SIA Organization : News

Janja Lalich. Presented at the SIA Convention, February 25, 2012, Long Beach, CA.

jhobbs — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:49:05 -0400

Janja Lalich, Ph.D.

Professor of Sociology and Former Cult Member
California State University, Chico
Email: drlalich@sbcglobal.net
Website: www.cultresearch.org

Thank you. First of all, I’d like to extend a big thank you to Jodi Hobbs for inviting to me to this very special convention, and also a special note of appreciation to Marcus Chatfield. Marcus and I have been emailing for some months now about his research and we spoke once on the phone. He is putting a yeoman’s effort (“yeoman,” a naval term, seems appropriate here on the Queen Mary) – into trying to sort out the historical and social-psychological antecedents to the experience of institutional abuse. And, well, it’s Marcus who told Jodi about me and so he is probably the primary cause for me being here.
I have presented at many meetings and conferences, various gatherings and seminars, but I must say that I am most honored and thrilled to be at this gathering -- for those of you who suffered through months and years at teen boot camps, extreme survivalist programs, and various unorthodox rehabs, schools, and reformatories are the true heroes here. Many of you most likely don’t know me or aren’t familiar with my work, but my area of specialty is cults, controversial groups, terrorist indoctrination, and other situations of undue influence. I call them “self-sealing systems” – these groups or families or churches or programs or organizations that engage in what some have called “thought reform” or “coercive persuasion” -- and what most of us are familiar with colloquially as “brainwashing.”

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The Last Resort: Disabled Children in Nursing Homes Article by Allison Dean

jhobbs — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:56:23 -0400

The Last Resort: Disabled Children in Nursing Homes

The idea of a child in a nursing home seems odd. People associate these facilities with the ailing elderly, not with children. But the fact is that children are in nursing homes as some parents are simply left with no other choice. Essentially parents with disabled children, like those who have children with severe autism, have the following options:

1. Care for their child at home by themselves, which involves a lot of attention and care. A lot of the time, this means that at least one parent cannot work.
2. Hire in-home care workers and nurses to care for their child, which can be extremely expensive as many states’ Medicaid programs do not cover in-home care services.
3. Admit their child to a nursing home.

Caring for a disabled child, like anyone with a medical condition, is expensive no matter what care is provided. Many times, parents with disabled children must rely on Medicaid to help them financially provide for their child’s care. Medicaid is the governmental program designed to help those families that fall below a certain annual income (“Overview…”). However, because, for the most part, those who receive help from Medicaid are have low incomes, many simply cannot give up their jobs or afford in-home care. Thus, nursing homes, which Medicaid will pay for, are these people’s only choice in states where Medicaid does not cover in-home care. In 2000, over 4,000 children were reported as living in nursing home facilities throughout the U.S. by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. Since then, there have been no reports on the current number of children in nursing homes.

Nursing homes are far from a good environment for children for several reasons.
1. Staff Training

Staff member training is generally geared towards adult care. Children with autism, whether severe or not, have very specific needs that must be met that nursing home staffs are generally not trained to meet. Some of these needs include:

a. Therapy for various issues. For example, improvement of emotional expressions and motor skills.
b. Constant attention to ensure safety; as it is, nursing homes are severely understaffed and do not spend adequate time with patients (“State-Initiated…”).
2. Other Residents Pose a Threat
Nursing homes have elderly patients with psychological problems that can pose a threat to children, who cannot protect themselves. Additionally, since mental institutions in the 1980’s were effectively discontinued, many mentally ill patients now reside in nursing homes; in 2008, there were nearly 125,000 mentally ill patients in nursing homes throughout the U.S. (Rosenfeld).
3. Nursing Home Deficiencies
91 percent of nursing homes were found in 2007 to have deficiencies and, of those, Quality of care (73.6), Resident assessment (58.2), and Quality of life (43.3) (Levinson) were the top deficiencies discovered.
4. Lessened Quality of Life
Once in a nursing home, many children spend more of their life there than the typical elderly person. They do so essentially by themselves and away from their family.

What Can Be Done

In-home care is the best possible option of disabled children. As it is, some states’ Medicaid program allows disabled children to receive in-home care as a part of their program. If there were a federal change in the Medicaid system that made in-home care options accessible in all states, then people of low incomes who depend on Medicaid wouldn’t be left with only nursing homes as their only option.

