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Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Straight, Inc. and KHK survivors protest locally
Posted by Media Release
Numerous Straight, Inc. and Kids Helping Kids survivors, along with other concerned activists, traveled from 5 different states and the Greater Cincinnati area to participate in the July 11, 2008 protest in Milford, Ohio. The group protested Kids Helping Kids, a Pathway Family Center (aka Pathway Family Center, PFC and/or KHK), a behavior modification teen treatment facility which is not only the current renamed version of Straight, Inc, it also still uses the STRAIGHT, Inc. treatment modality.
The protesters’ mission was to express opposition and to educate local residents about the “treatment methods” used by PFC, methods which this group believes pose a substantial risk of harm to children. Specifically, the protesters strongly object to, among other things, the use of coercive thought reform, isolation from parents, peers and society, unlicensed host homes, unqualified peer staff, unnecessary and/or disproportionate punishments, and the denial of basic human rights such as total bathroom privacy. Additionally, the demonstrators are extremely concerned about children having Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other serious mental health issues caused by their ordeal in Pathway. Repeated reports to state agencies of systematic abuse and other improprieties have also been ignored for years.
This protest comes on the heels of the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelming approval of H.R. 6358, The Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008. Recent congressional investigations uncovered thousands of allegations of abuse, neglect and youth deaths in private teen behavior modification facilities in the United States. This legislation aims to protect youth in all private treatment facilities, including Pathway Family Center.
The rocky start of the protest itself did not deter the determined activists from sharing their message. One Pathway official (Monica Mertens, according to Pathway insiders who spoke with protesters) displayed unprofessional conduct by confiscating one of the protestor’s signs. PFC officials also summoned Miami Township police twice. The first time was to remove protesters from the far side of the driveway who occasionally crossed it without blocking incoming traffic. The second time, participants were later told, was an attempt to stop protesters from videotaping the public event. Demonstrators did comply with law enforcement’s request to stay off to the sides of Pathway’s entrance but were never asked to stop filming. In spite of these incidents, the peaceful protest resumed without further confrontation.
At the demonstration itself, protesters carried and displayed numerous signs including “Coercive Thought Reform is Not Treatment,” “KHK Tortured Me,” and “Close PFC Now”. Many drivers showed solidarity either by honking, giving the thumbs up or by shouting “Thank you! My friend (or relative) was in there. This place stinks!” In addition, many passersby stopped, took literature and were given the free DVD set of the congressional hearings and KHK news footage. Even former clients of Straight and KHK, with no previous knowledge of our protests, no prior contact with activist survivors, saw the protest and stopped to speak with survivors. Both supported our efforts.
As the event was winding down, current PFC peer staff/graduates initiated peaceful discussions. At times the talks became a bit heated and emotional. Certainly there was much disagreement. But for the most part, both sides remained civil.
At the end of the day, the exhausted survivors unanimously agreed that this event was nothing less than a smashing success and felt rejuvenated by the interest from the community. All participants vowed to continue their quest to educate the community about the harmful Straight Inc treatment model used by Kids Helping Kids, a Pathway Family Center. Their mission is to protect children from these harmful treatment methods.
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16 Jul 2008 at 03:37 am | #
Does Ohio have any standards for drug rehabilitation facilities? Or is this a situation where anyone with 4 walls & a roof can set up shop and call themselves help?
16 Jul 2008 at 11:00 am | #
Of course, Ohio has standards for rehab; reems and volumes of them just like any other state. The trouble is that the people tasked with enforcing standards are not given a lot of access and, frankly, they don’t have a lot of interest. They’re set up to deal with normal clinical settings and to address the normal issues you’d expect with any clinical setting. KHK is not anything like that. It’s a cult. They skirt the rules with the leave of their own conscience because they believe they’re saving the world. Those unlicensed foster homes are illegal. The state of Florida tried to address that back in the `80’s when I was in Straight. One day, staff solved that issue by coming into group and announcing that, henceforth, we would use the term ‘host home’ instead of ‘foster home’. Since there’s no legal definition for host homes, it’s all good now, right?
I’m really concerned about that kid who held up the sign. I know he’s been punished for it. One of the other protesters told me that same kid was banging on the car windows and screaming for help at a prior protest. There’s just the usual mind-bending stress that goes along with the thought reform tactics. But think for a moment about the circumstances and what could, and sometimes does, happen if the opportunity presents.
This little boy, he looked to be about 12, is locked into a room alone with one or two or maybe more older troubled boys. He has no access to contact with the outside world. And if something really bad were happening in that unlicensed foster home he would be punished for lying if he tried to report it. It’s happened before. There was a little boy in Straigt, Sarasota who was stood up and confronted about why his butt was bleeding. The staff leading the rap had another kid take him back to the bathroom and give him a kotex. The oldcomer who had been raping the little boy was started over on his program and, three months later, was taking home newcomers again.
