12 May 2008

Teen Challenge--an Assemblies of God-run "kiddie boot camp" chain

Following are the links to a 9-part series documenting systematic religious abuse at Teen Challenge, an Assemblies of God "faith-based rehab" chain targeting minors and young adults that is increasingly being used as a form of diversionary sentencing in lieu of imprisonment:

Part 1 - Teen Challenge: The Assemblies' own "kiddie gulag"
A history of how Teen Challenge was deregulated, and some of the reports of gross mistreatment at the facility--including just about every form of abuse that could have been done to those kids.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/26/
17250/8747/930/503496


Part 2 -Teen Challenge: Coercive groups disguised as rehab
A focus on an aspect Teen Challenge shares with its parent denomination--a history of rampant coercive tactics and spiritual abuse.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/27/
171937/973/465/503961


Part 3 - Teen Challenge: A typical week in the "Jesus Gulag"
A typical week at Teen Challenge--and the extreme amounts of indoctrination, which often take up more than half of the waking hours of the day of participants.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/28/
17428/8172/453/503981


Part 4 - Teen Challenge: Life within the "Jesus Gulag"
Life within Teen Challenge, as revealed by their guides to members--and why Teen Challenge cannot be considered a legitimate rehab facility but rather a "Jesus Gulag".
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/29/
165243/571/427/504015


Part 5 - Teen Challenge: Possible missionary mill?
How Teen Challenge operates in part as a de facto "missionary mill" for the Assemblies of God--and in fact as a particularly insidious recruitment front for the group.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/30/
1712/32864/374/504060


Part 6 - Teen Challenge: The depths of coercion at a "God Warrior" training camp
Disturbing revelations at the Florida Teen Challenge boy's camps--which include literal "God Warrior" imagery, right down to the camouflage and drill patrols.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/5/1/
164418/2864/144/505299


Part 7 - Teen Challenge: Sex abuse and sexual predators
In this installment, we now touch on disturbing subjects--sexual abuse (including a known child molester as a Teen Challenge facility manager) both in Teen Challenge and its parent denomination.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/5/2/17850/
21034/397/504053


Part 8 - Teen Challenge: Court-ordered coercion and CYA indemnity contracts
This installment focuses on an increasing trend of using Teen Challenge as "alternative sentencing"--and to add insult to injury, the use of "indemnity contracts" by Teen Challenge to prevent lawsuits by survivors who manage to escape.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/5/3/
17742/55658/360/504082


Part 9 - Teen Challenge: Your tax dollars, paying for institutionalised abuse
This final installment of the series notes how Abu Ghraib and Gitmo aren't the only abusive facilities getting tax dollars--both by direct funding and by welfare fraud, Teen Challenge gets quite a bit of your tax money for institutionalised abuse.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/5/4/
164443/2223/954/504505

2 comments:

  1. First of all - Teen Challenge does NOT even take minors into their facilities. So this entire thing is a lie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FALSE!!!! 12 year olds there now

      Delete