Resources
Levinson, Daniel R. "Memorandum Report: "Trends in Nursing Home Deficiencies and Complaints,"" Department of Health and Human Services. 18 Sept. 2008. Web. .
"Overview Medicaid Eligibility." Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Web. .
Rosenfeld, Jonathan. "Young, Mentally Ill Residents Pose Significant Threat To Nursing Home Residents." Nursing Homes Abuse Blog : Jonathan Rosenfeld's Nursing Homes Abuse Blog : Jonathan Rosenfeld's Nursing Homes Abuse Blog | Lawyer & Attorney : Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers | Bed Sores, Senior Neglect, Elder Abuse, Sexual Abuse: Chicago, Illinois. Web. 19 Jan. 2012. .
"State-Initiated Nursing Home Nurse Staffing Ratios: Annotated Review of the Literature." Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, HHS. May 2003. Web. .

Allison Dean is a writer bringing to us information on why nursing homes are not a good environment for disabled children.
Allison also writes about medical malpractice lawyers.

As we talk about regulating the troubled-teen industry.... Marcus Chatfield

jhobbs — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:33:29 -0400

Thank you Marcus for allowing us to publish this Article on the SIA News!!

As we talk about regulating the troubled-teen industry....

Article by Marcus Chatfield

I called Congressman George Miller's office to ask about his proposed legislation which aims to prevent abuse and deaths within America's adolescent residential treatment programs. They told me there are no efficacy standards in the troubled-teen industry, and no federal standards of any kind. I was informed that legislation cannot address this lack of efficacy because private programs are not required to be proven safe or effective. Parents have the right to “put their kids wherever they want”.
I believe that any law intended to prevent abuse within this industry should really begin with public awareness. One of the best ways to learn about the dynamics of abusive treatment programs is to read about Phillip Zimbardo's Lucifer Effect and the Stanford Prison Experiment. “Absolute power corrupts absolutely” and many programs are based on subjecting powerless kids to an absolutely powerful social system. This is a recipe for disaster, and it happens to be the very basis of many programs within the troubled-teen industry.
Hopefully, federal legislation will also focus on psychological abuse, and will be based on a deep understanding of Robert J. Lifton'sEight Criteria for Thought-Reform. Each individual criteria for thought-reform ought to be prohibited from being used as a coercive measure. Detailed examples should be included that show how these methods have been used in programs throughout the last 50 years.
Coercive environments rely on built-in power imbalances that are a fertile breeding ground for sexual abuse, psychological torture, violent treatments and medical harm. But these are only symptoms of an underlying system of thought-reform. Addressing the symptoms could be a good first step if the root causes are also identified, understood and addressed.

The System behind the Systematic abuse

The chronic abuses taking place in teen programs are nourished by the toxic combination of two poisons, a harmful process enabled by an extreme environment. The “therapeutic mileau” is meant to facilitate the “un-freezing” of the psychological structure of a client. But this “break 'em down, and build 'em up” process consistently causes psychological harm and goes hand in hand with extreme forms of cruelty. History shows us that although these methods are powerful, they are dangerous. There is no safe way to restructure a teenager's psychology through aversive treatments and Pavlovian re-conditioning methods. Wherever human kindness and basic contact with the world can only be earned through compliance; when communication with family is forbidden and the identity is assaulted; when a child is not allowed privacy or autonomy over bodily functions; when complaints are met with punishment; when a child is denied compassion and yet prevented from leaving; where “un-freezing” is forcibly coerced...abuse is being used as a “therapeutic tool”. This type of social system is a “Bad Barrel” that will consistently produce “Bad Apples.” Why do we assume this behavior-change technology can ever be practiced safely?

A most corrupt legacy

Can we draft legislation that addresses the corruption that has enabled abuse throughout this industry's history? The little bit of research I've done tells me that coercive programs have always resulted in abuse and have always relied on legal corruption and the blind eye of state acquiescence.

The US Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institute of Mental Health and many other federal agencies have been in bed with the behavior-modification industry from the beginning. Turning to any federal office for protection might be naïve at best. Many survivors of federally developed programs such as Straight Inc., say that the fox should not be guarding the hen-house. One example would be the LEAA (Law Enforcement Assistance Agency), known to have been one of the main sources of funding for “beneficial brainwashing” programs within the adult and juvenile prison industry. Congress investigated many LEAA programs in the early 1970's and cut their federal funding due to gross ethical violations. The LEAA helped establish Straight Inc. with two large grants AFTER congress outlawed federal spending on behavior-modification programs. The LEAA was defamed and eventually re-named, today it's called DOJP....Department of Justice Programs.

