Teen Challenge Exposed!

One last thing. Not all Centers are like this.

yeah wrote:

<quoted text>
Teen challenge is a scam, free your mind!

Teen Challenge is a Christ centered program. It teaches our children about God. It has been a very positive influence in our lives. Our son is doing great. He became a Christian and wants to live his life for God. If you want a program that isn't Christ centered then don't send your child to this program. Send your child to a psychiatrist and maybe they can help.

what Happened wrote:

I had a very strange incident involving the teen challenge hawaii chapter in 2004. I mean STRANGE. It was ran by a man named John Ellison. To make a long story short on day I awoke to no staff. Every staff member had left us kids out of the blue and bam. all of a sudden the program was shut down and people scattered. All we ever did was door to door fundraising soliciting money from the residents all around the island. I went back to NC and never heard about it again. Id like to know what happened to all my friends that were there and what caused this evacuation??? Please if anyone knows any thing or would like to discuss the situation in further detail please email me at Legocash@yahoo.com

Consider yourself fortunate. I believe Teen Challenge is a great program but there are phony pastors that use the Lord (wolves in sheeps' clothing).

The links below may be the reason why John Elleson left TC. Seems strand for John Elleson to continually put himself in the middle of these scandals if he is innocent. The bible teaches us to walk with peace. This type of behavior is odd, and eradict according to the Daily Herald link. Why would a Pastor treat another church so poorly? The bible teaches us that the love of money is the root of all evil.

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCOURTS-hid-1_0...

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/200...

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20100325/n...

http://bcwebdesigns.tripod.com/kimonline/id23...

Hope this explains why?

Anonymous said...

I have never read this blog before, but i walked off a teen challenge program in vero beach florida in 09....best decision i made in my entire life.I had to walk 10 miles down the side of a high way with the directors sons passing me over and over and throwing bottles and other assorted trash at me, but it was all worth it. I was told for 10 months straight that I was a "hopeless addict" and that without jesus i was a piece of shit. I some how managed to get through the bullshit and the abuse (both physical and mental) and I can honestly say that this blog doesn't cover half the shit that goes on in those hell holes.gulag isnt even the right word for those places....more like concentration camp. For 10 months i was less than shit, and i had it easy because i was a liability to the director and his 2 sons free trucks and company cards to spend on a whim. The crooks who run that place are sub-human in the way they treat people. i've never seen any of the other juvenile tcs, but from what i've heard they are worse than the one i was in. I can't even imagine that crap. In my short stay i was waterboarded, slapped and punched multiple times by staff, and was told on many occasions that i was going to have to "fight like a man" by staff only to have to face off against 4-5 full grown men easily twice my size (literally - i lost 73 lbs my first 4 months from malnutrition.)the tactics they use to "show people the love of christ" are simply barbaric.I have personally seen a young man taken out behind a building during a chapel meeting and beaten (not some weak little slap in the face, he had a bloody nose and a black eye when he came back in), than told that he had no witnesses so he could do nothing, and than told it was to save his life from drugs and alcohol. the kid hadn't even used before in his life and was a ward of the state. if anything the teen challenge program does nothing but ruin lives. I have watched my best friend since i was 7 years old leave that place and go completely downhill, suffering from near suicidal depression and heavy cocaine and exstacy abuse. 80%+ clean after the program my ass. everyone i know from there has moved onto heavier drugs and worse crimes. half the staff were giving drugs and alcohol to the students. these "discipleship programs" do nothing but harm the very bullshit they are trying to peddle. if you are a parent and you are reading this, please excuse my profanity but just thinking about that place makes me miserable. dont send your kid there, trust me. those people are evil, plain and simple. The man who ran that place is the only "pastor" i've ever heard of with 3 trucks,2 boats, and 2 motorcycles, while claiming to make less than 70g's a year. and they aren't cheap,beaten up,used PoS's. don't let that man fool you for a second. i would give out my name and e-mail so anyone who wants more info could contact me, but the last person who did that had his life and livelyhood threatened. If this blog does anything to stop those monsters from hurting anyone else, than thank you so much.
1:48 AM, March 27, 2010

This is not treatment and it certainly isn't Christianity.

How do I get my boyfriend out of teen challenge? He went in, blindsided, not knowing it was for a year. I am the only one he has left, his family has abandoned him and they wont even let him write me a letter for a whole year! please help!!

