Trails Carolina
My experience with Trails Carolina was pathetic
There are no words to describe the sickness of the center that prevails at Trails Carolina.
Supposed to be a therapeutic center, Trails Carolina runs as a cult to torture patients and clients they promise to help.
The weirdest part of the entire course is that the admission counselor instructs your legal guardian or parent not to inform where they would be taking the enrolled.
I was one of those lucky ones who did not have to go through that experience.
I was well informed before time and knew that they came home dragging everyone in the middle of the night to pack bags and travel to Trails Carolina.
Everyone in my team had to go through that.
Even after graduation from the center, I was left with PTSD many years later.
I still get Goosebumps remembering what happened the day I arrived.
They pushed me into a room, gave me a uniform, and asked me to strip and change in front of others.
It is freezing in North Carolina, and it can drop beyond 0 degrees in the mountains of North Carolina.
A strict routine was followed, which was too stringent for someone like me.
I was there for my anger control problem, and I had never hurt anyone in my life. It was a minor problem.
But, they treated everyone like criminals.
The food was pathetic, and they used to tell us when to eat. There were times when they did not allow us to eat at all.
The menu will give you a headache. They provided oats on Monday morning.
We had to prepare it ourselves with the hot water they provided. Lunch was identical for all the days in a week—a tortilla and honey.
Monday dinner was beans and rice. They gave us a cup, and we were allowed to eat one to 2.5 cups measured.
Tuesday, they provided mush, which was a mixture of whatever was left with us.
They offered everyone a p-bag every Wednesday.
This contained six oranges, peanut butter, resins, and other kinds of stuff. So, we had to eat the leftovers from the p-bag on Tuesday night.
Trails Carolina cost varied a lot for other packages.
They had five different programs with different Trails Carolina costs. The first program is Trailhead.
After that, they have Waypoint. Which is followed by Legend, Barron, and lastly, the navigator.
To be candid, I never made any progress when I was there. I never made it to the navigator, and I am thankful I did not.
When I asked for a release, and my parents backed my decision, my trainer, Todd Green, did not allow my freedom.
According to him, I was not ready. Some people were involved in drug trafficking.
My problem was nothing when put along with the other’s problems.
He even suggested my parents put me in the therapeutic boarding school. He informed me that I was doing worse.
He tried everything to get me back to my old behavior so that he could keep me there.
Trails Carolina abuse is done for amusement, and the people are sick. My parents had to hire an attorney to get me out of that mess.
Trails Carolina’s abuse was not only limited to the activities but was evident through their behavior.
They made us pick sticks while searching in the woods during rains.
It was cold out there, and if anyone did not do as asked, their names were marked in the blue book.
They had to experience the consequences.
The staff was trained not to react to anything. They were oblivious and pretended that they did not care, even if they did.
After I was released, I contacted the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
The reply was not socking at all.
North Carolina reviews from these departments were not good.
For the past five years, Trails Carolina was charged for using the medicine on minors that were not prescribed.
However, they were still doing it. We used to make us eat a treatment calling it vitamins and never said what it was for.
I went there during winter. The staff threw dental floss on me and asked me to sew it.
My sleeping bag was ripped off when I asked for another one. So inhuman.
We had to fight for the correct report from the trainer. He was not ready to give me a blue signal.
He gave us the clean letter when we threatened him with the legal consequences. It took months for us to get that letter.
Finally, I was admitted to the typical high school. But, the experience still leaves me with coldness.
Trails Carolina death was a massive disaster, but it never got the hype it should have called.
If I start writing every minute detail about the experience, it will take days.
A student’s death was under their custody, but they tried everything to suppress that news.
These people at Trails Carolina are criminals and should be reported sooner.
The students who joined with me were in contact after their discharge.
I contacted them to get insight into their progress while graduating from there, and everyone had the same thing to say.
There used to be a retreat session, and all the parents of the students used to meet.
Nothing changed, and many started living on their own after relapsing.
I remember when my mom said to me dad, “where have we sent our child.”
When my parents came to know about the other students’ things, they were taken aback.
Other students were charged for drug trafficking, car stealing, larceny, etc.
I was only impulsive.
However, I had never hurt anyone. I would repeat this. I never hurt anyone.
Trails Carolina scams should be given the highest priority to be curbed.
There is nothing that can match their level in terms of inhumanity.
A very bad stuff on Trails
I was sent here by my parents (no other option). They told me about it (making it sound amazing), but it’s a living nightmare.
I was part of a group called ISIS. (Greek goddess) First, I want to tell all parents that you should not send your children there.
They don’t say it at the beginning. For months and months, you won’t hear your child’s voice.
I was sobbing and begged them to let us call our parents. I would cry and beg them to let me call my parents.
They would always tell me to act my age and shut up. This is not something I talk about. It took me almost five months to get there. They make you completely naked when you get there. They’ll help you if you refuse to do it. I was just 12.
I am incredibly suicidal and have anger issues. I was welcomed by the girls as if I were part of their family.
I felt comfortable at first and thought I could do it, but this didn’t last very long.
This girl heavily influences me. She was 16 years old and would touch me at night to try other things.