Creating a new federal office in the Department of Health and Human Services (same bedroom as the DOJ)...(“Granny What Big Teeth You Have!”) the fox becomes a wolf...and to think of spending millions and millions of dollars to do this...without spending anything on research? US Citizens will be paying millions of dollars to try to make an inherently abusive treatment, safer. It's like creating a public agency to make sure that all rapists wear condoms.

America already has laws against abuse, we have standards and requirements and procedures. They have all been routinely and systematically ignored. We already have laws, what we don't have is enforcement and more importantly, we don't have an understanding of the harm being done. We don't really understand the harmful effects of these “treatments” and we don't really understand the social dynamics that turn even the best people into abusers. When it comes to talking about legislation, it is impossible to prevent abuse that isn't understood .

Zimbardo's Bad Barrels

The type of coercive reform I am speaking of begins with an assault on the very fabric of a clients psychological framework. This process of thought-reform or coercive-persuasion, consistently produces psychiatric casualties...the process itself is harmful. The same methods that seem so mysterious and sinister within cults and communist re-education centers, are the exact same methods being used in many of today's “therapeutic” programs. Joost Meerloo called it “Rape of the Mind.” Even survivors who have experienced these methods first hand may not realize that the methods they were subjected to have been implemented by totalitarian powers the world over for thousands of years.
If measures that are intended to prevent abuse, assume that abuse simply occurs because of the “bad apples” we could inadvertently legitimizes the “bad barrel”. If our approach is to find a safe way to carry out an inherently harmful and unethical process, we merely train rapists to wear condoms and we fail to address the real issues.

Social empowerment through awareness

Raising public awareness about the methods of coercion is one of the most powerful methods of preventing abuse. In addition to relying on the power of the government, we need to empower the general public and the professional community with knowledge of cultic dynamics and the principles of thought-reform. Light is the best disinfectant and awareness is the best innoculant. Rather than spending millions of dollars trying to tame a monstrous industry, perhaps we could spend millions of dollars raising awareness and developing safe and effective ways to meet the needs of our teenagers rather than merely changing them.

Open Ed New Article published by Marcus Chatfield

SIA Convention 2012 Highlights

jhobbs — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 13:21:31 -0500

~Courage- Being willing to surrender who you are, for who you can become~

It was a chilly evening in Long Beach, California, last Friday night as survivors came together as one to find comfort, healing and have a voice. Although a chilly evening was in the forecast, there was warmth that could be felt across the Queen Mary that was like no other. It was warmth created by the embers of desire burning in the hearts and souls of the many survivors and sponsors gathered in one place, to make history, to be.. UNITED WITH ONE VOICE.

Our Emcee Mark Levine led and engaged survivors and speakers in enlightening, emotional and educational experiences , conversations and discussions, bringing to the forefront the mission behind the conference and how we can work together to push for changes now and by using lessons from the past to remold the future. We were blessed with great speakers such as Alexia Parks, Nick Gaglia and Dr.Janja Lalich, as well as Movie trailers, short clips and informative videos that were heart-wrenching and emotional yet at the same time educational, depicting the need for an organization such as SIA and other organizations with the same mission and goals.
In recognition of SIA, and the efforts to raise awareness, Bob Foster, the Mayor of Long Beach, enacted via proclamation, that February 24, 2012 was National Day of Awareness for Survivors of Institutional Abuse.

There were numerous books available for purchase containing survivorship skills, coping skills, autobiographies and enlightenment into the world of institutional abuse. Then we closed Saturday evening with remembrance of our fellow survivors taken from us before their time. With candles illuminating and their names called out into the darkness, we gave them a voice, a place, to never be forgotten. Then we cast roses off the stern of the Queen Mary, to let their pain float away in the moonlight.
Sunday we closed with an awards ceremony, honoring the efforts and dedication of volunteers and activists who have helped to make it a mission and goal to raise awareness of past and present institutional child abuse around the globe.

There were moments of laughter, blended with tears, moments of weakness followed by strength, and a sense that we would never have to feel alone, we had each other. We now have a voice together and we now need to use that voice so that others may not only hear us, but listen to our message. We made history as We United as One.

We will continue this vision, this mission and this voice as we plan our next event as a march on Washington and let our voices be heard at our nation’s capital in coalition with our next convention in the same location. Dates and times to be posted later.

