Teen Challenge Exposed!

[Concerned]

I just heard that one of the boys at teen challenge was caught having sex with a worker from the food bank in odessa they were in the freezer, the employee's husband caught them in the act and threaten their lives - this just happened yesterday (jan 29)

[kait]

my mom used to be a druggie 3 years ago, living on the streets...looking for needles. She went there and was cured. She's completely different now.

The people who say bad things about are jealous and upset cause they know God is real, and he can heal. God is the definition of love. Without God, you are incapable of any kind of love.

[kait]

Annnd to concerned, that's just a bunch of crap. Serriously.

[BiBi]

I LOVE MIDLAND!!!

[texastig]

Why would a child have shaving cream for? This story is a big lie.

Hollie wrote:

I took my child to Midland Tx Teen Challenge.It was a MISTAKE!! They took his mouth wash and shaving cream. They told him that his past life was all a mistake and if he wanted a life he had to give all to Christ.He had to pray for 5hrs a day or he didnt get to eat and had to wear a yellow vest so he was know as a outsider and no one was allowed to talk,look speak of him he was a ghost.There was no heat,no hot water.Left over food cold cereal. It was 38 degrees outside. This place is a nightmare!!There was no Christ like atmosphere and they call it a bootcamp for Christ.When he left they called him a fool and a joke and that he would never make it in life.

[Paul Radford]

So, what you were doing before was working great? Ever hear of military boot camp? It works wonders! Pampering and enabling are not the answer. Stop your whining, stop "protecting" your child. You're doing your child no favors and I'm tired of paying for the wreckage created by liberal parents like yourself.

[charisse]

my daughter is @ the midland tx center and in just the 2months she has been there, WOW shes herself again and more God like than shes ever been. not gona get into her story all i can say is i thank God for the people and the center that are helping her. as for the mom that wishes her son better off in jail my heart goes out to you. that is no place for anyone much less a child!! he thinks the rules are hard @ the center, maam he aint seen nothing yet. those rules are there for a reason, disapline, structure, values, respect..the list goes on & on. and as for the mom of the MISTAKE, if you read your entry list it plainly states on there what they can & cannot have...ex:mouthwash has too be alcohol free (duh they will drink it) and shaving cream come on lady wake up...they huff it.. your son couldnt handle the rules and chose to leave..by the way they are not forced to stay and have free will to go. i pray & give thanks every day for the ones that are and have helped my daughter on her new path.

[troy minnesota]

Its really to bad that people dont have anything better to do than to try to get people to hate things they hate!
minnesota Teen challenge is great!
Just because a kid cant make it through a program dont mean that the program dont work!!
Maybe we should do a better a job raising our kids and then they will go out of buisness!
Good Luck!

[troy minnesota]

good work you should be proud and loud!!!

[troy minnesota]

Concerned wrote:

I just heard that one of the boys at teen challenge was caught having sex with a worker from the food bank in odessa they were in the freezer, the employee's husband caught them in the act and threaten their lives - this just happened yesterday (jan 29)

Do you have a point???

[FED UP IN ODESSA]

troy minnesota wrote:

Its really to bad that people dont have anything better to do than to try to get people to hate things they hate!
minnesota Teen challenge is great!
Just because a kid cant make it through a program dont mean that the program dont work!!
Maybe we should do a better a job raising our kids and then they will go out of buisness!
Good Luck!

i absolutlely agree with you!

[MIke L]

There is no such thing as a "drug program with a 90 percent success rate. Thats just unprovable bullshit and any professionals who actually work in the field know that ALCOHOL and DRUG ADDICTION has no CURE, it is a disease of lifelong management. Where there is smoke there is fire, your child does not need abuse as treatment. And as for "children lying" I cannot tell you how much mismanagement, theft, rape, and violation of civil rights occur within inpatient programs like this one. Close it down and seek treatment from professionals who actually know what they are doing instead of Jesus freaks looking to cash in.

Michael Kincheloe wrote:

<quoted text>
It doesn't have a 90% success rate; the numbers are fudged and as phony as a six-dollar bill.
If the "means to the end" violate even one person's civil rights, they are illegal and must be disposed of. They must follow secular laws (Jesus told everyone to) or they will be hit with a large monetary judgment.

