Sharing Through Survivor Blogs

Sharing Stories through Blogs, Forums & Pages Helps Bring Awareness!

I have been receiving a lot of great feedback on my blog and I wanted to share some other great survivor pages with all of you as well. The more people who share their experiences, the more exposure we will receive.  Further, it provides a way for recent program attendees to reach out and feel less disconnected from the rest of the world.  The loneliness we experienced when first returning home is fairly universal.  Helping to show kids that what was done to them is abusive and that they are not alone is such an important part of the healing process.

If you haven’t already, please visit the following blogs:

Phase 6 – A Voice for Thousands

Phase 6 offers a voice for anyone from any program who has survived through the troubled teen industry.  It is a great place to share and find a sense of community, as well as to locate great resources for networking, education, and advocacy.

Tales from the Black School

Multi-program blog featuring stories specific to folks who have attended a residential treatment facility, as well as great informational articles.

Just Another Hike

Stories from therapeutic wilderness programs.

Being Transported

Stories primarily focused around kids who were taken to facilities through hired “escort” services.

Survivors of New Bethany School

Blog specific to survivors of New Bethany School.

Psych Crime Reporter

Great site not only covering teen abuse, but abuse in psychiatric centers as a whole.

Surviving Straight Inc

Excellent resource not only for survivors of the infamous “Straight” program, but also other programs as well.

Straight Inc – My Brother’s Story

Heart-wrenching story and lots of resources from the sibling of a Straight survivor.

The Captive Teen

A blog dedicating to exposing those who are capitalizing off of institutional child abuse, as well as a look into teen’s experiences in these programs.

The Real Casa

Heart wrenching story of one girl’s experiences in Casa By the Sea

Straight Inc. Survivors

Excellent site with great resources for Straight survivors as well as articles/news relating to the troubled teen industry as a whole.

Nunya.com

Comprehensive site covering news and information relating to the troubled teen industry.

National Youth Rights Association

Great organization that not only focuses on the troubled teen industry (definitely visit the forums!) but also youth rights as a whole.

Paradise Cove Victims

Site focusing on survivors of WWASP’s Paradise Cove facility.

Asylum Horrible

Comprehensive site covering all teens/youth who have been impacted by residential treatment facilities.

Would you like to see your blog or story featured on WWASPDiaries?  If so, please e-mail wwaspdiaries(at)gmail.com or comment to this post with a link!

Seeking Love & Acceptance on a Path of Adversity

Mary J O’Brien submitted the following:

I grew up in an adopted home. I was raised by a childless middle aged Catholic couple. After being abused by my mother and pretty much ignored by my father, I was in and out of special schools. I started running away and acting up. Because I’m legally blind RI became desperate to put me in a school that promised to keep run aways. They sent me to Elan when I was 12. I was there five years before finally winding up at Perkins School for the Blind.

During my five years at Elan I was abused for acting up, being socially immature and living in a fantasy world. When I was 15 I was placed in a foster home where I was sexually abused. I also got into trouble for stealing cigarettes at school.

So I was pulled back in to Elan for another two years while they argued with my parents about where I was to go next.

I wrote a book about my life under the pen name Susan Kelly. The book is called “Seeking Love and Acceptance on a Path of Adversity”. However I called Elan “Edenwood” and put it in Vermont. I regret this.

This amazing story can be found through Amazon:

Seeking Love and Acceptance on a Path of Adversity by Susan Kelly

Recommended Reading

American Child, Mexican Prisoner:  Casa By the Sea

http://www.therealcasa.blogspot.com

This is an excellent survivor blog with real journal entries and letters home.  Beautifully written, this blog offers a unique look into the mind of a teenager struggling to come to terms with their imprisonment in a Mexican WWASP facility.

A Life Gone Awry

http://www.alifegoneawry.com/

Free e-book (also available through Amazon.com in print format) detailing one man’s struggle within the Elan School.  Though not WWASP affiliated, many of the methods used are similar and this story is one of few well-written memoirs that I have come across that truly make you feel as though you are there.

Facebook Survivor Groups

If you haven’t already, joining a survivor group on Facebook is an excellent way to meet other survivors and find ways to get involved in the fight against WWASP.  I highly recommend joining one (or all!) and using our stories and experiences to help bring awareness to this horrible industry.

http://www.facebook.com/groups/cafety/ (CAFETY)

http://www.facebook.com/groups/168122273247965/ (ELAN after the years)

http://www.facebook.com/groups/ifbcultsurvivorshelp/ (IFB & SRA Cult Survivors Speak Up and Fight Back!!!)

http://www.facebook.com/groups/NBGAsurvivors/ (NBGA: Proactive Survivors of New Beginnings Girls Academy)

http://www.facebook.com/groups/paradisecovesamoa/ (Paradise Cove Western Samoa)

http://www.facebook.com/groups/185627381482928/ (Reddit troubled teens)

http://www.facebook.com/groups/180232375369302/ (Survivors Against WWASP)

http://www.facebook.com/groups/2206196427/ (Stop WWASP)

http://www.facebook.com/groups/IFBhomesurvivors/ (Survivors of Independent Fundamental Baptist Cult CHILDRENS HOMES)

http://www.facebook.com/groups/215415838484780/ (Survivors of Straight Inc.)

http://www.facebook.com/groups/35429320847/ (Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) Cult Survivors (and their Supporters))

http://www.facebook.com/groups/keepaneye/ (Keep An Eye on PSI! (and UHS!))

http://www.facebook.com/groups/5879127059/ (Massachusetts Students United Against The Judge Rotenberg Center)

http://www.facebook.com/groups/129332803797885/ (The TRUTHS about the IFB CULT, as told by the survivors..)

http://www.facebook.com/groups/227353480612736/ (Boarding School Awareness Program)

http://www.facebook.com/groups/ivyairheads/ (I went to Ivy Ridge)

http://www.facebook.com/groups/67367255929/ (STOP AARC)

http://www.facebook.com/groups/249506381732909/ (LGBT Re-Education and Trouble Teen Industry Survivors)

http://www.facebook.com/groups/215750691806785/ (Midwest Academy Survivors)

http://www.facebook.com/groups/175234339183952/ (Survivors of IFB Narcissitic Families, and their supporters)

http://www.facebook.com/groups/59229784340/ (Rancho Valmora Survivors)

http://www.facebook.com/groups/ifbsurvivors/ (EXFUNDIES R US)

http://www.facebook.com/groups/171520549553697/ (You know you’re an IFB Cult Survivor when…)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Green-Chimneys-Survivors/127380260646456 (Green Chimneys Survivors)