Support UNITED WITH ONE VOICE!

jhobbs — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 20:03:37 -0400

'United With One Voice' is the theme of the first convention sponsored by the Survivors of Institutional Abuse (SIA Organization). It will take place in Long Beach, CA on the weekend of February 24-26, 2012. This convention has been a long time coming and needs the help and support of all those who have either been victimized in teen lockdown facilities or have known anyone who has experienced this trauma. It is important that victims, by coming out and meeting others who have experienced the same abuse, become survivors. There will be speakers, including Alexis Parks (author, American Gulag), Nick Gaglia (director, Over the GW, Aaron Bacon), Mark Levine (host, The Inside Scoop), a panel discussion and a memorial ceremony dedicated to those who have died in these places will be held on board the historic Queen Mary. It is time to make a bold and public statement. Stop Institutional Abuse! please donate here
For information regarding the convention: sia-convention.org

[Submitted by dwalker]

Survivors of Institutional Abuse responds to Anderson Cooper 360 report 'Ungodly Discipline'

jhobbs — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:31:22 -0400

Survivors of Institutional Abuse responded to Anderson Cooper 360 report 'Ungodly Discipline' which aired on 9/01/2011 by posting highlights from a panel discussion on abuse at teen behavioral modification centers which was held the night before the report was telecast.

The panel discussion was held at CFI-West. Steve Allen Theater, Los Angeles, CA. 08/31/2011 and included Jodi Hobs, President of SIA Organization, Christie Niznik, Vice President of SIA Organization, Jeneen Miller, a survivor of Victory Christian Academy which was closed by the state of California in 1992 because of abuse charges. It was held at the Center for Inquiry West, Los Angeles California, the night before Anderson Cooper 360 released a report on 'Ungodly Discipline', which profiled abusive practices at the Indiana home, Hephzibah House.

"Many of the points addressed by Anderson Cooper were covered in the discussion with three survivors. We have released excerpts of the discussion to show this is not just an isolated incident." said Dwayne Walker, director of media and research for SIA Organization.

"We need to address the problem of suicide in teen behavioral modification centers." said Walker, "Since a lot of these places are denying the teens medical care, often the only way out of the facilities is to attempt suicide."

"I witnessed two suicide (attempts) while at Victory Christian Academy." Jodi Hobbs told the group, describing a young girl who threw a fire extinguisher into a window and then began cutting herself.

The problem of regulating these places was also discussed. The panel related disappointment that HR911, a bill that would have required facilities to have a licensed staff member report abuse was passed in the House but died in the Senate last year. Walker said, "Some of our wonderful public officials have been alleged to have received kickbacks from these centers."

"They're making a lot of money off us." Christie Niznik, who was sent to VCA after her parents received a recommendation from Calvary Chapel, a mega church in Southern California.

"This could be happening and you would never know about it unless someone speaks up." said James Underdown, executive director of the Center for Inquiry - West, where the discussion took place.

SIA Organization is sponsoring a convention to be held in February 24-26 in 2012 at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA. The purpose is to bring survivors from different facilities in one place for healing, empowerment and to tell their stories to the world.

CFI-West Panel Discussion: ##SANITISED## width="420" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vLDTM95xceg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>##SANITISED##>

Anderson Cooper 360: ##SANITISED## width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-QB9ZWM-iq0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>##SANITISED##>

SIA Launch Event Jon Lovitz Comedy Club at Universal City Walk August 13, 2011

jhobbs — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 11:21:08 -0400

SIA Organization invites you to an evening of hilarious comedy with
Steven Kimbrough and his band of comic misfits. This will benefit the
SIA Healing and Empowerment Outreach.

The Survivors of Institutional Abuse (SIA Organization) helps adults
who were abused as children in locked down teen behavioral centers.
Articles mentioning SIA have recently appeared in ABC News (‘Biblical
Reform School Discipline: Some Call In Tough Love, Others Abuse’ by
Susan Donaldson James, April 12, 2011) and Mother Jones (‘Escape from
Missouri’ by Kathryn Joyce, August 2011).

The Healing and Empowerment Outreach is designed to reach out to those
who have been damaged in these institutions, aid them in the healing
process, and provide a means to present to the public a picture of the
consequences of teen behavior modification centers.

