Shelterwood

When you look at sending your child to a place like Shelterwood you don't do it without having tried other things. We tried other things for 3 years. Our daughter was entering her junior year and was spiraling down and had gotten to the point she wanted nothing to do with God. In desperation my wife looked online and found Shelterwood. Believe me, we asked every question in the book and called numerous parents all who had nothing but positive things to say. It was scary to drop our 16 year old daughter off 8 hours away. God gave such a peace as we began to visit, experience parent weekends and connect with other hurting families. We began to see this was not a job but a ministry for the staff. These people pray with, cry with , and rejoice with your children. They are involved with the community and learn about serving others. My daughter went to Haiti twice to help in orphanages with Shelterwood. It was a hard year for our daughter because it's like learning to walk all over again. I was amazed at parents giving in to their children and not completing the program only to go back to the same misery. We made it clear that we would stick it out until the bitter end. Our daughter not only graduated from the program but graduated from high school at Shelterwood one year early by taking additional classes online. She wanted nothing to with school or college when she went but now is in college rooming with her former Shelterwood roommate! Wow! I could go on and on but let me give an a familiar quote. " you can please some people all the time, and all the people some of the time, but you can't please all the people all the time". Count us as pleased! Lastly, to the Subers, Morrisons, counselors, teachers, staff and bigs- a hearty thank you and God Bless you and keep you. We have recommended many to you and at least one is there now from our experience. Any concerned parents are welcome to call us. more

Our family witnessed Shelterwood and its staff first hand when our 17 year old daughter was a resident there during her senior year from the summer of 2012 to the summer of 2013. Through counseling and the care of management and staff at Shelterwood, our daughter and family were healed and our relationships restored. Shelterwood supplies professionally trained counselors whose Christian faith and values are used to bring troubled teens from the depths of despair to a life of meaning and hope that is built, in part, on knowing that there is a God who loves them and died for them. Those counselors also supplied our daughter and family with tools to face challenges after leaving Shelterwood. While life remains challenging, our daughter and family are better equipped to deal with those challenges as a result of Shelterwood’s program. By the way, our daughter graduated from Shelterwood’s accredited high school, but her graduation from Shelterwood’s program was even more special and was one of the most joyful and emotional days of our lives. Each person at Shelterwood who was instrumental in our daughter’s recovery participated in that graduation and openly shared about the struggles and successes that our daughter faced while at Shelterwood. Since then our family has had various opportunities to recommend Shelterwood to others and we have done so without reservation. more

Our beautiful daughter had struggled with anxiety and depression for several years, and as time went on, she began medicating herself with alcohol and drugs. She was about to enter her senior year in high school when we fully realized the depth of her despair. She was in serious trouble, and we did not know what to do - everything we had tried up to that point was not successful, and we felt a desparate need to save her. Our daughter had been raised in a loving, Christian home, and we had tried to provide her with all of the opportunities that parents want for their children. Our family was completely heartbroken - needless to say, not only did our daughter need help, but we were also seeking healing and guidance to put our family back together. We prayed for direction, and God answered our prayers by leading us to Shelterwood. Our daughter spent her senior year in high school at Shelterwood, and was provided amazing therapy and guidance from her counselor, the big sisters, the leadership team, the teachers, and from the support and friendships formed with the girls there (the "little sisters"). She experienced break-throughs that we could not have imagined, and for the first time in a long time, knew who she was and liked herself again. Counseling was provided for our whole family as well, and while it was tough, we experienced a year of healing and growth. Our family has been made whole again, and her time at Shelterwood truly healed us all. One of the biggest blessings (among the many) about her time at Shelterwood was that she was surrounded by God's love through her relationships with everyone, from the leadership team to every staff member, and her faith now plays a leading role in her life. She is now a college freshman at the University of Kansas, and we think the biggest testimony to the impact that these wonderful people and program at Shelterwood had on her life is her choice to attend college close by so that she can maintain these relationships. The year was such a blessing! more

