Virgin

Several parents reviews regarding Liahona Academy

/ jsoerensen / 1 Comment

Liahona Academy is a boot camp styled boarding school for boys located outside Virgin in Utah. A boy died there in 2010. The first review has been written by Anna P.

I sent my son here and it was a mistake. Most, if not about all, of the staff are not professionally trained to handle at-risk youth.

In fact, many of the staff are not great role models that put 100% into this academy. And they should because the cost is around $6,500 a month. For that price the youth should be getting top-notch counseling and a very good selection of knowledgeable teachers. The teachers are mostly cranky, old women from the neighboring area that come in just a few times a week. My child could never get any math help because there were always too many others that needed assistance and there was only one teacher for the subject. The owner is virtually absent most of the time. I can’t say all, but most of the the workers at Liahona have a responsibility that they are shirking by not giving their 100% and striving to make a real difference in the lives of these youth. These are all lost opportunities.

Parents, my advice is to try to get your child some help closer to home where you aren’t forced to give up guardianship. See counselors in your area. Get your child in a place where you can better monitor what is going on.

Then there is a review from Perry A

I sent my son here. The problem that I had with this facility is that the mental health help is not very good. The kids that are sent here deserve so much more. Even though I paid a huge amount of money for his care, they try to get away with the very least possible. Don’t send your troubled teen here until you do lots and lots of homework. Ask lots of questions and keep them on their toes. I trusted them too much. My son wasn’t physically harmed here, but he wasn’t helped in the way I’d hoped

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A mother about her sons stay at Liahona Academy

/ jsoerensen / Leave a comment

Liahona Academy is a boot camp styled boarding school for boys located outside Virgin in Utah. A boy died there in 2010.

My son went here. This is what he wrote:

“I went to Liahona from January 08 to March 09, and it is an absolutely dreadful place, a wolf masked in sheep’s clothing. It is a horrible facility that lies to parents so Clay, the owner, can get as many kids in there to fill up his pockets.

They lie to parents about the disciplinary actions. Some of the disciplinary actions that I am certain are not relayed to parents include; being sat in a chair forced to stare at a wall for 10 hours+ a day, not being given proper nutrition, being forced to do excessive cardio activity (including carrying large rocks and sprints) with seemingly no regard for possible health problems or risks, grown men (the staff) getting physical with the kids, etc.

The kid’s letters are read and censored “if necessary.” Any attempts to relay information of disciplinary actions by a student to his parents will result in the student’s letter not being sent.

When the kids first arrive they are tricked into thinking they are going to a zoo and then they are forced to act like animals in front of their peers. If the student refuses he will end up with punishments mentioned above.

The facility lies to the parents telling them the students go on a weekly activity out into the surrounding area. That is not true. In order to go out on the weekly activity the students have to earn it by displaying exemplary behavior, and I mean exemplary. Simply forgetting to push in their chair or to turn off the lights twice would result in a student missing the activity. They also mention on their website the statement that the students enjoy “daily recreational activity”. Unless they consider forcing them to run miles on end, and punishing them even more severely for refusing to do so, recreational activity then that is also a lie. Recreational activity mostly only occurs on Saturday and Sunday, and like the weekly activity students must display exemplary behavior in order to be eligible.

Repeatedly the kids at the facility are used for free manual labor, and the staff have the audacity to tell the kids to be grateful for the opportunity to do so. Free manual labor I personally performed while there includes; helping staff members move multiple times (as well as family/friends of the owner), cleaning up the backyard of a staff members house, landscaping work at a staff member’s house, and landscaping work at the facility.

The program is set up in a brainwashing manner that turns the students into obedient mindless drones by removing their identity and operating the facility in an authoritative like fashion. All student’s heads are shaved and they are given the same clothes to wear. The rules are very strict and the punishments are very harsh. For example, writing a 300 word essay and miles of extra running being dished out to the students for things as small as forgetting to push in their chairs or tuck in their shirt.

They force the kids to memorize meaningless quotes that are pages long week in and week out. Punishments for refusing, or failing, to do so are quite severe. The student would miss the weekly recreational activity, and weekend recreations. If a student never does the quote then essentially his stay at the facility is doubled. Advancement in the program is based off of points aquired and if you do not memorize the quote then you only get half points for that week

To top it all off, the ineffectiveness. Behavior of kids returning home usually will recede to to how it was before in a matter of weeks. You hear about it all the time at the facility, kid’s parents calling and complaining of returned negative behaviors. Some parents still have not figured out the scam and actually send their kids back.

So yeah, bottom line do not send your kids here!”

Sources:

Liahona Academy testimony

/ jsoerensen / Leave a comment

Liahona Academy is a boot camp styled boarding school for boys located outside Virgin in Utah. A boy died there in 2010.

I used to believe my 7 months in Liahona Academy had torn my soul from my own body, now I am so blessed to have known what having a loss of freedom feels like and it never leaves you.

