Shelterwood

Unless a new CEO and Director are brought in, do NOT send your troubled teen to Shelterwood. The Big Brothers/Sisters are awesome and are the heart and soul of the program, and the teachers at the school are qualified and compassionate, but the counseling team is incompetent and the leadership is totally lacking in authenticity and transparency. One has to wonder if the CEO and Director are driven by greed, putting the desire to make money above the best interests of the teens and parents who have put their trust in them. While the Bigs who are with the teens 24/7 only make $12,000/year, the CEO’s total compensation in 2012 was $170,901 and the Shelterwood Director’s compensation was $99,927. Less than a third of the teens graduate from the program, not surprising due to the young and inexperienced counselors (it is not uncommon for 17 and 18 years old males to be paired with a female counselor in her twenties who has no experience or competence in working with adolescent males); these counselors aren’t competent enough to tell the difference between teens who really make a heart change and those who are just playing the game. Promises made at intake about the level and types of care that will be provided are not kept. Leadership sometimes resorts to unethical scare tactics to get parents to keep their teen at Shelterwood. These are just a few examples of the ethical and clinical problems running rampant at Shelterwood. Please feel free to contact me to get documentation on the information I’ve provided or to get my more in-depth review that was too long to publish. You can reach me at my google email address at loricburgan. Also, please note the Shelterwood is currently running a contest through which they are offering college scholarships to teens writing positive reviews. So keep that in mind when reading any reviews written in May through July 2014. more

Before Shelterwood I was a very emotionally distraught person. I had been to a mental hospital three separate times for self-harm, anger, substance abuse, suicide attempts, and depression. I had become a very violent person and had lost all hope of ever living a happy life. In December of 2012 I had begun to use a lot of hard drugs and got sent to a rehab in Chicago. When I completed that program my parents decided that I would need to go to a more long-term treatment. That’s when I was sent to Shelterwood. Shelterwood is a Christian boarding school and I wanted nothing to do with a relationship with God. Having been raised Catholic in a very strict church setting I had a very rough time accepting religion. Shelterwood taught me that religion isn’t necessarily having a relationship with God. I learned about God’s unconditional love and accepted him into my heart. My life has been different ever since. Attending Shelterwood is not an easy thing. Doing so was one of the most difficult things I have done in my life but it was worth it. I was able to face my past head on and become sober. I have been home from Shelterwood for almost a year now and I have never been happier with my life. I can say with 100% certainty that Shelterwood changed my life. I still have up’s and down’s but now I know how to deal with them. My family life is amazing now and I have a great support system all the way in Missouri. Attending shelterwood helped me gain positive relationships and a healthy lifestyle. I am forever grateful for Shelterwood. more

I was a student at Shelterwood for a year (2010-2011). I think the main thing Shelterwood did for me was take me out of the environment I was in at home, giving me much needed space from the unhealthy relationships I was surrounded with there. I loved my counselor, and he worked with my family and me weekly. He was a key player in the restoration that took place with our family. My year at Shelterwood was a very difficult one, but it absolutely saved my life and I'm thankful my parents chose to send me there. more

Is your child in need of mindless brainwashing by a group of christian fundamentalists? Then we have the place for you! As an individual who attended Shelterwood for five months during his high school years I can fully and honestly say that this group of extremists did more harm to my family than good. The trauma that this "residential care facility" puts their... victims? patients? hostages? I mean... students through isn't worth the damage that last years after they get out. Avoid this place at all costs. more