Vero Beach, FL Teen Challenge Boys' Program

[Kim]

Michael,were you at the TC in Vero Beach Florida?

[michael]

yes i was...

[kim]

Can you be specific about what you didn't like about it?

[michael]

•Teen Challenge staff are not returning phone calls to concerned family members.
•Teen Challenge staff closely monitor conversations and visits so as not to allow the person who is in for treatment to be able to tell their family members exactly what is happening or has happened to them (or others) while in Teen Challenge.
•Teen Challenge staff will actually disconnect telephone conversations when either party mentions something they do not think is appropriate.
•Teen Challenge staff reprimands your loved one using various forms of punishment as discipline that you may not approve of.
•Teen Challenge severely limits contact with the outside world during the entire one-year (or more) stay at Teen Challenge.
•Teen Challenge staff have also been accused of physical, mental and spiritual abuse.
•Very high drop-out rates that will completely change the publics perception of those incredibly high success rates that Teen Challenge continually boasts about.

[michael]

everyone of these statements are true. the first one is why my mother took me out. the director completly ignored my mom. emails, letters, and phone calls...

[CONCERNED]

No, I'm a Grandma and have a grandson there that I'm very close to. I'm thinking that the time you spent there, good or bad made you appreciate who you are and what you have. God bless you and good luck with your job!

[TC graduate]

michael...come on...

feel free to send me an e-mail, [e-mail]

Ofcourse you didnt like teen challenge at vero beach. Its tough, its supposed to be. It has to be structured because most of the boys are hard headed, drug addict's, bullying their parents, etc.. etc... The boys are used to getting their way, when coming to teen challenge @ VB you dont get your way anymore. Your schedule is structured and you have rules. Ofcourse you dont like it. Dont even make it seem like they break any laws there. They dont hit kids, force christianity on anyone etc... before i was in teen challenge of vero beach is was in a level 8 high risk/high security bootcamp that got shut down for child abuse where they hit kids, didnt feed kids, chained kids to bed's, eat their own vomit, etc.. etc... Teen Challenge at vero beach was disney land compared to that place.

Heres my testimony.

After my other program shut down i was court ordered to teen challenge of vero beach. I was from maryland. I got 10 felonies in a day, drug possesion,distribution, weapon possesion, all on a school zone etc...

I came to teen challenge. It was 15 months and it was really long. At first i did not like it, naturally. I couldent get my way anymore. I had to follow their schedule, follow their rules, get disciplined to their accords etc.. I was being rebellious and being an idiot so i got in trouble alot. It took me 6 months into the program to realize that i really needed it. I got saved august of 2008, my 6 month mark. It was a big deal. Before i came from a muslim background, my family was heavily muslim. They traced their descendence to abraham and ishmael. when i first got saved it was just a tactic to get the staff to like me, but soon god started working in my life. I started behaving like a young man, and the staff treated me like one. I started working in the kitchen, and graduated high school so i was the class tutor. Eventually I got enough trust to work in the office, and i became the head cook in the kitchen. Working in the office i worked with pastor Maynard and Nate S the program directors. They are 2 awesome men. I would gladly take a bullet for them. While i was at teen challenge, my freedoms were obviously severely limited.. like in any other juvinile program. No one likes their freedoms limited. But now that i look back on it, i learned so much there. I got cooking experience, i learned about the bible, i made life long friends, i got in shape, i got better at basket ball, i got my diploma, i did a college course, i got my charges expunged with a letter from pastor maynard.

Ofcourse, all programs have their areas they need to work on. Teen Challenge of Vero Beach isnt perfect, but nor is any other program. The school system could be structured better, and the school administrator could spend some more time helping the boys in school. We would like our all day free saturdays back instead of 1/2 work hall. and ofcourse sometimes i got in trouble for stuff i didnt do, but thats life.hell, they changed my life. they loved me and cared about me.

and for the final question, does Teen Challenge work? Only if you (the person in the program) wants it to. If you fight the program, then it wont. If you make the best of it you will learn alot. i sure did. I am in medical school rightnow, i am becoming a physician.

I hope i helped someone.