I used to tell my staff about that week, and they all said, “It’s normal, dude,” but remember that you were hiking somewhere when you weren’t at base.
They would push you until you were exhausted if you became tired.
One girl was a good friend of mine. She had broken her leg, and they didn’t care. They allowed her to stay there.
A friend of mine fell off one of the buildings after seeing how the staff treated her.
Here’s the worst. Derry? She is very manipulative and convinced that my father raped her when I was younger and that his friend was also involved.
Two male staff members from that establishment raped me.
I was screaming at the top of my lungs, and one of the female staff members said to me: “Stay in your f**king camp!
One of the girls saw it all, and things got worse. Every day, I went there.
They only cared a few. They touched me inappropriately and threatened to kill me if they heard anything.
They believed me.
They had a large knife on their faces. I began to get worse, and finally, I broke down and ran away.
I was so close to them that they had to catch me. One of the men punched me in the stomach and said, “Never do it again bitch.”
Although I won’t be able to give everything, the fact is that they want your money. That’s all.
I hope you all can and will see it before sending your child there. It is a horrible place. It’s hell.
Trails Carolina is about to shutdown
Finally, we have heard that Trails Carolina is about to shut down its operations in North Carolina. It is a win-win for all of us who joined the fight to save our children from these prick suckers. The rehab center was never aimed to help children get out of addiction, and it ruined the lives of many.
Abusive and Manipulative
Let me begin at the top with this. I don’t know where to start. Let me share my experiences with the program. To protect my privacy, I won’t reveal details about the dates. I was fortunate to have known in advance that I was going.
The admissions counselor will tell your parents or legal guardians not to tell your child when or whereabouts they are going. The students use these minor deceptive services, calling them “goons.” They come to your home in the middle of the night and force you to pack and get in the car to take them to Trails Carolina.
I was fortunate enough not to go through this, but all of my teammates did. Trails didn’t like that I was aware of it in advance. They called my parents and informed them that they had contacted me for more information. If the response is incorrect, I have documentation to support that.
I have suffered from PTSD since I graduated from the program. It was supposed to be a therapeutic experience. Even years later, nightmares arose and continue to plague me. When I arrived on my first day, I was immediately dropped off. I was taken to a room, forced to change into a uniform, and stripped down.
I was given a green shirt, a red hoodie, quick-dry pants, and some hiking shoes. I was there for just over two months during winter. It can drop to 0 degrees in the mountains of North Carolina at night due to the windchill.
This place is not therapeutic. Here’s the list of foods we had to order. They also told us when we could have our meals. Yes. Yes. There were times when we weren’t allowed to eat.
Monday’s breakfast consisted of oats that we prepared using water from the creek. It was then boiled. Monday lunch? The same for every lunch. One tortilla with honey. That’s all. For almost 80 days, this was the same thing every day. On Monday, rice and beans were served for dinner.
The meals were divided into green cups that each person had. The minimum amount of food you could eat was half a cup, and the maximum amount was 2.5 cups. You also had to tell the person who made it that you were eating it. The food was carried around with us everywhere. Tuesday’s dinner was known as mush. What is mush? What is mush?
The funny thing is that I arrived on Monday, my first day. Every week, each person received a bag of food called a “p bag.” It contained a zip lock bag containing raisins, mixed nuts, and peanut butter. Six oranges and six apricots were also included. We couldn’t keep it if we didn’t eat all of it.
The next day I received my p-bag. I found out that I had full access to peanut butter. All the other kids were furious. After I had turned in my food bag, the staff opened my peanut butter jar and took half out to make Trails fair. Trails now have five stages.
Trailhead is the first, followed by Waypoint, Legend, and Barron, the red guide, navigator, and then navigator. Thank God I didn’t make it to the navigator.
Truthfully, and I’m not lying, I didn’t learn anything during those 70 days. I also learned that Todd Green, the therapist assigned to me, refused to let me go. He claimed that I was not ready. He said I was there for a minor purpose while the others were there for drug trafficking offenses.
He dared to suggest that my parents return home but send me to a therapeutic school across the country. He said that I was failing my parents. My parents were being told I was acting horribly.
He had me set up while I was there to get me back to my old behavior so that he could inform my parents that I should be sent away. This will happen again. I still have PTSD from this.
I tried to suppress it for a while, but it was still there. My hands were almost frozen, and I was unable to stop. I won’t forget the cold rain that made me collect sticks from the woods.
I would have been reported in the blue books where they kept a log. I will repeat it: I cheated my entire way through the program because I wasn’t sure I’d ever make it out. The goal was to create a spark that would turn into a fire with a bow drill.
The whole program was about breaking coal. If you didn’t, you couldn’t go home. They wouldn’t let me go, so I signed many activities to complete myself.
Todd Green, the therapist, would sit down with me and have his outside food right in front of my eyes while we talked. He was enjoying some sick amusement.
This man is a criminal. I pray that he loses his license. The program taught me nothing except that the people were supposed to help just as wrong. It was all so confusing to the staff. They were instructed to ignore us and be firm with everyone.
After I was gone, I researched and contacted the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. They sent me the Statement of Deficiency Reports for the last five years. They are cited each year for the same reasons, and their performance does not improve every year.