Our teen came to Shelterwood and was having issues with depression and other behaviors that were out of control. When we first started there like everyone we may have had our doubts. Post Shelterwood and being on the other side and seeing the results, i have the utmost respect and admiration for Shelterwood. Jim Subers the CEO and Rujon Morrison the Director are two of the most Godly caring and concerned people I have ever been around. Their big heart for ministry and helping people that are hurting, make them the greatest individuals to be at the leadership of Shelterwood. Every step of our way they helped guide, lead and pray with us. I have the utmost respect and love for them. God has placed two very tremendous people in charge for a reason. Our whole experience at Shelterwood although hard at times, yielded success at the end of the program. It's hard because you have to leave your teen with someone and turn over care and let someone else do it. Make no mistake about it thought, they will love and care for your teen and start the healing process the minute you step in the door. The Counseling staff is awesome as is all the staff there. The facility is absolutely beautifully done and creates a home like atmosphere for these struggling teens. The bigs that come from all over the country are here because their heart is for helping teens struggling. Someone said they don't get paid much but for them its not about the money, it's about the ministry. They are paid and they get room and board and food. They stay onsite with these teens and love and care and get right down in the trenches with them and live daily life with these teens. They will build life long bonds that will provide continued support and fellowship post Shelterwood. The bonds will be stronger than anything they will ever encounter in life in normal relationships. If you have any doubts about Shelterwood I would be very happy to talk to you. I would choose Shelterwood again if put in this situation. more

Our son attended Shelterwood from September 2013 through June 2014. Shelterwood is unique in their approach to helping families emerge from teenage struggles with a bright new outlook on life, relationships and the future. They offer the opportunity for your teen to participate in counseling while at the same time not disrupting their academic progress through offering a fully accredited, small class size learning environment. Shelterwood truly saved his life and our family. A critical part of the experience at Shelterwood for our son was the leadership and support structure in place. All of these individuals are committed to helping young adults through the crisis they are experiencing. The CEO, Jim Subers is a man of amazing faith and commitment. He provides hands on leadership, imparting his love and support to all the students. He and his family actually live on-site; an unbelievable commitment to his mission. Rujon Morrison is the Program Director and is constantly focused on programs, activities and facilities improvements in addition to providing faith based leadership to the Shelterwood team. The staff members are too numerous to mention individually, but everyone from the Principal to the Maintenance Director are all personally involved in supporting the students. Disappointed that we have to call this out, but we have not received any financial remuneration for these comments. We do however, support the idea of scholarships that may help more families take advantage of what Shelterwood has to offer. We would like to use this opportunity to make a tangible commitment - we will send $1,000 to Shelterwood to start a "Shelterwood Challenge" scholarship. We would like to challenge other families who have had a positive experience to write about it on these social media sites and, if financially able, to respond to the "Shelterwood Challenge" by making a financial commitment to help at least one additional teen to take advantage of Shelterwood this year. more

Our Son was at SW for 8.5 months Some things that worked for our family are 1)The CEO and his family live ON the property. They actually live in a tiny apartment in the basement of the boys dorm. This speaks volumes to me. They hang out lead bible studies & host dinners They are there 24/7 loving the kids 2) The counseling team is a wonderful group of Christian men & women. Our counselor was an amazing woman, whom we have grown to love beyond measure. After our first meeting with her we just knew that she was a perfect fit for our family. & they work as a team 3) The big brothers are one of the best of parts of the program. They are there with the kids 24/7. They live in the midst of crazy, angry, loud, ungrateful teens an exhausting job that never ends. They are truly being Jesus to these kids! Our son learned so many things from the big brothers.I think the best thing he learned was how fun it can be to love Jesus. They formed lasting relationships 4)The teachers & other staff at the school are also a group of wonderful people.They do the hard job of teaching and loving kids that are (many times) difficult to teach and to love. Even though Our son still struggled in school, He absolutely loved his teachers 5) The cooks and property caretakers are involved with & love the kids. Our son got a job in the kitchen where he learned how to work hard and have fun while doing it! The caretaker and his wife also live on the property. They lead bible studies & host dinners in their home. Our son loved working alongside the caretaker To sum things up SW is a wonderful place, where every staff person is there because they love God & love kids. I can't think of a better environment to place a troubled kid.We believe God brought us to SW so we trusted the WHOLE team with the care of our son. God did amazing things through SW. SW may not be the right place for everyone, but it sure was for us Is SW perfect? Absolutely not Would I recommend SW? In a heartbeat more

In our darkest moment, Shelterwood offered hope and restoration to our family. Our 16 year old son had become rebellious and on a path of drugs and destruction. We knew that if we did not do something soon, we were going to lose him forever. Desperate to find someone who could help us and understand what we were going through, we were referred to the staff of Shelterwood by a christian counselor in Georgia. She had heard that they were known for having the most successful program. From the first contact with them, we knew God had placed them in our lives. We met the Subers and Rujon at admission and got the confirmation that we were making the right decision. During the program, they prayed with us and for us and we could see the the genuine interest they had in our family. We were looking for a place that was God centered, compassionate but successful in their approaches. It is amazing to us, how all of the staff had become like family to us during the process. It was hard to leave our son 14 hours away from us, but had full confidence in all of them to care for and love him. What could have been the hardest day of our lives, became the most blessed day. Although we may not have initially agreed with all decisions the staff made, we trusted their experience and trusted God. I am glad we did. One thing we discovered is that this program only works if the rest of our family was willing to work the program as well. We ALL had to learn how to communicate properly and heal together. That is exactly what we did. My son graduated the program a little over a year ago and has since graduated high school and is now a freshman in college. In a tender moment this summer, he even thanked us for sacrificing and sending him. A moment I will cherish forever. I can never thank Shelterwood enough for walking us through our darkest hour. more

