Harbor Oaks Boarding School – North Carolina
Harbor Oaks is a Christian boarding school located in Mars Hill, North Carolina. The owners are James and Patricia Jones. The facility uses the Accelerated Christian Education (A.C.E.) workbook curriculum provided by School of Tomorrow. School of Tomorrow requries that just one person in an entire school be “certified” to use the curriculum. However, this certification is NOT from any state agency. It is issued by School of Tomorrow.
This enables schools to use the curriculum without having any certified teachers.The status of the “teachers” at Harbor Oaks is still in question. ISAC has received complaints against Harbor Oaks alleging inadequate education, false advertising, unqualified staff, lack of supervision, and physical abuse. Sue Scheff, owner of Parents Universal Resource Experts (PURE), reportedly receives payment in exchange for referring families to Harbor Oaks.
ISAC has learned that Scheff’s daughter, Ashlyn Jockell, is employed by the facility. The Madison County Department of Social Services has substaniated a report for neglect at Harbor Oaks. The findings include: lack of medical care, lack of mental health care, and improper supervision. Anyone with information about Harbor Oaks is asked to contact ISAC immediately. Updated September 30, 2007 Letter About Harbor Oaks Official Finding of Neglect
Source: http://www.isaccorp.org/documentsam.asp#harboroaks [Editor’s note ISACcorp is no longer in operation]
My Grandma Bette “May she rest in peace” used to say……
“WHEN YOU LOOK YOU FIND”
I hope you never stop looking for a way to shut down this industry.
We all survived for a reason.
To uncover the truth and the root of the problem.
To stop future abuse, to make the General public aware.
It will be as common as the knowlage that G.W. Bush is an idiot!
i attended harbor oaks and did not see anything that looked like abuse. i know alot of guys that did not want to be there but, we all wanted to get back home. i learned a lot from the people there and they did not try to force anything on me. it is a christian school so yes church was a to do, but they did not make me believe before i came home. and my parents made the choice to send me to a christian place, so i could get bitter or try to move forward. i got to meat a lot of other guys going through the same crap i was going through, and it helped me to see how i could be a better man. so as far as all the crap you say about them to bad for you, you don’t know the people i do and you can say all you want but untill you know someone you cant judge them.
If anyone is reading this in 2019, I’ve been trying to find some of the guys I was there with back in 2006 for awhile now but to no avail. My name is Daniel Walters.
Yo this is David whiticar. I remember undaniel. HMU on fb DVD Whit
Well you werent part of the original 16 girls that came from Florida when it went from Green Isle Academy to HOBS for Girls. What they did to us would give you night terrors and being that I’m 31 years old and that shit still gives me chills… Be thankful they straightened that shit out
I was one of the original 16 girls and there is so much bullshit that went on. From blanket parties to mental abuse to just everything. I’m 29 years old today and I’ve had PTSD since leaving there
I was also one of the originals, who moved with the group from St.Cloud to Mars Hill. I was kicked out after a while for pushing back on Pat and Jim relentlessly. Nothing was ever right about this place, I’m now 30 and have only grown angrier knowing how it was.
So I was there when it was hobs not too long after stcloud. I arrived in late spring of 2004. I’m still incredibly angry I’m 31 today
i went to harbor oaks for a long time. i was there for almost 2 years and i left and was sent to another program then i came back for about 3 months. there was no physical abuse. i never thought it was that bad for a program. the things ive read about it are true like the phone times and home visits and the education. i didnt get much done doing school there. because to do the school there you basically have to really want to do it. and lets face it no teenager really wants to do school. they give you workbooks that are called paces. and you have 12 for each subject for each grade and you work on it and if you have any questions you ask this one guy whos in the room. i use to just sleep in class all day. or just fake sick and have to stay in my room all day. and not everyone got the amount of therapy that their parents were told they would get. some girls i knew hadnt gotten any. i didnt get any unless i asked for it. and i remember when i was there i heard some girls saying the counseler wasnt a real counseler. and yea some of kids there did do sexual stuff with eachother. i left there the second time around march of this year. it really wasnt that bad from my point of view though. there was good food. it was a nice place. i didnt completely agree with everything though. like memorizing bible verses to get up a level. they didnt make us be christian though. but i guess for a truely troubled teen it may not be that great of a place for them to be. they have helped people though. it has its good things and its bad things.
Now Susan Scheff is trying to hide the truth by googlespamming “Susan Scheff”
LOL… So what… is she going to try to change her name now? Wouldn’t be the first time somebody in this industry did it to hide a shady past.
i was in harbor oaks for 8 months
and i can defenitly beleive alot of this stuff
i got better but not from the help of anyone else it was just a choice i made,no counseling session did anything for me,actually one time my counselor said that she could see “demons” following me!!!!!! everytime a student would tell their parents something bad about the school,like how they were touched wrong by the staff,or the expired food,when they would calll the office they would just be lied to then the students would get into trouble.if i had enouph patience to sit here and say everything wrong this school has done to its students i would be here alll day
@former student
Well. Thanks for taking the time to speak out, even if it’s a little. I know it’s not always easy. That being said, if you feel up to it, I’m pretty sure isaccorp.org would love to get a statement from you as to what you’ve experienced.
i am a former student at harbor oaks boarding school and let me just tell you it was horrible…they didnt treat us right, the”house parents” never did anything and when it came to fights somethimes they would never break them up. also there was a certian “house parent” that would stare at evry girl that walked his way and call them sexual names. i know from first hand experience. also about the food….they did have alot of expired food in the house and yes when people did try to tell they’re parents about what was going on the parents were told that we were always causing trouble and that we were always getting demoted to a lower level like level 1. once they even demoted me to level zero…and we didnt even have a level zero!! some times we had nice house parents and sometimes we didnt….i was there for a year in total and had the worst time of my life..that place didnt help me it only made me worse. it made me start pick up bad habits like when i got so upset i actually cut myself! and i know that it was my choice but still the staff didnt help either! point is that if your a parent that wants to send your kid there dont! your going to waste your money for nothing!
i was in harbor oaks when it first opened i was there for a year. jeremy jones is a big piece of shit he is a lying fake as christian that scams peoples parents. he will do whatever it takes to get money he will blackmail the kids if the tell there parents bad shit about the program like he will demote ur status. and once when i was there a staff memeber named james mills was the person that passed out meds in the morningns and a couple of times he stole the kids pain pills. jermeys wife angela is also a piece of shit and a fucking cunt. also lots of expiered food
Why do you’ll say things like this… They seem to be great parents and people.
I have done some research and phone calls and found out that Harbor Oaks Boarding School is now called Wolf Creek Academy. Same owners, same building and Sue Scheff from PURE is still recommending people to go to these schools and gave me the same line of crap that she gave other parents for Harbor Oaks. You just can’t trust anyone.
I attended what is now called Wolf Creek Academy for four months last year. It was neither a horrible nor positive experience. If you are looking for a place that is going to really work on improving your child’s well being, this is not the place. This program only works if the student wants it to. Wolf Creek is at best just a place to get away. For the $4,000 a month that my mother paid I got expired generic brand food. My counselor saw me maybe once a month. The allegation that this is a “college preparatory school” is completely false. They give you a computer and that is about the extent of your education. They have someone watch over you while you are in “school” but he is not a licensed teacher and cannot answer your questions. Not to mention you have no books or access to any website besides ParkCityIndependent.com the program they we’re using at the time. During my stay, there we’re girls who reported sexual abuse by the part time house parents. These house parents we’re fired but allowed to return to the school and accompany us on trips. I wanted to go to a program when I was sent to WCA. I wholeheartedly believe that the only thing keeping this program going we’re the full time house parents (not the one’s accused of sexual abuse) at the time. They seemed to be the only staff members that actually cared about the students. I have recently found out that they quit and the current houseparents at the girls school are just the owner’s brother and his wife. I did not hate the experience but do not believe that this is a place to send your child. The owner’s we’re never around and definitely gave me the impression they we’re in it for the money.
My daughter has been at Wolf Creek Academy for 6 months. It’s certainly not glamorous, nor should it be. The place has saved my daughter’s life. Is it perfect? NO. But overall, we have been VERY pleased with the staff, especially the therapist and most of the house parents. As far as the academics go, it’s true that the kids will only get out of it what they choose to put in. It’s basically an accredited on-line school that you could use at home, but this is also what a portion of your tuition goes to. Every time I have had a concern or question about my daughter’s school work, it has been responded to by staff. From a parent’s point of view, it’s no different than if your child lives at home. You MUST involve yourself in every aspect of their life, or you won’t know what’s going on most of the time. It’s true that the owner’s don’t seem to be around that much, but when I have needed Pat Jones for something really important, she has been there and responded. Some of the house parents are better than others, but they are not therapists, nor should they be expected to be. Yes, it is a family business, and there are family members that work there. I have no issue with that. They don’t try to hide it. There were highs and lows, but overall I think it was the right place for my daughter at the time, and Sue Scheff is the one that recommended Wolf Creek. I have no opinion about her law suits or business practices, all I know is she helped us find the right place for my kid.
