Shelterwood Reviews

What originally seemed a good idea to my parents, has now been blatantly identified as a brainwashing community geared towards breaking teenagers down so that Shelterwood can "build them up" to be the "perfect child". Sending your children to a concentration camp such as this and teaching them that there is only ONE right way and that any other path is wrong, is unethical and immoral on so many levels. I have seen more lives ruined by this place than any other, my own included until I took the initiative as an adult to reverse the damaging effects that Shelterwood had on me.

They claim to have a "five year overall success rate"... Well, I can honestly say, five years later, that as I look at all of the girls who shared a house with me during my stay there, that if pregnancy, drug addiction, pornography, and prison are considered success, then I would say their statement holds truth. However that is not the case. It is merely a thinly veiled attempt at reducing whatever if any, humanity that is left within these children. Religion as reform is a farce. Once upon a time there was a point when a program such as this might actually be considered successful, that time was a little period known affectionately as the Dark Ages.

I attended Shelterwood for about 10 months, and i can say that what they do when they 'break you down' is put you in a really depressive state and discipline you for every tiny thing that goes wrong. When it was time for me to leave, I didnt have enough room to put all of my personal and valuable belongings in my suitcase and the staff promised to have it shipped to me. The whole summer has gone by, and every week when i call them they assure me that it is being taken care of, along with some library books that they told me they would return. Not only did Shelterwood donate all of my personal belongings to the goodwill (all of my clothes, pictures, letters, expensive toiletries etc....) but they 'lost' my library books, and I am now in national collections for $284. If you want to make your child depressed, and throw away money this is the place.

I have loved working with the staff. Hard working and sacrificial, these people are incredible.

Is your child in need of mindless brainwashing by a group of christian fundamentalists? Then we have the place for you! As an individual who attended Shelterwood for five months during his high school years I can fully and honestly say that this group of extremists did more harm to my family than good. The trauma that this "residential care facility" puts their... victims? patients? hostages? I mean... students through isn't worth the damage that last years after they get out. Avoid this place at all costs.

I was a teen in Shelterwood in 1989-90, before it was a boarding school. (We attended public school during the day and were at Shelterwood the rest of the time.) Though mine is a mixed review, I personally would not recommend it unless you have tried everything else and are just trying to keep your kid alive while you look for a better solution to whatever ails your family. It's better to have an indoctrinated kid than a dead kid, so do what you have to do, by all means. Strengths of the program are as follows: a person is much more likely to heal in a homey setting surrounded by natural beauty than they will in, say, a locked institution. Many of us kids had been to other types of facilities prior to our stay at Shelterwood and we could appreciate the regular exposure we got to the great outdoors, and were grateful to be residing in an actual house instead of a hospital ward or other institutionalized setting. Also, the fact of being hugged by people was great. I never had to go without a hug the whole time I was at Shelterwood, and you just don't get that kind of TLC in a secular or institutional facility, so for me it was almost worth all the zealotry and fanaticism of the place just to be able to smell fresh air, take walks in the woods, and get a hug from a caring-and-appropriate adult whenever I needed it. I say almost, because there were a myriad of ethical issues, too. Some of the biggest ones have already been addressed by other reviewers: the profiteering at the expense of desperate parents, the philosophy of "breaking the spirit so as to be renewed in the Lord" (a ghastly metaphor that should send off all kinds of alarm bells), and the fact that the staff of Big Sisters and Brothers are not screened well enough, so that your kid might end up sharing a room with the most caring and benevolent adult caregiver in the world, or might end up with someone who has anger management problems worse than any of the kids' and thinks that pushing and shoving your child or jerking them out of their seat by a shirt collar is an appropriate response to, say, the kid's grumpy refusal to eat breakfast. Or your kid might end up sharing a room with a white supremacist who is asked to leave midway through the year after it is discovered that he is teaching your child that black people are members of a cursed and inferior race.

It was also painfully clear to all of us residents that there were some kids who really did not need to be in such an extreme environment at all, but who were kept there indefinitely because their parents were wealthy and gullible. I think that many of the people working for Shelterwood are well-intentioned, lovable fools, frankly, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions, as they say, and this proved to be especially true at Shelterwood. The counselors were also a mixed crew, with some really out for the best interest of the family and others more interested in lining their pockets. So, ultimately, I understand why some alumns are saying, "This place saved my life," while others are saying, "This place did more harm than good." Lastly, while I wouldn't use the word "brainwashing" to describe the methods used here, the word "indoctrination" fits perfectly. Now if you are wondering how I turned out, I can tell you this: Shelterwood may very well have keep me alive during a scary and vulnerable time in my life, but it also left me with twice as much baggage as I had when I got there and drained my college fund, too. My parents ended up pulling me out of there and putting me into a fine arts school, where I went beyond mere survival and began to truly thrive. The scariest part was this, though: I did need an advocate to ensure I got medical care at Shelterwood the few times I needed it, and my diabetic roommate was regularly accused of faking low blood sugar for extra snacks, despite the fact that she had a machine to prove her need was real. I used to hoard my snacks for the girl so she wouldn't go into a diabetic coma in the night when the head of house refused to believe her blood test results!