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

My name is Evan and I was enrolled in Shelterwood from June of 2009 to September of 2010. I came to Shelterwood because of my addiction to pornography, my ongoing dishonesty, and basically my life was falling apart fast and I needed help. Before coming to Shelterwood, I had been admitted to an adolescent stabilization unit at the hospital for threatening to end my life. While in the week long hospital stay, I faked my way through the time I was there and after being discharged I went right back to the way I had been living. So needless to say, when I first got sent to Shelterwood I had the same mentality and decided that I was going to fake my way through the program. But, after being at Shelterwood for a while I realized that my old habits and ways were not going to fly. I learned that if I wanted to graduate, I had no choice but to try to work the program. While working the program, my mind set of faking it all slowly started to disappear and the program really started to work. But, I had to allow it to happen and actually work for it. Shelterwood really has the hand of God over it. I went into the program as a Sunday morning Christian and graduated as a Christian that wants to allow God to work in my life every day. I learned what the power of God can do when you really let Him. Shelterwood saved my life and if it hadn’t been for Shelterwood, their staff, and God working, I don’t know where I would be right now. While at Shelterwood, I made some relationships with other students, the mentoring staff, and other relationships that will last my lifetime. Now being out of Shelterwood, I volunteer at various churches playing music on the worship team and leading worship some Sundays. I have also landed a job with the local fire department as a reserve firefighter. I recently graduated the Fire Academy in May of 2014. I am now trying to further my education and work toward the medical side of the career field. I hope my next steps in college afford me the opportunity to be employed as a full-time Firefighter some more

Our daughter attended Shelterwood as a 15 year old and it changed our lives forever. Our ‘rebellious’ teen was really a hurting, lost little girl who needed someone (besides us) to show her that she is something special- a daughter of The King who is worth more than rubies! The Staff at Shelterwood and our counselor, Jeremy did just that. We just celebrated her 18th birthday and let me tell you, she is an amazing young woman! She is on-track, growing and reaching for her future with hope and confidence, deepening her relationship with her Heavenly Father. Shelterwood staff, from the House Directors to the school faculty, from the amazing counselors to the grounds keepers, love the Lord and love to help teens thrive and that’s just what they did for us! Our family has found hope and peace (as much as a family of 6 can find!) after a very turbulent time and are happy to recommend Shelterwood as a beacon of hope for your family as well. Blessings! Emma’s Mom and Dad more

My daughter attended Shelterwood for about a year. She was in a very dark place when I decided to send her there. I really think Shelterwood saved her life. Through a lot of counseling, Ryan was able to earn her trust and make her feel in a safe environment where she finally learned to open up and speak about her feelings and not keeping them bottled up. Some parents/students expect to come out of there a “finished product” but you have to be willing to work towards healing and change life-long behaviors. I speak for myself when I say that I also learned a lot about my parenting skills and how to improve them. And for that, I’ll be forever thankful. more

While searching for the right environment in which to place our son during a very difficult time, I came upon Shelterwood. A Christian therapeutic boarding school for teen boys and girls. Everything about their program seemed to be just what we were hoping for. During my research, I came across the very negative comments of another reviewer. It caused me to search even deeper to determine whether it really would be the right fit. We chose to send our child to Shelterwood and have not once second guessed our decision. When you are traveling such a difficult path, finding the right place in which to entrust your child takes far more than courage. It takes a tremendous amount of trust, obviously in a successful program, but most importantly, in the caregivers with whom your child will be spending all their time. At the heart of Shelterwood’s program is about building relationships. Their amazing mentor program has “Bigs” surrounding your child with positive young adult mentors 24/7 who are their to love on them and to model responsible living and relationships. Their rigorous 5 step program isn’t easy but if embraced, will provide tools for not only your child, but your entire family since great effort is made to include all members of the family in the therapy process. Our experience has found them to be authentic and transparent. They are an accredited school with teachers who go beyond the classroom to further benefit your child’s success. There is much more I could share, but if you are in the difficult position of having to travel this path, I strongly recommend visiting their website or Facebook page to learn more about their program. It was only one of the hundreds I found during my search that didn’t have a long list of negative reviews. more