. and ppl who tell, the government covers it up. telling my parents was hard for me and they had no idea what to do. asking them thy they were not speaking to me like they used to was hard also cause they had to speak the words of the "SHRINK" and ppl running AARC. you tell me how your feeling after you are done reading this buddy cause im not done
you keep talking you ask me questions ill answer you questions. Tammi keep going and fighting we still believe. Im just over the BS your getting on other threads. -believe--S.Blige
Mar 26 at 07:01 PM
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T. Brown wrote:
Thank you Kelsey and S. Blige
I wanted to mention something. The multiple posts of mine are where BannedBillW and others have removed their comments.
If you have such a firm constitution in your statements that you're going to turn around and REMOVE them to cover your butt, do us all a favour and don't bother posting it in the first place.
I notice all the comments about Levon ending up in jail and getting bum-f*cked by Bubba, and many others have been removed.
S. Blige, I'm sorry for what you've gone through.
If you haven't already seen it, you may be interested in the petition, which can be found here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/AARCSurv/petition.html
Mar 27 at 06:29 AM
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S.Blige wrote:
Why did my opinion get erased? he needed to see that.
Apr 01 at 07:54 PM
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T. Brown wrote:
S. Blige please repost your comments
Jun 20 at 10:54 PM
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