Hello,
Today a friend of mine was sent from the Netherlands (the Hague) to a
boarding school in North Carolina near a small town called Mars Hill.
All of this was arranged in these past three days. She was sent there
concerning her past issues with her depression.
Me and my friends have been trying to prevent this from happening,
without succes.
The school she’s going to is called Wolf Creek Academy. We’ve been
researching the school on your sit and found this info very disturbing.
Now our main concern is to get her to come back or to get her to go to a
proper school in America.
Her parents refuse to read the information we have found about this
school. There’s been a lot of shadiness about the finances and how she
has gotten her visa so quickly and we’ve been told that the school has
had that arranged for her while the school is not even registered as an
official school…
We haven’t shown this information to the police yet but are planning to
do so this week. The authorities here can’t do very much because she’s
still a minor.
I was wondering if you could send more information about this place that
could be usefull (apart from your site).
I would be very gratefull if you could find the time to do this for me
and my friends..
From a very concerned group of friends…
Sure. I can do that. The site I linked to (isaccorp.org) with the information about the school is offline at the moment but I’m in contact with the owners of that site and can get them to forward you all the information they have. Feel free to send me an email at [email protected].
I attended harbor oaks for a little more than 8 moths, and it was not at all what they claimed it to be. Non-profit organization? I doubt it. The food was something you’d find being handed out by US soldiers to a 3rd world country. The staff were paid poor wages, main reason why a few of them quit. We did go hiking on several occasions, but it’s not like you have to pay an entry fee. Expenses for the aspen, CO snowboarding trip came out of our parents’ pockets on top of the monthly 4 grand. Expenses for other trips, like McDonalds, movies, etc… also came from money our parents sent us. They did pay for the tickets though. We were very limited to the money we were allowed to spend. I recall going to McDonalds and they gave us $3 of our own money to spend, and i was lvl 2 at the time (Standard level of privileges upon enrollment, you can be promoted or demoted depending on efforts and behavior). The facility was poorly insulated, and the 3 rooms we bunked in plus the rooms directly below we all heated by 1 pilot light outside, which kept going out during the winter. Sure we got free season passes to the ski lodge, but technically it wasn’t free. We helped landscape the lodge property, including the entire mountain face in order to obtain them. Those are all the luxuries we had, aside from video games brought in by students. Only thing that school did for me was show me how to snowboard and use a weed-whacker.
I went there two years ago and it ruined my life, it got me to start drugs, drinking, cutting, ect. at age 13. I ending up trying to commit sucide a few months later due to the damage it has done to me. I was tramized, i was scared to go to the bathroom and leave my bed. I only got to see my theripist if i asked to. I was put on sucide watch for 2 weeks and they didnt even watch me, let me do the same thing as the other girls. it was complete and utter bullshit. they lied about everything and told my parents we got to use the internet and contact friends, lies, we could talk to parents maybe 15 mins a week on a supervised phone call. The staff could end the phone call or deyn you your phone call if they wanted to, one of the staff while i was there got fired for watching some of the girls in thier underwear. Also the food was digustion. It was always expired, and begin a vegaterian, i was forced to skip meals sometimes because i refused to eat the meat. Id write a hell of a lot more if i had the time though. But parents, please DONT send your child here.
i went there in the summer or 2007 and everything that has been said negativly about this place are true and i am fighting for justice for the kids that parents are too ignorant to fing the truth
everyone who thinks that is a good place is seriously messed up in the head… hey who cares: shut up you dont know what its like until your in that situation so stop hating….
I went there a very long time ago. i stayed for a year ,when it was 8 girls to a room 4 rooms 1 house and it was awful. the staff were simply volunteers with to expirience and the education was a joke. Never send your child to this place. I will never forget that place. I dont know if its the same now im sure they have changed alot of things but back then it was a joke.
Unfortunately, my husband and I worked at Wolf creek. We were only there a few months, but I have to agree with most of the complaints on here. Tuition was $4500/mo. We had 10-12 boys in our house alone and there were 3 other houses for boys. You do the math. And as houseparents, we often still paid for a lot of things out of our own pocket because we were not given our allotted weekend outing money.
The food was always expired. Frozen, but still a year or so past the expiration date. It was “politely recommended” that I provide only kool-aid or sweet tea for the boys. The owners told me our house was spending too much money on milk. My family of 4 plus 10 teenage boys and we would go through approx 10 gallons of milk/week. The boys slept in a converted basement garage but heat never worked at all the winter we were there. Temps were often in the single digits.
We loved the kids, but the owners (especially son, Jeremy) had an insatiable appetite for money. We no longer wanted to be a part of it.
Glad as a houseparent you recognize the evil. I gained so much weight and ate so much stale food. The doctors thought they were poisoning me or something. They don’t pay the houseparents well at all. They stole all my level three money and “lost” all my mom’s checks. I know they stole them. I know they are greedy they live lavishly and say it is non-profit. Jeremy Jones has two lavish houses that are mansions
I attended Harbor Oaks, and Wolf Creek Academy. I was there for 2 years. I can tell you right now that all the things these children are saying is false! There was one creepy house parent and Pat and Jim fired him quick and for a reson. No staff ever layed a hand on any student. Most of the kids talking crap about this place are spoiled little brats and should be glad that they got sent theyre and the kids that go in the future should enjoy there time theyre. At Harbor Oaks/Wolf Creek academy your children have to make a heart felt decision to want to change and once they make that decision is when changes start to occur. No one can help anyone if you dont want to help yourself. My therepist Val and Gwen helped me and many girls through our problems. And when it comes to school, yes we had to want to graduate to get anything done, but thats a part of being responsible. This place helped me grow up and children should be happy they get placed there rather than a city rehab, mental facility, or better yet jail. All together I met some awesome people who will stay in my life for ever. And its all thanks to Pat and Jim jones, and most of there staff. So suck it up kids and be gratful tht you got sent there and learn your lesson there. Beleive me you dont want to go to the places ive been. Sincerley, Sydney Day = )
I was a former student of harbor oaks boarding school in 2006. This place is hell do not send your child here! While my stay i was sexually harassed by the staff, a former student there bullied me and beat me up everyday and the staff refused to do anything to do about it and when i tried to tell my parents they would just grab the phone out of my hand and tell them that i was lying. After this they began moderating everyones phone calls. While I was there, i started cutting i never even thought about it until i came to that place but thats what everyone was doing so i followed it was a cry for help but mrs jones saw it as $ signs and immediately called my parents and they added on another month there. After I left harbor oaks I had to be on my best behavior because my parents and I signed a contract with them basically stating if I acted up again at home that they would send me back there for a year and they make you sign it the day you leave and if you don’t they won’t take you to the airport for your flight. This place made me rebel at home run away and do drugs, i wound up dropping out of school and becoming a stripper if it wasn’t till i found god was i saved…thats another thing we went to church every other month? I learned how to snowboard there, thats a plus! The food was expired and they made us cook it. Everytime we did something wrong they would write us a ticket with a hour long chore on it 1 time they gave me a ticket cause i told my mom that there wasnt councilors on staff 24/7 like there should be. Pat Jones you greedy skinny anorexic bitch stop scamming people for there money don’t you thing you ruined enough girls lives?
I was there for 5 months weed waked atleast 6 hours a week we where camping one time i told ms.pat i was not christian and had no desire to be and she most of done some voodoo shit were i fainted at a camp fire she did it to alot of girl she was speaking in tongue along with her husband
oh & 2 girls aloud to a tent they look like there made for toddlers that where really dirty & had spiders all in them
there food was expired
we did all the chores
its not fun when u and a partner have to wash dishes for maybe 20 girls
there was this iggnorent petty ass counsler there named cheyenne that would lecture us because she was insecure and thought we wanted her husband who seemed like a flirt
we could not go to the bathroom at night unless we told a counsler
i was weedwaking one day kinda up hill and slipped an fell and broke my tail bone i could barely walk i kept telling the houseparents after a month i finally went to the doctors because my mom was calling an complaining i got there it was broken and all they could do is give me cream to rub on it because they waited so long to take me…
i went there they gave me 2 uniforms both size 0 in pants
i gained atleast 15 pound being there there wouldnt give me bigger pants so i couldnt evan button them (left a size 3)
& i read something about ms.pat not letting violent people in the homes
lol the main reason i went there was for violence
lieing bitch this place will not change your kid
if u surround ur kid with people who dont want to change & got a past
there gonna go there learning stuff an get out just smarter
in 5 months i went on maybe 4 outings
one was taco bell were we could spend 2 dollars
another was friday we could spend 7
all im saying is where did the 20,000$ my mom spent go
in that ol frankenstien lookin bitches pocket
my son has been at wolf creek for the last 7months. I make it my business to call visit without notice to see for myself whats going on. it is not a 5 star resort these kids are not on vacation. a lot of them do complain about the food.but you know what they need to learn through this experience that they should appreciate what they have at home and your parents aren’t your enemy your so called friends and your choices are your enemies. at first it was hard on him complained bitched you name it but he gets his medication has his therapy i don’t get 15 calls a day from a useless public school system complaining about my sons behavior but don’t want to deal with his condition.instead threaten to accuse me of educational neglect because of his behavior.i get weekly updates from everyone and believe 1 thing my son doesn’t care who is there if he has something to say he says it and i will get to the bottom of it.i have seen an improvement in him.