It is illegal to administer medication to a minor that they are not prescribed to. They gave us a pill they called Trails Candy every day. Although they claimed it was a vitamin, they refused to reveal it as it was not their business.
They checked our tongues each time we took them to ensure that we didn’t spit out the substance. According to North Carolina, this is illegal.
Additionally, the state of North Carolina would not approve of sanitary conditions. For example, we went without showers for up to 3 weeks and then had to pour water into our cups to rinse them.
My hoodie sleeve was used to clean it for three months. The rest of the leu was dug by us. My hoodie sleeve had become moldy from the food I ate by the time that I graduated. Wednesday dinner was simple quinoa. Yes, plain quinoa… I could not eat that way, so I sneaked into the p bag on Wednesdays and stuffed a tortilla in my pocket.
Then I dumped the quinoa into the lou. Gross. Inhumane!! Thursdays were again rice and beans! The sanitary conditions were not even recognized. The river was used to wash the pot. Water is a source of bacteria that can’t be killed by boiling. For the sole purpose of engagement and exercise, we were required to move campsites each day.
It was a harrowing experience to carry a backpack weighing 80 pounds up the mountain and be yelled at for not bearing the weight. It was not helpful that the biggest students made the minor students carry all the weight.
It was forbidden to show skin, so all clothing had long sleeves and long pants. To ensure that we were not self-harming, they would ask us to show our arms. They would ask us to offer our feet to them and then pinch our toes to check for frostbite. They also gave us access to a saw & shaver.
You were given a schedule and taken to your doctor’s appointment. You were also escorted into the waiting area like a prisoner and denied any water or other food. The staff brought their food, which they let you eat but not yours.
I LOST SO MUCH WEIGHT because I could not survive on quinoa and one tortilla. It was so disgusting that I didn’t eat oatmeal. It was disgusting. I used to have it with peanut butter every morning. There was this powdered milk they used when there was bran cereal day. I was the only one who didn’t use the p–milk, and everyone would always ask me why. I replied that I wouldn’t use it. Bran day was my favorite because it had flavor, and I could eat it plain.
Every day we had a snack, either banana chips or apricots. I wouldn’t say I liked banana chip day, but I loved banana chip day. We were on a long hike, and I think it was near the Academy. One day we saw a mountain feist dog named Sascha who lived on the property. We hiked to the falls, where the Hunger Games were held. We ate all of the sausage, butter, and cheese, but they don’t give kids that in summer, so I feel terrible!
I SPENT NIGHTS IN TEARS because I didn’t know when I was leaving. I cheated on the program because of my ADD, which completely demoralized me that my PTSD still impacts my sleep. I can’t go camping, and I can’t go hiking. I can’t smell campfires anymore. This was not meant to happen.
These backpacks were already so full. It was winter when my sleeping bag zipper snapped off the first week below zero temperatures in the mountains. I asked them if they could give me another one. Sean, the staff member, said no. He then gave me some dental floss and told me to sew it up. Brutal.
Because I wouldn’t say I liked the unsanitary conditions, I requested a new spoon every week. Laura Callis provided me with the reports, and I will continue to follow up. Trails don’t want you to see the messages. They had a student who died in their custody. They told us to empty our bags, search through everything, and pack it up.
When I saw my parents in their final moments, I wept not out of joy but because I was afraid of what they would do. The program wouldn’t allow me to leave. My parents didn’t want me to go, but by the grace and mercy of God, they were determined to bring me home.
After months of trying to get the therapist’s report accurate, he attempted to send me a recommendation letter stating that I should attend a therapeutic boarding school. My parents forced him to amend the letter or face criminal prosecution. The following Fall, I was accepted into a regular high school.
I believe the program did this to try to keep me there. I don’t know which one. They didn’t like that I knew beforehand. I posted on the internet from my location until they took it away about where I was in case anything happened.
I signed up for many activities that I did not want to do. I used another person’s materials to get rid of all my coals. Two of my students were testing, so I used his kit to bust three coals. This was recorded into the blue journal and boosted my progress.
When I found out I was returning home, I was thrilled. I can’t tell you how traumatized I felt. I was subject to mental abuse that was not therapeutic. It didn’t help me at all, and in fact, it made my situation worse.
They were the ones I wanted to expose, but it was always the corporation against those who existed. I’m not insane, I’m not psychotic, and I have ADD. The reason I was sent to that place was not drug-related, but because I was impulsive. I didn’t injure anyone, and I didn’t commit any crime like the other members of my group.
My parents said they held a retreat where parents of students met to talk about their children. They were all here for drug trafficking and robbery, and stealing cars. I remember my mom crying and saying to my dad, “What have we sent our son?” It was nothing compared to what I did.
There are many stories I could tell about the events that happened. Although they sound unbelievable, they are true. I spoke to one of the other people in the program, who said that he had relapsed and was now living on his own.
I still have all my journals and other items from the program, where I wrote the things I did every day. And toothbrushes! You had to use your finger to brush your tooth if you didn’t own a toothbrush.
This is not the place for your child. It will be a nightmare, I swear.