That’s the trouble. These people are so thoroughly convinced that can fix people, no matter what the problem, they’ll do things that are so bug all nuts that the cops and regulators wouldn’t think to look for.
16 Jul 2008 at 02:42 pm | #
As mentioned in the above press release, 2 PFC clients/staff initiated discussions with us at the end of the protest. I asked one of them, the one stating she was peer staff a couple questions.
First, I questioned her qualifications to provide or participate in the treatment of other clients. This person confirmed that the training program graduate/peer staff recieve is from Pathway itself. She also added that she was required to complete couses from a separate correspondence school. Unfortunately I do not recall which one. This person also stated that they do not lead raps by themselves, that someone with more advanced education is with them. Part of her job is to make observations about the clients and write them in the OBS book.
Young people with a desire to help other children is certainly commendable however is NOT sufficient to qualify a person to render, assist in or participate in any fashion in the treamtnet of a child, especially because we are talking about mental health issues. It is my position that program graduates as peer staff is a dangerous aspect of the program simply because they are not qualified to render treatment. I also believe a bachelor’s degree in a subject related to psychology/mental health issues is at minimum an absolute must!
16 Jul 2008 at 03:17 pm | #
The other issue I questioned the same peer staff member (program graduate) about is the issue of bathroom privacy. I was told that the stall is searched first, then the newcomer (child on first phase) is permitted to use it. However the stall door must remain partially open. I was also told that the newcomer is not stared at. Unfortunately I do not remember my direct response to this person because by this time I was getting upset and my migraine was horrible. But, it is my belief that this still constitutes a basic human right violation of privacy.
For one thing, an oldcomer supervising would still be supervising even if they avert their eyes. I remember doing that as an oldcomer in Straight…..I would stand in front of the door (door wide open at that time) but either look at the floor or above the newcomer to avoid looking directly at the newcomer on the toilet. I always found this to be very degrading both as a newcomer being watched and as an oldcomer being forced to watch the newcomer.
For another thing, the door should not be opened at all. The newcomer should be allowed to close and lock the door without an oldcomer’s direct supervision. The fact that the stall is searched for sharp or other harmful objects before the newcomer uses the stall is plenty. No more is needed.
In addition, a recent graduate revealed to one protester (at a time separate from the protest) that access to the bathrooms in the first place is still strictly controlled. That is also unacceptable. A person in need of a restroom should be allowed to as soon as the need arises.
This is just one example of how Pathway Family Center resorts to complete control over EVERY aspect of the child’s life…..this program is about, among other things, total control, not healthy therapudic principles.
16 Jul 2008 at 04:26 pm | #
As Ginger mentioned in her comment above, a male child client, being transported away from the Pathway facility in a host home car, held up his own sign for protesters to see Monday night. He had written on his notebook “HELP ME.” Another child in the car immediately snatched the notebook out of the other child’s hands.
Although I personally did not witness this and got the information from one of the eyewitness protestors, I find this to be very upsetting. I remember well the desparation and utter hopelessness of first phase. To know that Pathway still does to kids now what was done to us years ago is a difficult thing to cope with. But then to find out that a kid in the program has asked us for help in such a direct and heartbreaking way….well there are no words that would express how it makes me feel. My heart goes out to this child…..I’ve been there.
But most importantly, when a child does something that desperate, holds up a sign pleading for our help, it reminds me why we do what we do….were are trying to help these kids who have no way to communicate to outsiders what occurs within the walls of Pathway Family Center.
That sign, “HELP ME,” is at minimum, a clear indication that there is a serious problem with Pathway. At worse, its evidence of possible child abuse occuring in this facility….evidence of a possible crime. Either way, that child’s desperate actions demand a direct and vigorous response from the community and those agencies charged with protecting children. There must be a full investigation by police, NOW!!!!!!!!! And someone outside the Pathway program needs to talk to this child and LISTEN to him. That child’s voice must be heard!
16 Jul 2008 at 06:03 pm | #
I don’t think most people really understand the danger to a kid like that. These kids are locked into a room night after night with sometimes much bigger, stronger oldcomers. The oldcomer has total authority over the newcomer. Anything could happen and sometimes bad things do happen. Here’s an article about one of those rare documented cases of abuse in a similarly modeled program.
I don’t know that these occurances are rare, just the fact that this one was documented.
I don’t think local law enforcement and cys workers fully appreciate the totality of circumstances that has us program vets so worried about this kid. I think if they understood what we’re talking about they’d be a lot more aggressive in their investigations. So how do we get them to understand?
17 Jul 2008 at 12:04 am | #
So you are protesting KHK… do you have a website set up spelling out the issues?
17 Jul 2008 at 10:55 am | #
I was in high school during the 80s and it seemed that, at least locally, the war on drugs was fought on the grounds of Straight, Inc., and psych wards around town.