Harbor oaks, now known as wolf creek academy, was the most horrible place I’ve ever been. I was there for 4 months until my parents finally took me out. I hated every second of it. Pat and Jim jones are fake and they will make parents think their kids are in a “wonderful Christian boarding school where healing takes place” but it’s not. It’s where girls have Jesus stuffed down their throats by hypocrites. While I was there I realized that the staff will accept anyone to go there just for the money. For example, the girls reasons for being there ranged from: being addicted to crack, marijuana, meth, and cutting, and depression, and social awkwardness, and because they didn’t have any friends at home. I was a girl that had never experienced being around drug addicts. I was opened up to a lot and it made me want to try drugs. Dr. Vista Waddle was a terrible counselor. She would talk about me to other girls during their sessions, and vice versus. She constantly lied to us and she was very shady. I hated The house parents. They fed us expired food, and they yelled at us a lot even when we weren’t doing anything wrong. I would never ever recommend WCA.
My son has been there for 3 months now and he is a new person. His grades are excellent and his manners are soooo much better. He never complains about the food and he loves to eat. So the food must be fine. If we did not send him there who knows where he would be right now….so I don’t understand why there is so much negative talk about this place.
Wolf creek academy is highly recommended…..
Shelly,
I would highly suggest that you research the “methods” of behavior modification such “schools” use to turn your son, as well as other people’s children into robots. By now I’m sure they have convinced you that your son would be dead if it weren’t for the program he is in. Chances are good that your son will also begin to believe this. Chances are also good that one day, if your son is a very strong person, he will have a story to tell much like Nick Gaglia, writer and producer of the movies “Over the GW” and “Aaron Bacon”. Nick was also the resident of this kind of “behavior modification” school. He tells a little about it in this highlights video from the Survivors of Institutional Abuse convention a few weeks ago.
http://youtu.be/gsB6Ya7pRaM
Chances are very good, Shelly, that your son knows what awaits him if he were to be honest about what is really happening. If he has seemed to be changed because of a telephone conversation, you need to consider who was listening in on the phone call. If it is by letter, please consider how many times it had to be re-written before it was mailed to you. How much of the mail he receives from you do you think he actually gets to read? And if you’ve had a personal visit, consider the circumstances under which this visit took place. If you decide to remove him, don’t let them lie and say that the “contract” you signed is legal and binding for them to keep your child in their posession for a pre-determined period of time.
THINK!!!!!!!
I have been to WCA/Harbor Oaks a total of three times for TWO years. I went there at age 12, 14, and 16. This program does have its flaws, but I don’t recommend sending your child here if your child doesn’t want to change. I personally never saw the staff mistreat anyone. Yes, they made us do chores, but that’s a part of life, isn’t it? This program isn’t the best but stop being spoiled brats and making false accusations. It pisses me off. I was one of the first Level 4’s (along with another girl). If you behave, you get more privileges. Act like a spoiled bitch, you won’t. This program rewards you by progress. If you don’t want to change, this isn’t the program for you. . . personally this program changed my life, but each person is different.
Iiiiii hate this place i give you a warning from the deep bottem pits of my heart…if you send your child here you wont be p pleased
i hope my mom sues this place
I was at wolf creek academy when I was 16. Let me start out by saying it is not the worst place to be but honestly did not help. You pick up even more bad habits being around 20 other girls with behavioral problems. I love the girls there because we can all relate but everything else was a waste of time and money. Their so called program is bullshit. we didn’t do anything except do school work for 5 hours if you wanted to. I got council about maybe once every 2 to 3 weeks for 30 minutes. My house parents were natalie and joey there no longer there honestly I can say I had no prob. With them. David is going to the lodge and clean it from top to bottom all day for no f****** reason. What is the teaching me I don’t know still can’t figure it out. The school work is all basima christian point of view. I was taking biology and all they told me was god made everything. But long story short is it honestly ruined the relationship between me my parents for about 2 years after I left
…. Wolf creek academy convince my parents do not tell me I was going and had some car service call the right direction to pick me up at 330 in the morning with my parents know where in sight. When I got th I asked me a spot why won’t why was here what was going on she got very rude and said you know exactly why you’re here I was upset and scareere I had no idea what was going on. I did not get to talk to. my parents for 2 weeks honestly I could go on and on about how I felt when I was there because I still remember it but that’s not the point when I went home for thanksgiving I had turned 17 and I lived in south carolina i ran away from my home because I did not wa so if you think this place is going to help you when your child relationship please think again because I know the heartachent to return to that place my parents relationship with me suck for 2 years after that my behavior had honestly gotten worse I met your down my own and change time I am in honestly I have to forgive my parents in order to do all that and I did it on my own no help from wca. Just think about that for your saying your child there cicadas in a whole lot more heart than you’ll ever know
Well ther were some ups and downs there one of the amazing things was the friends that you made there were awesome like Addison and Rachel and Hannah and my favourite staff members Kiesha and tiff tiff and mr. Schou but then there was the food it was ok sometimes i don’t know why everyone complains about this school cause everyplace is gonna have ups and downs so we kids need to deal lol but yeah it was really nice while it lasted….
i never attended or knew anyone who attended wolf creek academy. But it sounds scarier than the last paranormal activity movie. One of the most disturbing complaints I’ve heard about this institution on the internet is that there has been a number of paranormal encounters with the children and the staff. Legend has it that this part of North Carolina was an ancient Indian burial ground that was disturbed when construction began for the institution. To make matters worse there are witches that live in the caves in the mountains and zombies that come out from the lake every full moon. Regardless of the truth of any of these claims I have been told that Wolf Creek Academy serves the best kool Aid in the whole country! I would recommend Wolf Creek Academy to anyone! 🙂
The only reason that is is because they made all the normal people make the kool aid lol
i have read all these post and i just have 1 question for all these people. what should we do with all the kids that are on drugs, defient, can’t deal with the real world or its problems and its all the parents fault,” cause we don’t understand, we don’t get it”.wait for our kids to land in jail,kill someone or themselves,be strungout so bad on drugs they’ll do anything.
the only advice i will give to a parent thinking of sending your child here or anywhere be very involved make sure from the start that everyone including your kid knows you will not be lied too,manipulated. if everyone understands that you are going to be very involved no one not even your kid will get away with anything.use your instinces.
my son was there for almost a year and yea i would show up unanounced at the lodge,school. but i made it very clear i was sending my son there for help not torcher(unless your waiting for them to land in jail).he complained right infront of them of things and i would investigate. he couldn’t wait to leave, now after leaving,he says it wasn’t that bad. he actually wants to go back to visit and he calls his former houseparents at least once or twice a month.it’s not cheap $4850monthly. but alot less expensive than a lawyer. the food my son talks all the time about his houseparents cooking he misses it especially there bbq these teens eat like elephants check your grocery bills.anyway when you deal with normal teens it’s nightmare, but trouble teens know how to work the system and you.
i’d rather he hate me now during his teen years and thank me as a law abiding man later in life.
there will always be people who will tell you your decision is wrong how could you send your kid away. they don’t live in your home, your life,your anxiety.
i will say this if your sending your kid to any place tell them and why let them know they need to change in order to come back for everyone sake. that its not a punichment but an opportunity to start new fresh.
sometimes these kids need a change of enviorment, people.
if isee my son going back to his old ways he knows what awaits him, off he goes again. at least i’m not up alnight waiting to see if he gets home ok, or searching for him, or school calling all day long.
I was a “student” at what is now Wolf Creek Academy for almost five months.
I was escorted to the “school”- simply put, two of the most awful people I’ve ever met woke me up at 2am, handcuffed me, and drove me to North Carolina. The drive took way longer than it should have because my escorts stopped for smoke breaks every hour. Which, y’know, that was super considerate.
While at Wolf Creek, god. Where do I even begin?
All the food is donated from charity food banks in the area. Because of this, the majority of the food is expired. Many girls got sick, and gained unhealthy amounts of weight because of their diet. My depression was definitely worse because of unhealthy diets, and inadequate excersize.
None of the “therapists” actually have degrees. Their doctorates were received from online 2-year wannabe colleges. My counseling sessions at Wolf Creek were never helpful, and the majority of the girls, including myself, complained of leaving the therapists office feeling worse than when they went in.