[Carrie]

OK, I have seen the bad posts about Teen Challenge and have seen the good posts, but something about those who critize Teen Challenge bothers me. You want your kids/family members to be free from Drugs and Alcohol? If I had a kid/family member who was an addict, I would do anything to get them to give it up and become whole again. Why do you critize something that tries to help that loved one to be back to being a Person? Remember you looked the other way and your kid got into it in the first place. Now you want to believe your kids further lies about being abused. Ok, I have seen Teen Challenge in Riverside CA and have seen the great things it does. I am not a "holy roller" but I know of the program and I know without something to change an addicts life, he/she will go back to being an addict. I believe their program with the discipline it provides does that. Now to the 90% success rate, maybe so, maybe not, but it is better than most other programs, and yes I work in Law Enforcement so I have seen many of the other programs and hundreds of addicts of every age group. To the mother who questioned about Shaving Cream/Gel being taken away, well the Gel can be used as an inhalent and the Cream has alcohol in it. The same for the Mouthwash. Do you feel the same way now about it being taken away from him? Why let him go to a Drug/Alcohol treatment program with something that can be substituted for the drugs you are trying to get your kids off of? Wow, you really don't know anything about what your kid is doing. He is probably still using drugs behind your back. Keep on looking the other way and he or she will end up dead. There is no magic cure for drugs and alcohol. It takes discipline and faith. I am a Christian and believe God will cure, but he does put the burden on us to change. OK lets see you critics challenge me.

[mother of TC student]

My son has graduated from Teen Challenge in Michigan. He actually became a staff member there. He never said anything bad about it. There always is a way around the system, though. God is the center of study there. They go to church several times a week. Only God can change you. We didn't have to pay anything for him to go there. They do community work projects that help the elderly and ill. Good things. We need to pray for these Teen Challenge centers. Those guys and girls need our prayer. For a mother to have to see her beautiful son get mixed up in drugs and alchohol...I don't wish that on anyone. It's a day to day struggle...even in a Teen Challenge. God bless those people (who by the way aren't all TEENS. There were men there who were in their fifties and sixties. I pray for these men and women. I pray that God will touch their minds and help them to stop wanting the drugs. These boys and men feel depressed because they think they are weak. They feel guilty. My son WANTS to quit. Teen Challenge has been good to him. They are loving and kind to him. They didn't brainwash him or abuse him. It is not a cult. I have visited him when ever I wanted to. I could go through the facility. And...believe me...my son would tell me if there was something there I should know of. This guy who is writing bad things...it is his opinion. I disagree with him.

[midland mom]

My son is at Midland TC now, too. Pray with me for our children and that they choose God's power over this addiction. I will pray for your daughter, too.

[Jen G]

I am a former Teen Challenge student who went to that exact location.
I was there for 15 months.
and everything this "mother" described is true.
but there's a reason why people go there.
and if you think you deserve better, then fine.
but other people might need discipline.
and discipline is described in the bible as a form of love.
yes, our worldly minds might take it as a "cult" or "power trip"..but really it changes people.
i know it did me and a couple of determined friends i met in that program.
if a ministry can turn a hard core drug abuser/aetheist into a civil person in 15 months, then they should get better credit.
and if you dont notice, they are expanding because it really is from God.

[A father who cares]

My son is in the program and doing well. He had been in state run facilities and programs before, and nothing helped. Teen challenge is the best thing that I have ever had the privilege of being involved with. Michael and Hollie who wrote the negative comments from above have no clue what they are talking about. If you have a child who needs help, has been in trouble, on drugs and truly wants to get free and start over, then I am telling you, this is the place to take your child. If you truly know whats its like-Trust God & Trust Teen Challenge!

[Little Sister]

My brother is in Teen Challenge right now. He was kicked out once before and is trying it again for the second time. He has been a meth addict for the past 4 years. He's been in jail, prison, and homeless. I've bailed him out as much as I could until now. I had given up all hope on him and basically wrote him off. Just recently, he was awarded a scholarship to Teen Challenge. My brother has told me TC is harder than jail or the pen. I visited him last month--it was a regular looking place much like one of my dorm rooms in college. I left this place a believer--in more ways than one. GOD has worked a miracle on my brother. The change in him is amazing! I don't want him to leave the place until he graduates. Yes, he has to pray for a few hours a day, eat starchy foods, be neatly groomed, and learn how to be respectful to others. It could certainly be a lot worse! I've been waiting for a phone call in the middle of the night saying he was found dead. Praise God for this faith-based program that is saving my brother's life!