It was not my scene, certainly, but I knew of many people who were committed to one or more of these facilities. The people who went in were just like anyone else, only their parents seemed to have more money and less sanity than was normal.
Now, does more money increase your ability to buy help for your problems, or does it make you a target of groups who play on parental fears that their children’s brains resemble fried eggs?
The evidence for commitment was usually scant—found a 6-pack under a kid’s bed, caught them smoking a bowl, e.g. Normal kid stuff. On the other hand, there were kids with serious problems. If were my kid (I can say now that I’m a parent), I don’t think I’d let them loose in some Lord of the Flies rehab joint. But that’s just me. And I don’t have teenagers (yet), so it’s hard to judge what parents must have been going through.
What happened to the kids who came out? It seemed like they had new identities. They had new friends, different clothes, a whole new image. Which I guess is what you’re shooting for if your previous image was pothead, but it did come off as Stepforddy to the extreme.
Now that all these “survivors” have come out, I think my initial reactions are justified.
18 Jul 2008 at 01:15 am | #
One of the “psych wards around town” that fought the war on drugs was CPH, which was like the “Straight Lite” of Covington.
This is where you ended up if you looked at someone funny at school.
18 Jul 2008 at 01:31 pm | #
And that’s so much more upsetting—even if parents were able to see through their fears regarding Straight’s true colors, it’s hard to ignore what would appear to be actual medical advice from professionals in a hospital. Amazingly, and I heard this time and time again, children made miraculous recoveries once the insurance money ran out.
Does anyone know if malpractice, etc., suits were filed against any of these so-called hospitals?
18 Jul 2008 at 04:46 pm | #
Problem is, the insurance money doesn’t always run out, because these places commit insurance fraud.
I know there was a wrongful imprisonment suit against one of the psych wards filed around 1990. It got tossed because the psych wards have so much clout.
The coroner for one of the counties in NKY (an elected GOVERNMENT position) also happened to be the head physician at one of these “hospitals”.
18 Jul 2008 at 09:22 pm | #
It’s weird, too, that coroners don’t have to be anyone special. A doctor, yes, but no particular kind. I think a dermatologist would be qualified, yes?
19 Jul 2008 at 01:10 pm | #
Ronko, Google works wonders for this issue. So many blogs, sites, etc… that involve the exposing the STRAIGHT, Inc. issue. Like, melriddile.info, webdiva.org, rickross.com, thestraights.com, isaccorp.org, fornits.com/smf, melsembler.com, and a host of others… just Google Miller Newton, you’ll see what I mean…
RW
23 Jul 2008 at 07:43 pm | #
I’m a survivor of the Sprinfield VA. Straight, from 4/4/89 to 3/31/90. It’s been nearly 20 years, and I have yet to talk to another Straight survivor since leaving in 90’. I would greatly appreciate it if another survivor called or e-mailed me. I’m not privy to anything current, I see this was a recent protest, and would love to be involved with other survivors and educating the public. 828-628-3778
Pilamaye, mitakuye oyasin
Tom
30 Jul 2008 at 10:05 pm | #
I am a survivor of the Springfield Va straight from 1987 to August 1988. Like Tom (whom I did speak to and immidiatelly bonded with) I hadn’t spoke with anyone in 20 years about it. If anyone feels like connecting please e-mail me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
07 Aug 2008 at 11:15 pm | #
I am one of the eyewitnesses who saw the boy holding up the help me sign in a car pulling out of Pathway Family Center(Kids Helping Kids) in Milford, Ohio. I ran out into the driveway after the car, looked into the boys eyes and yelled, “I will hep you, I will try to help you!” I then proceeded to call the police, and filed a report with them. I called the same Miami Township Police the next day to follow up and it became clear to me that hey were not pursuing it any further. I was wondering if the Beacon was going to call Miami Township Police and find out why the cops are to lazy to drive a mile down the road and search the building at the program for that child to simply check on his well-being?!!!! I can identify that child.
-Cincyscreenwriter
08 Aug 2008 at 02:20 am | #
I would like to thank those at the Cincinnati Beacon who have been so good to us by covering this story and being brave enough to put the truth out there. While all other local media organizations have ignored our requests about the torture and abuse of adolescents, The Beacon gives us the opportunity to convey our experiences. Maybe a piece should be written on why most local media is so shy to this issue especially while there is a congressional investigation ongoing that has been successful at exposing the very allegations that have been made by victims. The big question is why large media organizations will not cover a story about child torture and the lack of government regulation to prevent these atrocities from occuring. When this eventually becomes an international expose’ and every journalist is knocking on our door, I think I will offer my perspective to the Dean of Cincinnati before all others. Truth finds Truth.
11 Aug 2008 at 05:14 pm | #
I was also there on July 14 when the youngster held the “HELP ME” sign against the window. There were also other witnesses to the incident.
The system has dropped the ball in doing anything about abusive programs.