Bullying was a huge problem during my time at WCA. There is not adequate supervision, and the drama levels were off the charts.
The website claims to have eating disorder specialists on staff. That is bullshit. My best friend from the program got significantly worse while at WCA because it was so easy for her to continue habits of purging. None of the staff noticed.
My therapist did not allow me to talk to my parents for the first month of my time at WCA. The entire time, she told me it was my parents fault and that they didn’t want to talk to me. But, months later, when I went home, I discovered that my parents had been told by my therapist that they were not allowed to call or write me. All of my phone calls and mail was monitored – constitutional violation, correct?
This is by no means a non profit organization. My lower middle class parents made huge sacrifices to pay over $4000 a month to try to get me the help I needed. It makes me SO fucking mad that they were taken advantage of, when all they were trying to do is act in my best interest. Their money did not go to my counseling sessions- I met with a therapist every other week, and hardly ever had group therapy. Their money was definitely not spent on providing me with adequate nutrition or extra circular activities. And, I’m not even going to begin to describe the living facilities. My parents money was definitely not invested in that area. The $4000 a month goes to finance things like the Jones’ brand new, customized mountain homes and the lead therapists 2011 BMW convertible. The staff members that actually care about the students are sorely underpaid, and the students do NOT receive adequate care.
I could really write an entire book on the scams and misconceptions of Wolf Creek Academy, but, parents, grandparents- please, please do not send your child there. They will not come out “fixed”. There are 5billion better options, and I swear that the care they receive at home is safer than what they will receive at WCA. Please do not support this place.
Oh, and one other thing–
the “paranormal activity” commented on above is true.
I personally had demonic and spiritual encounters shortly following services at Wolf Creek. I’ve yet to decide if that is a negative thing or not, but the staff do claim a more charismatic form of Christianity, which includes belief in visions of the Spirit, and demonic possession.
My daughter attended Wolf Creek for 6 months from October 2010 through April 2011. During her time there she was able to come to terms with all the pain she felt and gain valuable tools to help build healthy relationships. We have our daughter back now. She came home and completed her senior year in high school and is now at a bible college in New York. God has turned a bad experience into God for His Glory. Thank you Wolf Creek, especially Jody and Debbie Davis, Amber and Dr. V. Love you all!
I was a former student at harbor oaks boys boarding school as court orderd by my parents at the time being around 2007, I attended for a couple months and in my stay there I witnessed clearly the fraud they were committing. The Program was not cheap for my parents but regardless they got their food from a donations food bank and ”bought” their way into all the activities that my parents money was supposedly going to by simply saying they were non-profit. The care was of low standards to say the least, there was no way of contacting any of my friends or even my parents to tell them certain things as my phone use was monitored as well as my letters and some even got read by staff and thrown away for fear of exposing the fraudulent school. Most counselors were nice and respectful but others like a man with his wife and named sean were completely abusive both in a verbal and physical manner. I witnessed many occasions where he had slammed kids against the wall for merely using inappropriate words in front of his daughter and the wife seemed to suffer the same abuse. The school was a fraud and worked out of mail order school pamphlets with little to know actual teaching. The living conditions there were much more unpleasant as abuse between students was no more than laughed at and went unnoticed even in the event of a full on battle between students using ”rat tails” and ”balls of death” fashioned with towels and bedsheets. The only thing I found that I had learned there was instilled in fear. And upon my return back home I found my drug problem to be if anything worse for I gained so much knowledge there amongst other drug using students, that my curiosity was sparked by all their story telling.
also the paranormal activities stated I found true, in fact me and other students engaged in ”rituals” to be like the trouble making group at the Christian school, some of us were simply playing in mockery but I fear others were far too serious. And for jimbo jones and pat they seem to be the most evil and deceitful money laundering couple I have ever meet to this very day
When I tried to get something going in way or lawsuit to shut them down with the social service people who came and did an interview once, the social worker had told me that mr. jimbo jones and pat had basically bought out the system so there was little to nothing we could do. Just a good fair warning this place is a CULT
I am a former student of Harbor Oaks… actually when I first went there it was called Green Isle Academy and it was in Florida. Pat Jones still ran the place though. When hurricane Charlie hit they moved the school to North Carolina and called it Harbor Oaks. That school was horrible the only good thing were the house parents Royce and Robin. When they got fired they took half the students with them. The food was always expired food from the food pantry which is surprising since Harbor Oaks is supposedly a non-profit organization. All the money is supposed to go into the program. You couldn’t tell though. We ate food from a food pantry that was expired. When we misbehaved we had to do hard manual labor which they called “community service”. We were cleaning the slopes before it snowed for ski season once. We were completely unsupervised and ended up seeing a bear. All the girls started to freak out and run down the hill. We were terrified. A girl there broke her finger and it had to be reattached because they had her moving big cinder blocks for her punishment. She dropped one on her finger and had to go to the ER. It was complete carelessness. I went there for nearly two years. The place is ridiculous. I don’t think I had one therapy session after the initial intake session. If anything they scarred my psyche and I needed immense therapy after attending the school. And Jimbo Jones is a pervert. I don’t have time to sit and write everything out, but it wasn’t a good place. One thing I do want to mention is that they instigate a lot of the fights and picking on that went on back then. I got beat up a lot and no one ever did anything unless they seen the incident.
Worst place ever
Are you kidding me these people including that outrageous bitch pat Jones is a horrible person out for nothing but money it was abusive neglectful and horrible.NEVER send your child here!!!
I recently left this program about 5 days ago. Wolf Creek Academy is not suitable for therapy. The only people in this organization who actually communicated with the parents of the girls honestly and openly were the most recent house parents, who had enough of Julie and Jeremy’s lying and resigned. They gave 30 days notice but instead of being allowed to stay in their apartment for the 30 days to pack up and find a new place to live, Jeremy and Jimbo kicked them and their 3 year old son out in 2 days and refused to allow them to tell the girls good bye.(So much for ‘Christian’) On top of this, they had the nerve to tell the girls that these house parents wanted nothing to do with them, which is absolutely false. I am still in contact with these house parents and we have weekly phone calls and they are coming to my graduation ceremony.
Our ‘therapist’ who wasn’t a licensed therapist rather a social worker, had a 5 minute therapy session with us once a month. Then, she quit. e then got the boys therapist, Mark, who was a complete A-hole. He constantly broke confidentiality, insulted the girls, and billed 150 dollars a week to my parents when he didn’t even call me in for a single therapy session in 2 months. Not to mention that many girls in the program are uncomfortable being alone with an older man because of past experiences.
Julie, the director of the program, is a liar. Her and Jeremy were only in it for the money. In fact, on Monday, MArch 17th 2014 Jeremy said, and I quote, “If you girls want to leave with the house parents that’s fine I don’t care. It doesn’t matter if there are no girls in this house I’ll still get my paycheck.” And on a meeting about me and my progress the only notes that were taken were from Julie’s mouth “We are keeping Leo happy.” And Leo is my father. My Dad called Julie everyday for a month and not one time did she answer or respond to his calls. But, there was not a single mention in the meeting as to how I was progressing or if I was getting better. Julie also called my dad when she found out he was pulling me out, and told him that I was a lying bitch and was an awful human being. Yeah, Sure.
In this past week, March 16-20, the girls school went from 12 girls to 5 because of how unsatisfied parents were with program. Parents were actually afraid because the house parents who had left(because the program was tearing the family apart) were the only ones who communicated to the girls parents.
There was a lot more going on at the program. All the comments about expired food, not having any money to support the girls, inappropriate behavior of certain male staff members, its all true.
I left Wolf Creek Academy a week ago. While my stay was only 3 months, which is nothing in comparison to a majority of the girls…it was probably the most neglect I’ve ever experienced in my life. I’m seventeen, and the problems I was experiencing at home were not just behavioral- I struggled severely with substance abuse and symptoms of borderline personality disorder…home was no longer a safe environment for me and I needed an escape, and so did my parents. I was sent to WCA December 21st, 2013. Julie, (the program director), whom, might I add is one of the most hypocritical, lying, disgusting pieces of absolute shit that i’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting in my entire life- and her husband came and did this clever thing they offer called “transporting.” This is basically where WCA pays a couple, (or in Julie’s case, herself) to come and get us out of our homes and physically force us into a car and to WCA. On the usually long car ride there, you will probably get the talk about how amazing it is, a great ministry, all the wonderful therapy you’ll be receiving- basically the whole bullshit load they feed your parents, and when people come and tour the place WE ARE THREATENED TO NOT SPEAK BADLY OF WCA TO THOSE WHO COME TO TOUR. Might I also add that the theatrics of this place is simply astounding- perhaps instead of an online associate’s degree in “pastoral counseling” they should’ve gotten their degrees in Theatre, they really would’ve done well. I’m trying to make this as short as possible, but like other ex-students have said above me: i could literally write a effing novel.
