We speak for them to be heard
About WWASP Survivors
WWASP Survivors is run by a dedicated group of concerned alumni of WWASP-affiliated programs.
Our mission is threefold: to raise awareness of the true dangers of WWASP Programs, to advocate for those still being held and abused within the Troubled Teen Industry, and to provide support to survivors of WWASP programs.
Join Our Facebook Support Group
The WWASP Survivors Facebook group was created to process reports and offer love, understanding and support to survivors of all programs through their respective healing process. This group is a safe place for survivors to speak out and be heard. In order to join our community you must first request to join and briefly answer all questions.
No Child Deserves Abuse
in the name of treatment.
- Everyone deserves to know the truth about what goes on behind these gates. BUYER BEWARE. Please use our Red Flags List to help identify a WWASP program. The Troubled Teen Industry uses deceptive marketing techniques. Don’t be fooled by the slick marketing. Do your research.
- Restraints and solitary confinement. Experimental “attack” therapy. Cruel and unusual punishments. The unsafe and unethical procedures used by the TTI must be prohibited. Learn more about our Legislative Policies.
- American youth deserve all the same human rights as any other citizen. Parental rights DO NOT trump the child’s right to consent, safety, and decency in treatment. Signing a child’s rights away to any business is a predentary contract and should be outlawed.
- Programs shouldn’t refuse reasonable access to unmonitored phone calls. Children should not be prevented from being able to alert the authorities and child protective services if they witness or experience abuse.
- Mandate minimum standards for education, training and licensing requirements of all staff. When staff members are not properly trained to de-escalate with safe and ethical practices, things go wrong. Children die. Many more live with lifelong trauma.
- If the program director and therapists or “case managers” do not have adequate degrees, certifications, and experience to be mental health practitioners, you should avoid placing your child into their care.
Help shouldn’t have to hurt. “Tough Love” isn’t love at all, it’s abuse. We advocate for families to seek the least restrictive community-based treatment option possible. Programs must be licensed and regulated. Polices and procedures must be transparent, ethical, evidence-based, and trauma-informed. Avoid at all costs, coercive and oppressive behavior modification programs.
Change is possible
What Can YOU Do?
Want to help? There are lots of ways to get involved! If you’re a survivor, please consider submitting your testimony of your experiences for our online repository. You can also sign our petition, leave comments on our site, and help us get our message out on social media. If you have a specialized skill like web coding, database engineering, public relations, mental health treatment, or law, and you’re willing to donate your time, we’d also love to hear from you! Finally, we do take donations, which go towards our domain and web hosting costs.
Submit your Testimony
Our voices matter! Share your story and let your voice be heard.
Sign our petition
Our legislation efforts are continuously ongoing. Your support gives us power!
Leave Comments
Comments provide support and validation for other survivors.
Share On Social Media
Sharing our site and articles raises awareness and gives our voices an engaging platform.
The "Troubled teen" Industry
RESEARCH
Latest in Activism
Breaking Code Silence
WWASP Survivors is teaming up with BreakingCodeSilence.net and SDLS (Suburbia’s Dirty Little Secret) to support the #breakingcodesilence campaign to spread awareness of the troubled teen industry and the need for reform.
What I needed was therapy, love & compassion.. what I got was C-PTSD, trust issues & anxiety. Taken from my home at 3am, dragged out of my bed by 2 strangers & forced into a car that would eventually take me to Tijuana, Mexico. I was 16 years old, all alone, held captive at “Casa By The Sea”. This behavior modification “reform” school was anything but the help I needed, there was no therapy, no compassion & no way to convince our loved ones it was the hell it really was.. I survived 7 months there & today I am Breaking Code Silence.
At age 15 I was kidnapped while sleeping and taken to a WWASP program in Montana. The premise of the program was to break the students will and rebuild them under behavior modification. I experienced what could only be considered as psychological torture through the pseudoscience therapy techniques while in a high abuse environment. This experience has left me with long-term ptsd and trust issues. I survived 18 months at Spring Creek Lodge and today I am breaking code silence.
It took me years to vocalize how I really felt and admit that what happened at Tranquility Bay was wrong. As an adult I have been diagnosed with C-PTSD and General Anxiety Disorder. I have deep abandonment issues that have negatively affected relationships throughout my entire life. Imagine the fear in a child as they’re ripped from their home in the middle of the night and blindly sent to another country and having no idea what lies ahead of them. I’m speaking out, so that no more children ever have to feel that same fear. I am Breaking Code Silence.
What is The The Troubled Teen Industry?
The Troubled Teen Industry is a vast, highly profitable network of programs and residential facilities that advertise treating, rehabilitating or reforming “troubled” youth. However much of the industry claiming to treat them is barely overseen, under-regulated, and riddled with abuse. These children are dollar signs, and with big money comes big corruption.
Latest in Advocacy
Open Letter:
Close “Troubled Teen” Programs For COVID 19
Recently, as member of a multi-organization coalition, WWASP Survivors along with The Freedom Village Experience and The National Youth Rights Association, co-wrote an open letter to our law makers to close “troubled teen” programs for youth.
WWASP Survivors Blog
Open Letter: Close “Troubled Teen” Programs for Youth During COVID-19 Pandemic
Unfortunately, disaster has already struck in several facilities around the country, including an outbreak that was only revealed to the public because of the horrific death of a teenager who was restrained to death by 7 staff members. Due to a lack of any outside communication systems, it is highly likely that outbreaks in TTI programs are not being reported.
A Short (but Scary) History of The Troubled Teen Industry
Video Credit: Jen Robinson For more information and to view more videos please visit BreakingCodeSilence.net
Ben Trane Trial – The many contradictions
Having trouble keeping up with all the contradicting statements by Ben and his staff during the Ben Trane trial? Us too! To make it easier for everyone, we decided to make this post about all the conflicting statements the administrative and clinical staff said before, during and after the trial.
Ben Trane Trial – Pretrial Conference Transcript 11/27/2017
In this post, we will go over the certified pretrial transcript which was cause for much speculation during the hearing for a new trial. This isn't a very long transcript so we'll just highlight a few points and then post a link to the full transcript. Ben Trane...
Provo Canyon School – Rachel
I was placed at Provo Canyon School by the state of California. I had run away from an abusive home, and had a lot of behavior problems stemming from the abuse so California decided to send me to Provo. Some of my memories are vague, but I do remember being...
Spring Ridge Academy – Raelyn
I was sent to Spring Ridge Academy, a therapeutic boarding school, when I was 17. I’d been a high-achieving, straight-A student my whole life and I had a lot of friends. I knew my parents loved me but they fought a lot of the time, so by middle school I was already...
Academy at Ivy Ridge – Will
I faked an appendicitis so that I would be transported to the hospital and from there make my escape. The doctor decided to perform and appendectomy on me anyways and when I woke up from surgery my family was there. I told them all of the brutality that was happening,...
Get In Touch
Direct all inquiries to:
admin@WWASPSURVIVORS.com