When August 13, 2011 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Location: Jon Lovitz Comdey Club City Walk
Address: 1000 Universal Studios Boulevard, Universal City

Jon Lovitz Comedy ClubPrice: $20.00 if you purchase online, $20.00 at the door if it is cash, if you use a credit card there will be a charge at the box office.

Contact sia.jodi@gmail.com for any questions.

Survivors of Institutional Abuse to meet press and public at CFi-West on August 31, 2011

dwalker — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 12:39:59 -0400

The Survivors of Institutional Abuse will be appearing on August, 31, 2011 at Café Inquiry which is held at the Center for Free Inquiry – West at 7:30 PM. a branch of CFI-Transnational, an educational nonprofit organization that explores and advances critical thinking, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values through education, outreach, and social services. This will mark our first public appearance before an organization whose speakers and supporters have included Christopher Hitchens, and the late Steve Allen and Carl Sagan. It will be an opportunity for survivors to address the press and public.

Jodi Hobbs (president of SIA Organization), Christie Niznik (vice president) and Dwayne Walker (director of media and research) will screen videos and offer a first person insider glance at life within a teen lockdown facility and promote United With One Voice, a compilation of survivor stories from locked down facilities across America, as well as the theme for their first convention to be held between February 24-26 at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA.

“What I want to do is bring about awareness, empowerment and healing for adults who have been in this type of circumstance.” says Jodi Hobbs, who was a former resident of Victory Christian Academy in Ramona, CA. VCA was the subject of the book Reform at Victory by Michelle Ulriksen and is briefly mentioned in Dwayne Walker’s book, Our Pastor Molested Me, Now What?. It is also highlighted in Bloodbath, a documentary about artist, Liz McGrath.

Walker videotaped a survivor of VCA back in 1990. That tape was sent to California’s Department of Children’s Services. The tape reopened an investigation and the school was eventually closed in 1992. The proprietor of the home was forbidden from working with children in the state of California. He moved his operations to Florida where the laws are not as strict.

“My parents heard about VCA from Calvary Chapel.” said Christie Niznik in United With One Voice. “The deciding factor for sending me to Victory was that I found out some family secrets regarding molestation that was going on in my family and I was sent there to keep my mouth shut. I paid for their crime.”

“The need to meet and talk with other survivors is ultimately the best course for healing and empowerment.” says Walker, a former volunteer with the Shoah Foundation, an organization founded by Steven Spielberg that interviews holocaust survivors. “The abuse at some of these homes is tremendous and brings about serious questions about human rights and how it pertains to children. Should children should have constitutional protections against being abused?”

Articles mentioning SIA have recently appeared in ABC News (‘Biblical Reform School Discipline: Some Call In Tough Love, Others Abuse’ by Susan Donaldson James, April 12, 2011) and Mother Jones (‘Escape from Missouri’ by Kathryn Joyce, August 2011).

Café Inquiry is held at the Center for Free Inquiry – West inside the Steve Allen Theater at 4773 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027 at 7:30 PM on August, 31, 2011. For more information: http://cfiwest.org

[Submitted by dwalker]

MOTHER JONES mentions SIA Organization!

jhobbs — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:25:10 -0400

MOTHER JONES mentions SIA Organization! [ by dwalker on Sun 19th Jun 11, 2:02pm]
Mother Jones magazine has an article out in it's July/August 2011 issue which mentions SIA. The actual quote is 'New Bethany alums staged a reunion trip to confront the Fords, and they joined with members of kindred groups such as Survivors of Institutional Abuse to gather and publicize survivor stories.'

Well, that's the goal of this book project! We're are in the process of planning a launch event in August and we want to use that moment as a media event to draw attention to the issues, publicity to the convention and showcase what's really going on. If we have a book of survivor stories we can present those to the public, the media and state representatives.

We want to get the book out soon and what we'd like is for you to submit an essay of any length about your experience. There are many issues that can be covered but where we want to go is this 'how has being in the home (school/gulag, any word of your choice) impacted your life and the lives of others around you to this day?'.

Once we receive the essays, if there are any unanswered questions in the essays we can always ask them of you and you can send in additional materials. It's great the MJ piece made it but this book project can be on-going. Just compiling testimony after testimony in readable book forms that can be shared with the media, law enforcement, student or anyone curious as to what's really happening behind the 'barbed wire'.

Please submit essays by emailing sia.dwayne@gmail.com or upload essays upload link please select HEO Book Outreach under categories when submitting.