Let’s start with the 2013-2014 staff:
Niki and Chad were the houseparents up until the week that I left, and when they were asked to leave after calling our parents and letting them know what was REALLY happening at WCA- approximately 9 of us left also. That should be a sign in itself. These two were the only honest and genuine staff, our only advocates, and I truly feared for my safety in the event that I would have had to stay without them there. They were kicked out after they put in their 30 days notice because they couldn’t be a part of the horrible things going on at Wolf Creek. They fully intended to stay until April 16th, 2014 and spend more time with us but when that asswipe Jeremy Jones and his father “Jimbo” found out they had contacted our parents, they were not allowed the opportunity to say goodbye to us and Ben and Lauren (that’s a completely different issue in itself, creeps) took us all off property to “outings” so that we would not be able to see them go. The last day that Niki and Chad were our houseparents, Julie and Jeremy came up to the lodge after school and decided to have a “meeting/group” with us…about THEIR OWN FINANCIAL problems…as if a group of 13-17 y.o. girls who are going through a horrible experience in itself, then add on losing your 2nd parents (we were all so close to the Crawfords) really NEED that. It was disgusting, all of us sat in that living room and bawled our eyes out as we watched Jeremy and Julie rip Niki and Chad apart right before our eyes. The comment was made by Jeremy Jones several times that “if we wanted to have our parents pull us out- go ahead, they’ve run the program on 21 girls and they’ll run it on 0. they don’t need us”. I wonder if he regrets that now, considering there are literally 4 girls left in that sector of hell. My account of that day goes along %100 with the girl above me.
Wolf Creek Academy does NOT have the credentials to call themselves (prepare yourself, this is my favorite part) A SCHOOL, NON THE LESS A THERAPEUTIC INSTITUTION. It is a SCAM. They’ve been at it for years, and if we let them, they’ll be at it for 15 more. At home, I was seeing an ACTUAL THERAPIST once a week. MY PARENTS ACTUALLY HAD TO PAY EXTRA MONEY OUTSIDE OF TUITION FOR ME TO HAVE PHONE SESSIONS WEEKLY WITH MY THERAPIST FROM HOME DUE TO THE LACK OF THERAPY OR SUPPORT AT ALL IN THIS SHIT HOLE. I suffered severe panic attacks for a good 2 weeks, several times a day because of the trapped feeling that I felt, and the invalidating way I was treated by the staff. I had several panic attacks down at the “school” and the Dean told me that if I didn’t “be quiet” he would issue me a 5 hour ticket for “disturbing the classroom.” I was having a panic attack, and the staff at this “therapeutic” institution threatened me with punishment if I didn’t shut up just because they were “sick of hearing it”??! The “licensed counselor” that is currently “employed” at WCA, Mark, was a useless waste of my time and effort. I was often confused, was I the therapist or was he, because I know more about that man than he did about me. He sure did make a shit load of cash just to sit there and talk about hang gliding and his dog for 30 minutes every couple of weeks when he felt like “checking in”. Not to mention, he billed my parents for therapy on several occasions when we didn’t even meet, and when he DIALED THE PHONE FOR ME TO CALL MY OTHER THERAPIST, HE BILLED MY DAD $150. Is this a joke, or?? One of my closest friends at WCA was billed for therapy WHILE ON A HOME VISIT. That’s insane! I didn’t know that the staff at Wolf Creek could teleport.
I was a Level 3. I was at the top of the program, because Level 4 (graduating the program) literally just doesn’t exist as much as they push it. They tell everyone on tours about how they “recommend that students GRADUATE the program”…there were only 2 level 4’s in the past 2 & 1/2 years. I heard that from staff and from a past student that had been there 2 years. I worked so hard to get to being over 3 months sober and it is something I did completely and totally on my own, despite how much I’m sure Wolf Creek would LOVE to take credit for it. The amazing thing about that- is that I COULD HAVE DONE THAT LITERALLY ANYWHERE, AS LONG AS I WASN’T HOME. I will be completely honest when I say I RECEIVED NO THERAPY WHILE AT WCA, other than the phone calls I made to my therapist at home- which they often tried to prevent from happening, and I caught Julie listening in on one day- add that to the long list of laws they break daily. I wonder if they honestly think they’re going to be able to continue after this, it’s almost a joke. And the worst part is that they had the audacity to say they were doing this in the name of “helping us,” and of “God.” It’s people like Julie Hillyard and Jeremy Jones that give Christianity a bad name…and they will pay for it one day. Ben and Lauren are disgusting as well, and they outright neglect the students…Lauren literally sat there and dyed her damn hair one night while several of the girls were having anxiety and were upset…they were ignored, she had better things to do…she was dying her hair. Ben is pretty much pathetic (there’s a reason I put my name on here, I don’t have anything to hide, I’m speaking the absolute truth). He took me on a Level 3 outing ALONE, which is completely inappropriate and AGAINST both MORAL and PROGRAM rules/policy…but then again, look at everything else they’re doing. He let previous students sit on his lap, and he would hug them and hold them and play with their hair- IT WAS REVOLTING!!! I personally expressed a concern about this to Jeremy Jones during his little “meeting” with us the day before I was pulled out…and my complaint was totally ignored and covered up with more “lies”…in the name of a ‘ministry.’ How pathetic. I also witnessed a conversation less than a month ago between Ben and some other students, where they were telling him about how previous girls had thought he was attractive, and he literally took it as a compliment…went on to say “Oh I know, I know she had a thing for me I could tell” and then sort of started begging the girl to tell him who else had thought that way..”come on, tell me, tell me, i need to know.” I could almost see him getting off on it, and it infuriated and disgusted me.
MEDICATION is also a big issue here- I was not on any prescription medicine while at WCA but 99% of the other girls were…they would give the girls each other’s medication, they would fill prescriptions for girls and start the girls on new medications without parent’s permission…one time I was in the medication line because I took a vitamin to help me sleep, and I was about to take the pill when I looked down and noticed it wasn’t a vitamin- I was almost given an anti-psychotic that was not mine…had I had certain health issues it literally could have killed me, that IS the worst case scenario but you can’t rule anything out in situations like this where you literally are handing over your child into the care of scam artists like these.
I could continue to go into further detail but then again, if I learned anything from all of the church I went to…isn’t anything built on lies bound to fall apart, anyway?
PLEASE FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER….if you feel like you’ve reached a point where you HAVE to send them away…there are so many better options than WCA- places that actually CARE and WANT to help..they see your children as money bags at WCA and they don’t care if they’re alive or dead just as long as they get their five grand a month.
Without Niki and Chad at WCA, the girls have no advocates…and it sickens me to think of what’s going on at that place as I type this.
Most of the girls at WCA needed a lot more help than I did…and they never got it, and to be completely honest I’m going to need more therapy after being there just because of all of the things I went through.
PLEASE. Do not put your child through this, I wouldn’t even wish it on my worst enemy.
I left Wolf Creek Academy three weeks ago on March 3, 2014. I was the first to leave as the astounding truth about Wolf Creek Academy began to be revealed. Everything that the other girls have said is COMPLETELY 100% truthful. I came to WCA on December 30, 2013, and I stayed a very short two months, but the things I experienced WCA made those two months the most emotionally scarring months of my life. I was transported to WCA early in the morning of December 30th. Patty and Hutch, an old couple who “work” at WCA, woke me up at five in the morning and demanded that I get into a car with them. I had no idea who they were and they wouldn’t let me see or speak to my Dad. So I panicked (as any normal teenager who felt they were being kidnapped) would do, and I ran away. I was later found that day , and Hutch physically picked me up and tried to throw me into the car. I was covered with cuts and bruises from them dragging me across the concrete and slamming the door closed on me. I was later bribed into going with them because they promised that I would be only staying for 30 days max. Patty and Hutch were extremely rude throughout my entire stay at WCA. Hutch often “preached” to us, but the extremely condemning, condescending manner in which he spoke to us made many girls feel they were damned to hell if they didn’t accept Christ right away. Their religious practices forced upon us made me feel as if I was in a cult. As someone who personally struggles with their faith, I wanted no part of this “Christianity” that they tried to guilt trip us into accepting. Also, in other cases, Hutch would throw and damage other girls property if they didn’t leave it in a place that he felt was acceptable. These acts of anger would scare me and often caused serious rehashing of old memories I wasnt ready to revisit. So you would think I should see a therapist to help with these issues, right? So WCA, a THERAPEUTIC boarding school, would be the PERFECT place for me, right? WRONG. I received absolutely NO therapy the entire time I was at WCA. For the past two years of my life, I have battled the crippling grip of a severe eating disorder, and I have been in and out of treatment facilities to help me strive toward recovery. I was definitely backsliding when I went to WCA, and I needed help to help get me back on the correct path. When I arrived there, I knew right away I would have to fight this on my own. I was used to have staff encouraging me to eat and helping me cope with my destructive thoughts, but I had no one to tell me to tell my eating disorder NO. IF i didn’t have the strength and will to fight, I can assure you it would have been SO easy to continue my destructive behaviors the ENTIRE time at WCA. My parents were promised that the care there was individualized and that they give specific, specialized treatment to girls with eating disorders there, yeah that was a load of shit. I was fed expired food, because the people in higher powers were sucking the money straight from our tuition and using them all on themselves. I was even told by a staff member that I wasn’t allowed to have food even when I was starving. As an individual who struggles to maintain my weight, I need to eat frequently, and they had the nerve to deny me food and tell me that I shouldn’t be asking for food and that I didn’t need it. Do you have any idea the kind of mental damage that does to someone who struggles enough with food? How can a place that charged 5,000 dollars a month for all of this “great therapy” feed their students ROTTEN food and provide old, torn uniforms and tattered jackets as their main clothing items? Its because the staff, Julie, Jeremy, and Jimbo are greedy, lying pigs who deserve to rot in hell. Jeremy can drive his $60,000 dollar car to work everyday, while we can drink milk that expired a week ago.
