Luke's Story

Let’s face it, there is nothing fun or comfortable about having to send a son or daughter away. Our family endured that hardship about 17 months ago when it became very clear that something had to change, and soon. With the help of an educational counselor, we made the tough decision to send our son to a wilderness program, and then transition from there to an RTC. During that period of time he regained his self confidence, learned to respect himself and others, and completed 2 ½ years of high school. Our son has thanked us for giving him a second chance at life. There are many therapeutic boarding schools out there. We researched several. After interviewing with some of the staff, and meeting with some of the students, we enrolled our son. I will not try to convince anyone that he was happy about losing his freedom, computer, cell phone, etc. that he had come to consider part of everyday life. He did not, however, break and die. In fact, he returned to being the son we thought we had lost forever. We liked that our program is located in a town, and not out in the middle of nowhere. That allows the students the opportunity to be in an urban environment. When the time is right, the ability to go out into the community becomes an important part of building self confidence and positive self image. We are so grateful for the difference our program has made in our son’s life.