[TC graduate]

oh 1 more thing, about this

•Teen Challenge staff are not returning phone calls to concerned family members.

Not true, i was the program directors office assistant he does his best to call everyone back who calls him. I take the messages, i know

•Teen Challenge staff closely monitor conversations and visits so as not to allow the person who is in for treatment to be able to tell their family members exactly what is happening or has happened to them (or others) while in Teen Challenge.

When i was in teen challenge i even lied and tried to tell my parents they were hitting me, to go home. no one likes it, its a juvinile program. no one wants to be there. tough.

•Teen Challenge staff will actually disconnect telephone conversations when either party mentions something they do not think is appropriate.

Yeah, because kids lie and disrespect their parents sometimes.

•Teen Challenge staff reprimands your loved one using various forms of punishment as discipline that you may not approve of.

Like what? Copying bible verses(CQ's), Phisical Training (Push up's, sit up's, running) for 1 hour a day at a time? Grits 2 times a week? Wearing a jumpsuit and doing extra chores because you recently ran away or you have over 100 CQ's?

•Teen Challenge severely limits contact with the outside world during the entire one-year (or more) stay at Teen Challenge.

Yeah, ofcourse. They are trying to get you off of drugs for the future. you think they want you talking to your drug addict friends and your girl friend who does drugs? You dont need to worry about the outside world, you dont need to worry about lil wayne's new CD or whatever anyways. We watched NFL and college football games while i was there and the staff always told us what was going on in current events anyways.

•Teen Challenge staff have also been accused of physical, mental and spiritual abuse.

Ofcourse, just as any other program by kids trying to get out

•Very high drop-out rates that will completely change the publics perception of those incredibly high success rates that Teen Challenge continually boasts about.

Uhm yeah... they cant garuntee success for someone who doesnt finish the program... a kid who doesnt ever show up to school wont exactly ace the SAT.

Those points were really stupid.

[TC graduate]

oh, Concerned are you Drew's grandmother? Joyce? I was an office worker and it was my job to sort mail. Drew gets ALOT of letters.

[CONCERNED]

No, I am not Drew's mother. I just want to thank God for you and for taking the time to write. You've probably helped a lot of hurting hearts of family memebers. You did ours. We see things just as you say but there's always that little doubt because we are not there. We get so crushed when he backslides and you are a real inspiration. Bless you in your journey!

[TC graduate]

hey concerned, whose grandmother are you. I bet i know him. I just graduated less then 2 months ago?

[CONCERNED]

Yes, TG you probably do know him but, I just don't want to get into names on or off this forum. I just know if you only graduated 2 mon ago, at least he got to know you as a role model. You've answered so many questions for us and I can see that TC is very open and honest as we expected. You've come such a long way and now knowing that life is not easy so much of the time, you will succeed in ways never possible before. Again, Thank you, Thank you!

[michael]

i was there 5 years ago. dont know if they have different people there now but im sure they do.. got those points from a different website.. just giving my .02 on things there.

[TC graduate]

its been 5 years... no staff member there has been there for the last 5 years aside from pastor maynard and Brother D.

[michael]

ole brother d i liked him alot he is a good guy

[TC graduate]

He recently left... but i call him up from time to time. He is a cool guy..brother D.

[alexis]

TC graduate wrote:

Alexis, is your bf Nick palmer, and emily is yours craig chapman?

Yes! can you please email me at [e-mail]

[biggn]

well everyone thinks this is such a great place go ahead and send your child there and see if it does what you want. i gave my opinion on the place

[TC graduate]

biggn wrote:

well everyone thinks this is such a great place go ahead and send your child there and see if it does what you want. i gave my opinion on the place

Yes do it. I went to Teen Challenge of Vero Beach, i graduated. As of rightnow im a Combat Medic in the US ARMY. I am EMT-B certified. I am a PFC/Private First Class. I am stationed at fort sam houston.

I am succesful because of them, because of GOD.

[CONCERNED]

God bless you TC graduate from Richardson, Tx. My grandson is there now and I know what you say is true. Thank you for writing and best of luck in your journey.