A state inspection report offers new details on the hours leading up to a 12-year-old’s death at Trails Carolina, a camp for troubled adolescents.

Staff at a North Carolina wilderness therapy camp failed to check that a 12-year-old boy was breathing during his first night at the facility, a state report released Tuesday found.

The boy, who has been identified in law enforcement records only by his initials, CJH, was found unresponsive around 7:45 a.m. on Feb. 3 at Trails Carolina, a camp for troubled adolescents in the western part of the state.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    In case anyone wasn’t aware, the ‘trouble’ many of these ‘troubled adolescents’ get themselves into is having a boyfriend or girlfriend that’s the same gender they are. Or, worse, saying their gender is not the one assigned to them at birth!

    • wjrii@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Often it’s those, and they’re heartbreaking. Sometimes it’s “just” het-cis relationships the parents don’t like. Sometimes it’s “Drinking While Evangelical” or other garden variety youthful rebellion. Sometimes it’s depression. Sometimes it’s just literally wicked stepparents. The overriding connection is always that they don’t need to be there and even if they have issues (and to be clear being LGBTQ+ is not a behavioral problem), the so-called solution will be much worse than the problem.

      https://theconversation.com/the-program-netflix-show-exposes-the-dark-side-of-americas-troubled-teens-schools-225399

      https://elan.school/rude-awakening/

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeFWCzLNCmY

      https://screenrant.com/the-program-netflix-documentary-details-events-missing/ (get your adblockers up for Screen Rant)

        • BubbleMonkey@slrpnk.net
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          6 months ago

          At your recommendation (with your post being 9 hours old - the thing is really long) I read the whole thing start to finish, and just finished. It’s been a hard (emotionally) read and I’ve had a headache since I started it, but it was worth it, and I’m glad the dude is doing at least passably well in life, all things considered.

          And at the end when he mentions he was sent in 98 at just past 16… I was sent to a military boarding school at almost 14 in 00, essentially for having adhd, mild autism, and a single parent who swung between negligence and authoritarianism, and I’m just really lucky my mom found one of the less bad places. A legitimate school that was only a bit abusive (but really not a super appropriate environment for most children either way). Because I could have met that person in hell if things had played out a bit differently. And that’s a really sobering thought. I’m glad I didn’t have it until the end.

          • cybervseas@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            First, here’s a small story: I had to read Elie Wiesel’s Night in high school. I got a lot out of reading it over two weeks or so in AP English. I gave my copy to Mom, who’s a big reader, and warned her to take her time as it’s painful to read. The next morning she tells me “I read the whole thing last night, then I couldn’t sleep, and now I can’t stop crying.” Mom, I warned you 😓

            Even with my very sheltered life, or perhaps because of it, I have found I need to space these kinds of stories out so that I don’t get overwhelmed. I think elan.school it took me 3 weeks to get caught up and then he finished the series over just a few weeks.

            I’m sorry you went through so much as a kid, yourself. You and Joe are both around the same age as me, too. I hope reading elan.school helps you in some way with your own journey. I’m glad you found it worth the investment of your time.

          • Kedly@lemm.ee
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            6 months ago

            I read up to when he finally got released back when that was current, and havent caught up since

    • Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      6 months ago

      or they didn’t sit there and quietly accept abuse

      or tried to run away and got caught (and/or were found out before they even had a chance)

      Or their parents don’t like their friend group (not uncommon amongst the more hardline religious families)

      There’s probably plenty more I’ve forgotten since leaving reddit. The whole system is fucked and the “camps” shouldn’t be legal.

      The OTHER fun one is what I recall being referred to as “gooning”, where the parents arrange for the kid to be picked up in the middle of the night, put in a vehicle, and driven to the camp. SOMEHOW that is legal and not human trafficking.

    • stoly@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      If you read the article, depression, ADHD, and autism are also reasons children get sent there for some reason.

        • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          6 months ago

          “Nuh uh, God gave it to me so there!”

          Complete with face scrunch and tongue stick-out bonus points awarded for best mocking mleeeh noise

        • stoly@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          So make a list of those people and never put any trust in them. They are people you can be polite to and not invest any time in.

    • Album@lemmy.ca
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      6 months ago

      Founded in 2008, Trails Carolina is a for-profit wilderness camp that treats children with diagnoses such as autism, ADHD, bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorders, as well as those struggling with depression or unruly behavior.

      • MehBlah@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Camps where they futility try to discipline those disorders out of the kids. I checked on one for my son one time and after reading through the lines and lines of bullshit they threw at me decided it was a bad idea. That camp got shut down in 2012 after losing a lawsuit with one of their victims.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        I was not talking about this specific camp, but just because that’s their claim doesn’t mean it’s true.

        Also, why do they have depression? Why is their behavior supposedly unruly?