Courtney wrote:

How do I get my boyfriend out of teen challenge? He went in, blindsided, not knowing it was for a year. I am the only one he has left, his family has abandoned him and they wont even let him write me a letter for a whole year! please help!!

I went to West Michigan Teen Challenge for 8 months and from what I saw, they should decide whether to let you talk with him after a certain number of months, just don't give them any reason to keep you away from him. I had to utilise the times that monitering was limited to tell my family the things that were on my chest because all mail was read and all calls were listened to. Visitation had someone sitting at a table and was the best time to talk in a hushed tone. Look into the policies there and try to figure out if there is any way you can contact him down the line. You might even be able to use another name and initial it somewhere so he knows it's you, be ware that if they find out, he will be in trouble. Maybe try to talk about yourself in 3rd person but don't make it obvious! I really hope this helps and be very carefull as the risks will be high if you decide to do this.

I would have to agree I Worked at Wabash Valley Teen Challenge for 7 months,I just quit about a week ago due to how crooked they are. This center was located in Terre haute In. I used to be a heroin addict but have been clean now for over a year and a half. I went through the year long Teen Challenge program in Elkhart In and it saved my life - I was wanting to help myself thou not everyone gets the same results. Anyhow the Terre Haute location is very much a joke and a scheme. First off they are located in the ghetto. You could honestly look out the front window and see the neighbors smoking Marijuana. Now I understand that you will find it anywhere you go, but if you are not giving them a chance then it kinda defeats the purpose. That was not all, many of the students were drunk or high their entire stay and when they would get caught they would get nothing more than a "slap on the wrist" Now I'm no expert in addiction although I did live it. But this seems to completely contradict what I have always been told and that is "You must not enable them or they will not learn -only take advantage of the situation". I know of several students that left worse than when they came in, that breaks my heart but it is truth. The whole place was backwards the Director had a full time job at a factory and was more interested in playing softball than helping out. We would see him 1-2 days a week for about 2hrs at best. I was simply an intern being payed a measly $50 a week and was doing all his work. I never once asked for a raise. The fee for a student was $500/month and that more than payed for their stay almost all of there food was donated or was from food banks and next to nothing. Meat was 18 cents per pound bread free and veg's free. They honestly payed about $50/month for food. They would have the student go out on these "Work Details" to mow yards and do anything else people may need. They would have the students walk around and pass out flyers advertising this service. This would have been alright with me if the students actually benefited from this extra money, but no it was hoarded in the bank there was close to $20,000 in the Wabash Valley Teen Challenge bank account just before I left and I would know I was the Administrative Assistant. I would STRONGLY advise you to do your research before you check yourself or a loved one into a Teen Challenge. I believe the Elkhart center had their ducks in a row but this Teen Challenge in Terre Haute should not bear the Teen Challenge logo. The director should be thrown in jail. I believe that it is against the law to claim a Non-Profit status and make money off the very patient/students you are supposed to be helping. Also they had a employee there that was also a Wanted fugitive. Now my Step-father is a police officer and I know the law pretty well. This would be considered "Harboring a Fugitive".. Like I said before do your research, Im sure not all centers are like this but these are peoples lives, and noting to be taken lightly.

Either most of you are talking about an unusual Teen Challenge program, or TC has changed dramatically over the years. This is NOT the Teen Challenge I know.

I attended Teen Challenge, in Russellville Arkansas for 4months this year, and how i lasted 4months i dont know! They are all about there money. They had us out "fundraising" 12hrs a day, thursday,Friday and saturday. Basically panhandling, selling crafts and asking people for donations. The pastors gave us wknd goals of $28,000. If we didnt meet the goals,. The students were reprimanded, while the head pastor is driving a brand new camaro, his wife was in an escalade and they lived in a million dollar home. Upon entering they told my grandma i couldnt come unless i paid $1000 cause i wasnt court ordered. Then when we went fundraising we had to tell people the money we raised was to keep the program free for people to come in off the street. We had another pastor who was sleeping with some of the girls, and when the executive director found out they kicked the girl out and did nothing to the pastor. They would have us out fundraising till 12:30am and up at 3:30 to go out again. And if your sick, your fucked, cause they arent a medical facility and they wont help you. They wouldnt let me leave or leave with any of my stuff, so i snuck out of the house in the middle of the night, and had to find a way back to tx!!

