I was placed into a WWASP program after my parents had searched for months to find a place they could send me to while Child Protective Services was investigating. Instead of letting social workers investigate, they took me into the program and refused to let me have any outside contact with authorities. I was kidnapped in the middle of the night by a man and a woman. I was forced to take my pants off and use the restroom with the man and woman staring at me. I was driven to the middle of nowhere and forced again to strip naked in front of multiple men and women. At one point, there was only a man in the room and I was fully exposed. I wondered why it was legal for grown men to stare at my naked, teenage girl body. I was 15. I had given no consent, I was underage, I had no legal charges, and I had no trial. The staff who strip searched and watched me were not certified and they did not hold any licensing. I was deprived of my childhood and I was dehumanized. It was several weeks (if not months) until I came face to face with (what I believed to be) a certified psychiatrist. Upon being discharged multiple programs later, I was told that I had no mental illnesses. I woke up in the middle of the night in complete terror for years that I would be sent back to one of those places. I saw many kids face serious illnesses such as hypothermia to the extent of passing out, third degree burns, and broken bones only to be told to drink more water. At my final TTI, I saw girls turn legal ages and finally be able to leave the facility. They were often times forced to stay in homeless shelters until they felt there was no other choice except to come back. The homeless shelters seemed dangerous, lacked food, and they had no way to contact outsiders to pick them up.
