Lone souls - advocacy art project: troubled-teen industry

Here's a dubious American distinction - the troubled-teen industry. Sorry for the downer, as I strive to uplift at the Mighty Mix, but this issue deeply disturbs me, and there just isn't enough noise about it. These programs violate basic human rights, which means they are inherently wrong. Teen Advocates USA counts 71 deaths since 1980. With the recent release of the Florida teen IMO obviously beaten to death, I'm linking to Lone souls:

"This site is dedicated to the victims of involuntary behavior modification programs - wilderness therapy, boot camps, residential treatment facilities - programs based on persuading parents to pay for the kidnapping and captivation of juveniles in order to reform them through "tough love" measures. Survivors and anyone so moved are welcome to submit creative work - poems, essays, drawings, photos, whatever." Lone souls

Maia Szalavitz is about to release her investigative expose on this criminal industry, a book concept long overdue. You can preorder it from Amazon. Here's a bit from her, from Newcastle News.

"Some 10,000 to 20,000 teenagers are enrolled each year. A patchwork of lax and ineffective state regulations — no federal rules apply — is all that protects these young people from institutions that are regulated like ordinary boarding schools but that sometimes use more severe methods of restraint and isolation than psychiatric centers. There are no special qualifications required of the people who oversee such facilities. Nor is any diagnosis required before enrollment. If a parent thinks a child needs help and can pay the $3,000- to $5,000-a-month fees, any teen-ager can be held in a private program, with infrequent contact with the outside world, until he or she turns 18." - Maia Szalavitz.