I am a previous girl from Kolob and i will say i had the worst time ever.
My basic rights as a human being were taken away from me, I was forced to take various amounts of psychiatric drugs (which is against my religion) I also do not agree with the drugging of children teens adults or of the elderly, most if not all "medication" (drugs) that are given are in the same category as heroin meth and coke and have the exact side effects that you are trying to get away from. Don't like how you feel on them, too bad you have to wait for the "Doctor" to come back in and talk to you. They give you the wrong dose or give it to you at the wrong time and you fall asleep due to it, to bad you will still get in trouble.
There have been numerous girls who have had medical issues ignored just because staff did not want to deal with it. Girls that were sick had to deal with it by themselves and staff would not help unless it was basically to the point of death. I've seen girls twist and sprain joints even a few dislocations without even a single glance from the staff. I understand "safety and super safety" (when you first come in to make sure you are not a run or suicide risk) but a lot of times girls would have to do early morning horse chores in nothing but slippers and just sweats and a light hoodie while there was at least 4 feet of snow on the ground, that's around half an hour out in that condition to make sure all the horses water is broken and they are properly feed.
There is no real dietary care for each girl individually, when i was there we were put on the dietary needs of the biggest girl that was there ( around 200 pounds) i gained a tremendous amount of weight to the point where i had to go on a diet when i get home cause i was considered obese. I was lied to by my on site therapist and i was made to take punishments for things i did not do. The girls there have no say in anything and will never be listened too.
If anything it is a sever state of Stockholm syndrome, and they "get better" due to the fear of punishment that they will receive. I am actively working to get Kolob looked into and investigated. I have sever night terrors from my stay at Kolob and wake up screaming almost every night. I would highly recommend that you find alternative methods to helping your child.
Sources:
- The original testimony on Yelp
- Factsheet about the facility (Fornits Wiki)