I met with the “therapist” only twice, and it was just to dial my moms number to allow me to speak to her for only fifteen minutes once a week. My parents were billed for MULTIPLE sessions that NEVER HAPPENED. The therapist randomly quit, and we went several weeks without anyone to speak to. Now having twenty mentally unstable girls trapped in a lodge without a therapist will definitely take its tole on your emotional and physical health. The girls were often sick with colds and stomach flus, and they would only get help by multiple requests of the parents. Many girls suffered for weeks with illnesses. I was later told I would be meeting with Mark, whom I might add doesn’t look like someone you would want your daughter or son to be alone with, and he was even worse than the first therapist. He made it blatantly obvious that he didn’t want to be there, didn’t give a shit about us, and really only cared about his dog. The TWO times I met with him, we talked about his dog the entire time. And when I say “entire time” I mean a session that maxed out at 15 minutes. One week he met with every single girl, EXCEPT me. I was later told that was done on purpose. Okay cool, a 50 year old man trying to “spite” a 17 year old girl just because she has the audacity to believe that she is being fed a shit ton of lies and getting zero help.
Okay heres where it all gets CRAZY, and I was immediately pulled from the school because my parents feared for my emotional and physical safety.
I graduated high school around mid February, and my mom came up to visit me. Now you would think that I would just go home or go somewhere else because WCA is a school, and I wouldn’t be needing anymore since I had finished. BUT NO. Julie met with my mother and I after my visit and proceeded to feed her the most outrageous lies that basically sold the program to my mom so that I would be kept at WCA and she would get more money to pay for all her hair bleaching and botox. She assured my mom that I would be receiving so much therapy. i was told I would be completing workbooks that focused on recovery during the school day, be taught life skills where I would learn how to grocery shop and take care of myself when I went to college, be reading other therapeutic books, and be completing community service around the small town. NOT ONE OF THOSE THINGS HAPPENED, SHE STRAIGHT UP LIED TO MY FACE AS WELL AS MY MOMS. For the next two weeks, for the entire day, I would sit in the classroom all day and do stupid things like build puzzles, read romance novels, and play sudoku. Yeah thats some real good therapy! Julie CONTINUED to email my mother LIES and tell her that I was getting therapy and they were assigning me work to do when they really weren’t. Every suggestion I made to her about things that I felt would be therapeutic and beneficial to my recovery were completely shot down. Julie rarely answered my mothers emails requesting updates on me and hardly ever returned phone calls. She did absolutely nothing to help me. Things got dramatically worse when Julie pulled me into her office alone and handed me a book to complete for “therapy.” I was stunned to see that she handed me the SAME EXACT book I had already read, completed, and written an essay on. If she actually read my work, which she lied to my mom and said she had, she would have known that I already did that book. Outraged, I called her out on her bullshit on the spot, and she couldn’t defend herself. She then proceeded to say that she had many reports on how manipulating and controlling I am to the houseparents and to my own parents. Heartbroken and in tears I asked Niki, my house mom, if this were true and I tried to apologize. She told me that that was an outright lie, and she didn’t feel that way. Julie lied JUST to make me feel bad about myself. Thats ridiculous. She pulled me into her office again, and threatened me to keep my big mouth shut and that “I had waged a war with her that I didn’t have the power to fight.” I am sorry, but how is that appropriate behavior? I remember calling my mom and telling her I felt I was being bullied my a 40 year old woman. It disgusts me to think of all the money she has robbed innocent families out of, including my own. These families send their child away because they love them so much and only want the best for them, and to think of all the suffering so many have endured at WCA literally makes me nauseous. Money is the only thing on the minds of the staff at WCA. They don’t care about us, they don’t want to help us or see us get better, they only want to suck every last dime from our parents bank accounts. PLEASE do not send your child to this horrid school. The only people who I felt every cared about me at WCA were Chad and Niki, the house parents. I formed a very close relationship with them, and I still feel as if they are family. They are the ONLY ones who fought for us no matter what, they fought even when they knew it would cost them their jobs. They were willing to stand up for what is right, and they were kicked out for it. They were thrown out with such short notice and without heartfelt goodbyes. I can’t believe they were treated that way after all they did to help the students at WCA out of their own love and compassion. Now that they are gone, WCA will crumble, and I will gladly watch it do so. This school needs to be shut down immediately, and I am deeply worried for my friends still there. This “Christian” institution is built completely on lies and greed. I couldn’t agree with the previous student any more, I wouldn’t wish what I was forced to go through at Wolf Creek Academy on my worst enemy.
Wolf creek is a bogus shit hole of a program. Theriputic bording school my ass. Wolf creek did absolutly nothing for me. I was there for 4 months (janury-may 2013) my parents were charged for therepy that i never got. When i was suicidal an trying totalk to my theripist she told me she was too busy, i got kicked out of one of my sessions because i was crying and the theripist told me that if i was going to get this upsrt i could leave, while at wolf creek for 4 months i got 1/2 a world history credit and that was it. We went to chirch 6 out of 7 days a week and religion was completly shoved down our throghts. But it wasnt just like a normal church. Speaking in toungs was a common occurance and twice they tried to get us to “let the holy spirit fill our body and use us to communicate through” (they tried to get us to speak in toungs) Church was not just offered it was forced. ALL our food was expired and came from food banks. Punishments at wolf creek consisted of manual labor. If you did something bad or broke a rule than you got a “ticket” which had a number of hours on it and you had to work off your hours. The only good thing about wca was tammy and tommy (housparents while i was there) SHOUT OUT TO TAMMY AND TOMMY IF YOU EVER SEE THIS I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH. False advertisment is an understatement for wolf creek . When i tried to tell my parents what went on at wolf creek my theripist just counteracted what i said and told my parents i was trying to manipulate them into pulling me. Which after 4 months they did and put me at a new place. Wolf creek did absolutly nothing for me. If your thinking about sending your child here please reconsider.
So the thing about all programs is that not everyone likes all of them. I had gone to two programs before WCA that had helped many people, but I hated them. WCA actually made a huge difference in my life and the staff, in my opinion, is wonderful. It took me six months to actually start accepting the program and working with it, but once I did I was a whole different person. Also, I completely disagree with all that is being said about Ben and Lauren. During my worst mental state at WCA they were always there for me. One night I broke down and was a total mess. Ben and Lauren were off that night, but even so they came up to talk to me and made me tea to calm me down. I was at WCA for almost ten months and the whole time I was there Ben never acted inappropriately towards any of the girls. One thing to keep in mind about teenage girls is that we have a tendency to exaggerate things when we are upset or dislike something. Another thing about programs is that they ALL don’t let girls talk bad about them. Both of my previous programs told us not to say negative things about the program, not because of “false advertising” but because they knew none of us wanted to be in a program. Most programs don’t allow the kids there to go on outings during their whole stay and the food is equivalent to jail food. A huge part in getting help in any program is wanting help and accepting it. If a person doesn’t want help, no matter the place they are sent to, they will not get better. WCA suggests graduating the program because most girls need to be there for the amount of time to graduate. I was in WCA from August 2012 to May 2013 and during my stay there were at least eight girls who I remember who got to level four, and the majority of the girls reached level three. I had personally spent time with the founders, Pat and Jim Jones, and can say that WCA was founded on the sole purposing of helping young people feel better about themselves and reach a healthy mental state. I never spent much time around Julie and Jeremy so I can’t say anything about them. All programs have good and bad to them, the key is finding the right one to fit a person’s specific needs.