Our daughter attended Shelterwood as a 15 year old and it changed our lives forever. Our rebellious teen was really a hurting, lost little girl who needed someone (besides us) to show her that she is something special- a daughter of The King who is worth more than rubies! The Staff at Shelterwood and our counselor, Jeremy did just that. We just celebrated her 18th birthday and let me tell you, she is an amazing young woman! She is on-track, growing and reaching for her future with hope and confidence, deepening her relationship with her Heavenly Father.
Shelterwood staff, from the House Directors to the school faculty, from the amazing counselors to the grounds keepers, love the Lord and love to help teens thrive and that s just what they did for us! Our family has found hope and peace (as much as a family of 6 can find!) after a very turbulent time and are happy to recommend Shelterwood as a beacon of hope for your family as well.
Blessings!
Emma s Mom and Dad

Shelterwood keeps getting better. They are constantly looking for ways to improve their program and their campus and staff are tops. This is one program for troubled teens that doesn't get enough attention on a national scale. They should be in every state! I applaud their efforts and the excellence that they personify in everything they do. You can trust your teen to this program. They could easily charge twice as much as they do now, compared to what other similar programs charge and for far less services than Shelterwood offers.

I am a former student of Shelter Wood Academy, i have very very , mixed feelings about everything there. I was a resident for 5 months of my life, and i am only 15 years old, this being said I will only speak honestly.

I would first like to point out that unless your kid/young adult is willing to change and willing to be loved, that Shelter Wood is not the place for them. the staff is not always around when needed, but when they are they are kind and loving, I personally bonded with a few bigs and can say this, that they dont make enough money for what they do. (of course they arent in it for the money)

Secondly i want to state that SW is not a very healthy environment, there are a lot of different personalities, problems, and people forced together and all living together, and it is hard. Your kid is not always going to receive the top notch care that the website states they will. A lot of vulgarities, bullying, and physicality, if you're kid has any unarmored or vulnerable spots in life those vulnerabilities will be attacked in every way shape or form. I know this to be true because I did it to other residents and other residents did it to me. There are lots of clashing of ideas and a lot of unhealthy verbal confrontations. Your kid will not always be safe either, during my time at Shelter Wood they were severely understaffed, and all staff there was overworked. I was in more than one physical altercation and these just accounts for the fraction of them that happen. They fired 2 bigs, 2 bigs had to leave, 1 quit, and 2 graduated, during all of this only 3 were hired, and the month of may 4 more are graduating, this left only 6-7 bigs working at one time while 2 were sleeping for night watch, this caused there to be a window of opportunity for more physical interactions, because a person cant be 2 places at once.

The food, apparently the food is a big deal to everyone, Alli and Teresa do a great job of cooking good balance meals, however, the food is not perfect there are days where the food is delicious and amazing, and days were it is not a favorite by anyone, you will be served 3 meals a day, your kids dietary needs will be met, (vegan, vegetarian, dairy/ gluten free).

Programs inside of SW include chapel every Friday after breakfast, bible studies Tuesday for the boys and Wednesday for the girls. There is a full basketball court with lots of gym equipment, a full work out room, and when your kid earn the ability to leave property there is rock climbing and BSF (gym). There is nothing bad to say about the music program it is great, Kyle does an amazing job. Recently Jim Subers stopped running the bible studies and Norman, Robby, and Tom took over. Here is what i say about bible studies, the website states that your child will not be forced to attend the bible study, but you are bribed to go, attending bible study will award you with a full dinner (every tuesday night and it is a very delicious one always) and seconds on that meal, you will get dessert, if you do not attend you will must attend a study hall, and will be fed at the house, a smaller portion, extras from what bible study attenders didnt eat, and no dessert. Church is also something that is not mandatory but is forced upon the students, at this point i will state that i am a Christian, so this is not biased at all.

PART 1

This is the most caring group of people. Always talking the students through their issues. This group of people are TRULY chosen for this type of work. The relationships they build with the students are so life changing to the kids. The therapist, mentors, and staff have all been focused on loving our son and bringing him back to healthy living. This place is saving our son's life.

I feel so blessed to have an opportunity to have the experience that I did at Shelterwood. The day that we dropped off my daughter I felt the mix of victory and defeat of emotions. Victory for finding a place like Shelterwood, but also defeat in that I did not have a child who respected me. During our time, I learned that I could only control so much as a parent and my daughter s decisions. I needed to stop focusing on what I could not change but what I could and even then to give it to God.

My perspective started changing on how to parent and what was best for my child. To stop being so anxious so I could allow God to intervene and take care of each situation and to care for my daughter. I found a new outlook on life and felt empowered to be a better parent, not only to my Shelterwood kid, but to my other children. The counselor assigned to my daughter, also became my counselor and he taught me life and parenting skills and helped me to look inward to change. I changed a lot!!

Shelterwood was a truly positive experience, from the moment I spoke with registration on the phone (clearly upset that I was actually calling a therapeutic boarding school thousands of miles away) to the help I received in getting her there to the months of counseling and witnessing my daughter changing. I started seeing the real person my daughter was. For so long she was hidden by pain, bad choices, and an unhealthy view of who she was and what I was to her.

When we started this journey, I thought we were sending her to change her thinking, her actions and attitude I finished this journey along with her and I m a different (better) person because of it. I m still in contact with her/my counselor and he still gives me direction and insight as we adjust to home life all together again.

Shelterwood guided us with love and care. The staff was knowledgeable and really had a heart for Christ in dealing with our family. I loved the Bigs and how they sacrificed a year of their lives to put our daughter first. Our counselor was educated in what our daughter was struggling with and knew exactly how to talk to us. The physical location and site was beautiful and clean. The teaching/school staff was awesome and helped my daughter finish high school and assisted her in submitting college applications before she came home. I was given weekly/monthly reports on my daughter s progress regarding therapy and school. There was always someone there I could talk to-no matter the time of day/night. I have made life friends as well as my daughter. As hard as the journey was at times, I am forever grateful in the help and love we got from Shelterwood.