I was with Teen Challenge for some years. All I've got to say is change doesn't come with short-cuts. It took me several years to understand and come to terms with myself. Like someone else has pointed out above, some issues take time, many years to heal, and there is no program in the world that could legitimately claim to do it in a few easy steps. I am a born again Christian and I believe Jesus can heal. But I would never put anyone on a program. It took me many years to reach conviction on certain areas in my life. And I believe its the same for everyone. If you really wish to change, don't trust any progam. Just trust God to work on you. And he will. I've noticed from my own life, that initiation should always be ours. God will never work unless we initiate. Once we do that, he takes over from there. For e.g., he will never stop your addiction. You will have to do that. Once you do that in faith, he will take it over from there and remove that craving forever. Ditto for every other problem.

I am sorry but to see the things being posted on here is crazy! My oldest brother was addicted to heroin for almost 10 years. He spent 1 1/2 years at TC in Riverside. He is now been 2 years clean and is ministering in jails. My mother,sister and other brother had the same addiction and are now at TC in San Diego, Lynnwood and Eureka. They all love it and I now have restoration in my family. My sister who did not have a relationship with God is now loving herself as well as God. TC is all about becoming new creations of God and not condemning yourself for your past. My family has spent thousands on different programs all of which they would leave within 2 weeks. So I don't know where you people are getting your issues from, mabey TC didnt work for you or your bitter caz it didnt work for a family member but to bash a program that has helped save so many peoples lives, is just plain wrong. Im sorry but my experience of TC has been nothign but great. Thank you TC for helping bring my family back to God and let them forgive themselves for their past and helping them realize God loves us no matter what.

ThatYurokChic wrote:

<quoted text>
If you had a 30 YEAR drug addiction, what where you doing at TEEN challenge? I'm confused.
Either way, glad to hear you found recovery.

Teen Challenge has very few teens in the program. It is mostly adults over 20. There is no abuse and is as good a program as you want it to be. Just listen to all the testimonies of their success. Whether you believe or not doesn't matter. Their testimony and mine is proof that it works. Don't be ignorant or closeminded.

David wrote:

Either most of you are talking about an unusual Teen Challenge program, or TC has changed dramatically over the years. This is NOT the Teen Challenge I know.

Me too David

me too lovely. graduated in 2000 and still clean and drug free. married with 2 kids and no longer addicted to drugs. Aye, its a hard programme, but being an addict is harder. I am grateful for the help and support i got in Teen Challenge UK. The staff there are underpaid and sacrifice so much of their own lives to help others. I can only speak for Hope House because i have only ever bern a resident there, but i have good memories from there. Its a place of safety and even though I was challenged, i took the challenge on. x

My name is Scott. I am 26 years old. I attended a Teen Challenge in North Carolina when I was 25. It was one of the worst experiences I ever had. My first counseling session with the head leader was a disaster. I told them that as a teenager I had been sexually abused by older men. That made me think that I was bisexual. I told them that I was not sure that I was anymore and that I wanted to stay straight. After that they moved me out of the dorm I was in and put me into a isolated room with video recording in the smoke detector. They treated my like I was a devil just because of my bisexuality. They had other homosexuals there and two of them were in an active relationship with each other before they came there. But they didn't treat them horrible like me because their parents donated lots of money to TC. Then one morning they pulled me out of morning chapel and took me back to my room. They told me they were kicking me out! Why? I asked. They didn't want me there because they were grossed out by my bisexual past and my parents had not sent any more money yet. They packed me up quickly and dropped me off at a horrible drug infested greyhound bus depot in NC. I begged them not to. I thought I was doing so well. I was signing in the choir, testifying in church, and had dreams of completing the program and eventually finding a women and falling in love and staring a family. My heart was in this. After all that drug rehab and brain washing what did I get out of it? I got left at a dirty bus station with drug dealers everywhere! No money and no bus ticket back to Florida! I called my mom and did make it home by the grace of God. I am now back to my old self (trying to stay clean though.) And I am now excepting the fact that I'm gay. They made me want to kill myself because of my homosexuality. The other guys their were great and I wish them the best. But how can you expect to recover and adapt to society when you are kept in the dark? No secular music, no TV. You cant be friends with none Christians. And God wants your money! God made TC. LOL! I'm glad I made it out of that place alive. They are steady bashing everyone else when they cant even see the beam in their own eye. And they hate the KJV! If your a Christian parent and you are thinking about sending your kid their. Think twice! If your kid thinks he's gay do not send them to this gay bashing camp. You will only make it harder on them to accept themselves. God loves us all! I am still fighting to stay clean everyday but I will never recommend that place to anyone! Be who you are and love God. He loves you no matter what.