The stuff people are saying on this website sickens me. Wolf Creek Academy is the only reason Im alive today. I was never abused mentally, physically, or sexually, nor did I ever witness anything like that happening. Everyone recieved fair treatment and the right amount of therapy for everyones individual problems. The staff was like our family and we were always in a nurturing and christian like environment. I found God through Wca and wouldnt be the succesful person i am today if i hadnt have went. As for the teachers, they were excellent and helped me to get 16 credits in 6 months. I wouldnt have graduated if i hadnt attended. Mr. And mrs. Jones changed my life through wca it makes me sad to hear such negative and deceitful lies about a place i consider to be my second home.
I was blanket partied more than once and also thrown in the pond. I was there in 04-05
Also do you remember they would play the pass out game? We could have died
Honestly you have no idea how worse shit could be. This place is so laid back compared to lockdown facilities. AND DONT EVER TALK SHIT ON BEN AND LAUREN. Ben is like a second dad to most girls you’re completely messed up to even think like that! Him and Lauren have given their lives to help kids you have no idea what they go through having to deal with your shit all day. And honestly really your going to bitch about Lauren having just a little time to do something for herself?! Their focus is on you all 24/7 and you cant even give her maybe an hour to dye her hair. You have no idea how much they have helped me and other girls! I’d like to see one of you try and deal with 18 pissed of girls 24/7. I went to WCA for almost 3 years and no it wasn’t always perfect but no place is shit happens everywhere. This place might of not helped you but it has helped a lot of other people. And this is all I have to say about the schooling I graduated a year early without it I probably wouldn’t have graduated at all. No ones going to be happy about being sent away, but I wouldn’t of wanted to be sent anywhere else if I had options.
Time to set the record straight with some truth. I was at WCA in 2011 and none of the comments above are remotely true. When reading articles like this, you have to look at the background of the authors. You’re reading reviews written by teens who typically don’t CHOOSE to go away to work on their problems. They’re often put at WCA without a choice because they’re on a path where they wouldn’t be able to succeed on their own. The school and it’s staff ( From Ben and Lauren to the Jones Family) were always committed and dedicated to their students. The skills that I learned here and the people who I met here saved my life, and THATS the truth. Get it right.
The previous 3 posts were from students who were at wca more than two years ago. The truth is today and we need to be honest here. They are desperate to stay in business and are asking people to defend them. Bottom line…they need more students to make payroll and have already let staff go. I am completed sickened that anybody would defend this institution. I want to set the record straight and prevent anyone from being conned into sending their child here. They only have 4 girls currently and their website misleads you in believing they are full. Dr. Vista doesnt work there and hasnt in 2 years. I know the truth i was there within the last year. Lies, lies, lies…that is what you will get at this horrible place.
I went to harbor oaks boarding school for 2 years I was one of the original girls that were moved from saint cloud to North Carolina. I am 24 years old now and I was 13 when I was in the program. Robin and royce made my live a living hell… if you did something they didn’t like you would be woken, up by some of the other girls with a “blanket party” the girls put a blanket over my head and would beat me and pour kool aid on me when I was asleep. Someone put a hole in the girls bathroom wall in December. It was snowing and Robin and royce made us do laps in the middle of the night while it was snowing. They told the girls I did it and I was thrown in the pond. The only the only thing this program did for me was make me hate my mom for sending me there.
Nicole, I am so sorry for how you were treated. I was there when you were and remember this pond incident exactly. I was one of them that was constantly mean to you. I really am so sorry. This place was horrible.
Very interesting comments and I am feeling very concerned. Everything my son said I know now is true. Very bad experience for him. He has so much anger from this experience that I still hear about it till this day. This was 8 years ago. Our son was removed from WFA and we were not able to be refunded any of our money. Over $ 20,000 later and my son only being there 45 days. They lied, lied, lied. I feel horrible for putting him thru this experience. He was there quite some time ago during the time most of these comments were made. If anyone is looking to seek legal action. Please let me know?
I am trying to do as much research about Wolf Creek Academy as possible. I see good and bad comments and don’t know what to believe. Would you call me at 706-339-3638. Thank you
We placed our son last year. He willingly went and expected to be done in 30 days. We told him it would take longer. As with any teen he did not want to stay. We visited at 30 days and although he was on level 2, he was allowed to stay the weekend with us after the first evening. WCA has always been upfront with us regarding what our son could say or do to manipulate us or to try and make his own program. We have since taken him home twice against their advice as he was not ready. We know all things happen for a reason. They were right and he has proven to all that he needs more time in this program to be successful. Our son has never said anything bad about anyone other than his therapist Mark. However he never liked any of his previous therapists and usually because they challenge him where he needs it. We know he doesn’t want to stay because he doesn’t want to do the hard work it takes to get healthy. The positive things said about WCA are true to our experience so far. There are no perfect programs or situations in life. As a parent we see more good and change in our son than anytime in his teenage life so far. We can say to those who are still dealing with a teen in recovery, send your kid to WCA and be a very involved parent. Watch them change to become happier, healthier, responsible and yes even stronger Christians. Although our son isn’t there yet, we know it is coming in time, as long as we stand firm. We as parents not only need to be very involved as the other parents have stated, but we need therapy as well. It will help us to learn new skills and to heal from all the hurt we have suffered from the issues in our lives. We will become better parents and our family relationships will improve.
Just curious, if your son had nothing bad to say about anybody but this one therapist, then why did you take him home twice? Don’t you think you’re counting your chickens a bit by presuming his third return to be a success — especially with all the other more negatively slanted reviews here (and I don’t moderate the comments here other than to remove spam). I mean, if this were a restaurant review on Yelp, would you eat at it? Yet you trust your own flesh and blood with these people? What makes you so confident that you are right and everybody else here is wrong?
Let me let you in on a little secret: if somebody doesn’t want help, you won’t be able to force them to get it. You may be able to get them to comply temporarily and in the process damage their psyches, but you will not be able to make somebody want something they do not, whether that be to get sober, or to change some destructive behavior. You can try to convince them that it’s worth it so they want it for themselves, but that can never happen with any long term meaning in confinement. The initial decision to change has to be your son’s. If you disagree, i’d argue it’s more likely they’ll rebound in the long run in the opposite direction of whichever you attempted to push. If somebody tells you anything different they’re probably after your money.
If you want to help your son, First: take your son home, let him choose his own therapist, and ignore whatever problem behavior unless it has a high likelihood of being immediately life threatening (this does not include your kid smoking pot, or your kid being gay, for example). Second: instead of wasting the money on tuition, spend the money on an RV and go camping for a week with your kids. Your kid can still talk to his chosen therapist via phone and it’ll be significantly cheaper while still giving him time to think, away from his usual hangouts. If his problem is substance related, it’ll also provide an environment to detox, if that’s necessary (but read up on this first for each substance, as some can be dangerous to quit suddenly). Only detox if he is *willing*. Third: Let your kid know that you will drive them wherever they need whenever they need if they need it and they won’t get in trouble for any substances they are on (it’s going to happen in any case, and you can at least remove some of the risk).
Fourth: Chill out. Rebellion is a normal part of growing up. If there is a serious issue, maybe there is a root cause, but if you’re kid is going against you in *everything*, then that’s just *normal* rebellion. You can fix that by stop reacting to it. Just like ignoring a barking dog, and *not* yelling “shut up” is the best way to train a dog to stop barking (because a dog is motivated by attention), if your kid is doing something in order to to distinguish himself from you (the motivation being distinguishment), you can remove the motivation by making that distinguishment unimportant. For example, if your son is smoking cigarettes, say: you don’t care, but you won’t pay for it or support the habit (and follow through, even if he’s cranky, and if he steals, steal something of his until he returns your property/money). Tell him It’s his body and he’s welcome to need viagra before he’s 40 because nicotine has wrecked his vascular system. You’ll have done two things: taken the rebellious motivation out of smoking and given him a very good reason not to smoke.
Finally: Use your head. Find new solutions wherever you can and listen to your kid. If your kid wants to change, offer the opportunity, but forcing it will fail — and recognize that if you push, your’re going to get pushed back. Or you can ignore all this and try your luck with the program, but if you do, please do let us know how it turns out several years after gets back. This page will still be here.
is this stuff really true?
please get back to me.
I can say we left because we thought the intent of the program was for the good of the children. As a parent I can honestly say from working here and knowing inside information, that the best thing you can do for your child is pray and work through it they will thank you later for hanging in there. I hate to say a lot of these claims are true but most of them are why we left. I know the family has been dealt some hard blows and I do pray for the Jones that maybe they make money in another line of work. Children are so influential and really need a lot more then what they get there and possibly sending your child there will not help them but only make matters worse because they do pick up habits from other kids too. Food is expired . But if you want to do something good for your child find them a good therapist and spend time with them change your priorities. You’ll get this time. God bless and sorry to those kids that were affected so badly I hope someone reads this and sees this is not from a angry child but a parent that worked there. I hate to see this is still going on. There are other ways to make money then to use children that are trying to find there way in this world and use Christianity or God. That puts a bad taste in their mouth for Jesus and the church. Shame on you for that. But I’m praying that God changes your heart and opens new doors for you.