My time is best spent in the light but I NEED to cast a spotlight upon private institutions such as this… I wanted a perfect ending and through experience I have learned the hard way, that some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it! Without care towards what is going to happen next but always expecting ambiguity. It could all be for nothing or possibly for everything but their is no cure for this as many good people have been convinced that society is breaking down and it is collapsing around their children, they see their children trying drugs and believe they are going to die…

My parents thought they took me to a place that was ran by professionals with an amazing success rate, the best place in the country! When in reality they were just creating molded tin soldiers. The staff did not have any serious certifiable knowledge or education to provide therapy of any kind to anyone for anything! Think about a situation where people are told you can physically, mentally and emotionally abuse other people in your own group because you are doing them a favor… Children become incredibly cruel in this type of environment, systematically setting a Lord of The Flies mentality among youth. The least human part of ourselves come out because that kind of anger comes from fear… It does not come from anything else but being scared out of your own mind!

I need to let the people responsible that we remember and are not a bunch of teenagers anymore, I am going to tell the world about how you destroyed families… I am going to let them know the horrible things you taught children to do to each other and how people killed themselves to get away from that pain YOU manifested within them. During the Vietnam war it was a phrase to say, “We need to destroy the village in order to save it.” Well, some parents have said, “I need to destroy my kid in order to save him.” Look at all of us, we are a bunch of broken kids, but here we are and they are still doing it to other kids. Do NOT give up on on your child, if you send a loved one to this place, it will cast a shadow of doubt that you as a parent had no intention to help but to throw away. Luckily they did not consider the type of person I had always pushed myself to be and I was one of the kids that had gotten it easy compared to those who did not. Some would swear being saved by kissing the boots of these self proclaimed child repairmen but others have felt ruin and torment…

This place was not the worst time in my life, that was when I was a young child, traumatized, but it did allow me to see a reason why people hurt other people, it is because of places like Liahona Academy. You teach nothing but tough love and self loathing, you will not get away with it…

Sources:

A testimony regarding Liahona Academy in Virgin, Utah

/ jsoerensen / Leave a comment

When I searched the name of this place I only found photos of boys with shaved heads. I found this testimony on Yelp. All rights goes to the original author known as Bradyn B.

I went to Liahona from January 08 to March 09, and it is an absolutely dreadful place. A wolf masked in sheep’s clothing. It is a horrible facility that lies to parents so Clay , the owner, can get as many kids in there to fill up his pockets.

They lie to parents about the disciplinary actions. Some of the disciplinary actions that I am certain are not relayed to parents include; being sat in a chair forced to stare at a wall for 10 hours+ a day, not being given proper nutrition, being forced to do excessive cardio activity (including carrying large rocks and sprints) with seemingly no regard to possible health problems/risks, grown men (the staff) getting physical with the kids simply for refusing to obey, etc. The kids letters are read and censored “if necessary.” Any attempts to relay information of disciplinary actions by a student to his parents will result in the student’s letter not being sent.

When the kids first arrive they are forced to act like animals in front of their peers. Refusal to do so will end up with punishments mentioned above.

The facility lies to the parents telling them they go on a weekly activity out into the surrounding area. That is not true. In order to go out on the activity the students have to earn it by displaying exemplary behavior (and I mean exemplary). Simply forgetting to push in their chair or to turn off the lights twice would result in a student missing the activity. They also mention on their website the statement that the students enjoy “daily recreational activity”. Unless they consider forcing them to run miles on end, and punishing them even more severely for refusing to do so, recreational activity then that is also a lie. Recreational activity mostly only occurs on Saturday and Sunday.

Repeatedly the kids at the facility are used for FREE manual labor, and the staff have the audacity to tell the kids to be grateful for the opportunity to do so. Free manual labor I personally performed while there includes; helping staff members move multiple times (and once the family of the owner) , cleaning up a back yard of a staff members house, landscaping work at a staff members house, and landscaping work at the facility.

The program is set up in a brainwashing fashion that turns the students into obedient, mindless, drones by removing their identity and operating the facility in an authoritative like fashion. The rules are very strict and the punishments are very harsh. For example, writing essays and extra running being dished out to the students for things as small as forgetting to push in their chairs.

They force the kids to memorize meaningless quotes, that are pages long, week in and week out. Punishments for refusing, or failing, to do so are quite severe. The student would miss the weekly recreational activity, and weekend recreations. If a student never does the quote then essentially his stay at the facility is doubled, because advancement in the program would take twice as long.

To top it all off, the ineffectiveness. Behavior of kids returning home usually will recede to to how it was before in a matter of weeks. You hear about it all the time at the facility, kids parents calling and complaining of returned negative behaviors. Some parents still have not figured out the scam and actually send their kids back. I guess Clay is a good salesman.

A boy died at the facility January 19, 2010.

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