My son was at Harbor Oaks for a short while around 2017 and pulled out by us when we received a letter from the NC DHR investigating abuse and neglect at HOaks.
When we dropped off our son, he was having some emotional issues and Sue Scheff highly recommended this place. The owners talked a good game.
My first reaction to the housing was there were locks on all of the outside doors. I asked and later found out that they locked the kids in these ramshackle wooden buildings to keep them from running away.
I should have trusted my gut reaction. This was a major fire hazard that the kids would not be able to get out if there was a fire. There were many other things, expired food, no curriculum, supervision and the stories after we pulled our son out of kids doing cocaine on premise, etc.
We were desperate to get our son help, but should have trusted our gut instincts when we say the place. I am alot wiser now about scams and cons.
THINK! Would any reputable school running a top notch, legitimate program have to keep changing their name every few years?
My son is a happy healthy adult now and thanks to the NC DHR investigations,
THINK! Would any reputable, legitimate school have to change their name ever few years?
When I was 16 years old I was struggling with depression. I was also getting bullied in school. My mom found wolf creek academy and I wanted to go. I wanted to get better. My mom brought me there and a lady named Patti welcomed us. My mom left and patti kept telling me how excited the girls were to see me. Ya da ya da ya da. So I get all excited when the girls come up from school. One girl says hi and immediately walks away. A new girl is considered a threat to old girls because she gets a week or two of space and sympathy. That night Patti tells me good night. The next morning it was Saturday at 7:00 am and I hear screaming and all the girls come in and scream at me to wake up while singing. I start crying and they start laughing. I realized now that I would get bullied even worse than at home. I got bullied all day long and went to sleep being bullied. Naturally, I tried to talk to my houseparents Joel and Erin. They told me to be thankful for soap and for my life. I sadly began to realize that this was a program built for profit. On my first visit my mom told me she was paying extra for therapy even though she was told it would be included. I told her that I knew more about my therapist, Mark, than I knew about myself. I would try to work with Mark and ask him for guidance. I knew he could not cure me or heal me with a magic wand. I just wanted to talk goddamit. But he was so grumpy and self-absorbed. Always talking about his dogs,wife,and hangliding. Some weeks I wouldn’t even see him and he only gave groups to complain about his life and how he has to drive from so far away to get here. He put his burdens on us to make himself feel better. It made me want to give up on life. I slowly realized I was no longer the sweet girl who was willing to learn from this world. But WCA was not the world, it was hell. My first chapel was just a man with an southern lisp screaming at us and shoving god down our throats. Making me further back away from God. School was the biggest joke. My instructor,Dean Caldwell, did not know how to help me in math. I was struggling so badly in math and needed help. He told me I was lazy and that I wanted him to do the work for me. That’s what he told my parents too. My parents told me his reports were weird and didn’t even believe him. The assistant teacher knew nothing about school and would just talk about Jesus and sign our paces. The director, Julie Hillyard, I saw 35 times in the course of 22 months and spoke to her 7 times. She is never on property and runs away from us like we’re criminals. She is a coward. Jimbo Jones owns the program and is also rarely seen. His son Jeremy is one of the meanest and greediest men I’ve ever seen. The accountant Jesse Veres, lost my check my mom had sent me for a level 3 outing. Shea Reed the other counselor was taking us on the outing. Dorothy Ray, another houseparent, had told me simply to ask Jeremt for the money so I did. His hand trembled as he gave me a $20, I saw how he loved that money more than any human. My entire time here I was Living in fear and feeling trapped. My support came from a couple girls later on. They gave us expired food that was so unhealthy I started getting really fat. One morning they took me to the doctor because they thought I might be pregnant. Even the doctor said it was an unhealthy diet. I looked 4 months pregnant until I left. I only lost weight on visits. The worst houseparents I had were Justin and Erica. Straight from a cult I tell you. They only knew how to shove Jesus down your throat. They didn’t know how to wash their own dishes from their own apartment and would make us wash them. Justin would wake us up on his guitar every morning and he would stand right next to the entrance of the bathroom and look in while girls where showering. The amount of times I was changing and I saw him look at me naked I can’t count. We weren’t allowed to close the bathroom doors. Justin would tell me I’m fat all the time and would tell me to lose weight to become a more confident person. Whenever my bra strap was down he would slide his fingers under it and pull it back up. Other girls saw it and tried to tell staff, but staff is not staff. They are just actors. They had a baby who would stay with them everywhere. They only gave their attention to that baby. The other houseparents were Brianna and Charlie Rice. Everytime they were on shift something of mine would go missing. She stole my shower products all the time. She wouldn’t even try to hide it. She is one of the laziest and Most arrogant women I know. She can’t get up to get Paper towels for our chores and then we get tickets for not completing them. She steals food from all the girls. She only smiles when parents are here. Those days left me empty and knowing i was rotting. I was so fat I couldn’t even recognize myself. Till the day I left all of ”staff” kept telling me I couldn’t succeed in college. That I was so immature and I could not do it without God. I didn’t sleep at night. My body was in so much fatigue and stress. I was weak and the weight on my stomach was so painful. It’s like the program has raped me. Taking my pure sweetness and replacing me with bitterness and empty neglect. I felt unloved and stupid. As far as abuse goes I have mental abuse from this program. Before I got there I knew nothing of weed and drugs. They would tell us not to do weed or brigs every day. Making me want to do weed more and more. All the girls talked about how amazing it was and how it would take them to wonderland. A girl ran away once. Her name was Kelly Zuellke . They put her on silver alert because they were so worried that the media would find out a perfectly stable girl ran away from a program and might question it of course. Kelly does not have dementia! I knew her for more than 10 months. They took perfectly good normal girls and made them look like criminals or retards. So many of my things are missing. Expensive things. Dorothy Ray is a lady who thought I was invaded by Satan. She hated me and would yell at me as an example. All the people there give God a bad name. They preach against gay people and say that they are in the spiritual realm and speak in tongues. Vince Brown who did chapel the last couple of months I was there. He would fling the door open and yell and jab at people. Like he himself was Jesus. I believe Jesus to be a kind gentle lover of all people. Vince Brown gave me the worst anxiety I have ever experienced. Mark Van der Gallien made me go crazy and hate myself for having problems. As far as sexual abuse I knew that a houseparent Ben Fackler had slept with a girl on WCA property called Yana Romberger and she had proceeded to live with him and his family later on and also slept with him in that house as well. Each houseparent always had a favorite. That favorite could always be heard talking to the houseparent late at night and I don’t doubt their was sexual abuse . Justin was a pervert. So was Ben Fackler. And many others. In the teaching situation they also played favorites. A certain lady assistant would go out of her way to make your day hell. I won’t name her because her name gives me anxiety and depression. This place made me stronger in all its suffering and pain. I had some good times. But I had too many bad times and injustices to count. I could go on for the next month. I could write and entire novel and many sequels about this place. I don’t want other teenagers to go though this unnecessary pain. They don’t need it. I want this place to be shut down one day. The pain it brought me never goes away. This place takes your money and give you nothing in return. My parents took all their savings in hopes I would get better. They should’ve have. I’m left with a huge stomach and it’s been also two years since I left. I came home not knowing how to be human. My brain had been so manipulated to Doing their rules. I was so tired and hadn’t slept in in 22 months. I hope this place comes to an end. I will fight for the many people who endured. Don’t send your love ones here. The only people who liked this place are the crazy Christian ones or the ones who were lucky enough to have a stay at wolf creek with good houseparents. We even had a lockdown days for when we didn’t go to sleep on time or they thought we were being too sexual. We were woken up with pots and pans by a military woman once. We have been deprived of living and being human.this place was created by Satan to give God a bad name. I can’t say enough. I was treated like a trash can and a money machine. I stopped feeling and felt disconnect that can never be repaired. Wolf creek academy is run for money, not to help your kids.
Fuck vince he’s a nigger who likes to yell at boys to make himself feel better mr mike has autism and the place is swarming with drugs made me worse than when I came only staff I like is Jon the therapist
Vince raped me during quiet time
Is anyone still here? Imabout to go in 2019 please can someone give me advice and I am being forced to here for 6 months. Im 15 also and ima boy.
I’m a gay boy, and reading all of this has me freaked out, especially since my mom is thinking about sending me there.
I went there like around 2006. The academic aspect was a lie. I did learn a lot . I will say it kept me out of a lot of trouble but I also missed out on a lot . One of the staff members actually got me out of the school due to impending lawsuits .
I went there in 2018. I was a favorite of Vince and the staff which helped me fake to way to the top. Dean was creepy and would send me letters after I graduated, he liked me for some reason. No physical abuse, but it was a traumatic experience with highs and lows. Please consider the trauma to a child when taken away and abandoned by parents sent to the middle of no where and no escape.