Brat Camps: The Good, the Bad, and the Deadly

ABC is airing a reality series called Brat Camp, modelled after the UK documentary and series of the same name. In the original Brat Camp, half a dozen "troubled" UK teens were forced to attend a youth boot camp in Utah. In the U.S. Brat Camp, the program is SageWalk Wilderness School in Oregon. The kids range in age from 14-17, and the 50-day program consists of Army-style training and hiking 10 miles/day with a 40-lb pack. SageWalk director Tony Randazzo says a wilderness program like SageWalk saved his life when he was a teen addicted to drugs and alcohol. There are undoubtedly some "brat camps" that are licensed, carefully supervised, and effective. But many parents don't know that these programs aren't all just tough summer camps or character-building nature hikes. Numerous fatalities, serious injuries, and emotional abuse (even torture) have occurred in these programs - mostly due to neglect and/or poorly trained administrators. I fear that the Brat Camp TV shows will inspire a great number of end-of-their-tether parents to ship their teens off to the nearest wilderness boot camp without looking into the program carefully first; they're not all created equal. Here's a short list of some of the teens who have died due to neglect and abuse in unlicensed or poorly-run wilderness boot camps:

• July 2002. Ian August, one month past his 14th birthday, was sent by his adoptive mother to a wilderness boot camp called Skyline Journey. Two weeks later, Ian died of heatstroke after a forced hike. All criminal charges against Skyline Journey were dropped. Then, in 2003, another teen named Judith Pinson died from heat exhaustion. Skyline Journey lost its license.
• In March 1994, Sally Bacon sent her son Aaron, 16, to North Star Expeditions, a $15,000 wilderness therapy program in the Utah desert. It was a 63-day outdoor experience that Mrs. Bacon hoped would help her son stop using pot. She was told Aaron would be counselled by a therapist during fireside sessions at the end of each day. But 30 days into his "therapy", Aaron died of peritonitis from a perforated ulcer. Sally learned that her scrawny son had been denied food 14 out of 20 days. Complaining of sharp pains, he was ingored and forced to walk 8-10 miles in the heat every day. He was refused food and medical attention because he hadn't "earned it". Evenutally, Aaron suffered hypothermia and lost body functions 12 days before he died. The Bacon family wasn't informed of her son's condition until he was dead. It turned out the therapist "Dr. Dave" wasn't a dr. The owners and counselors of North Star Expeditions plea-bargained and received community service, fines, and probation.
• May 1990: 15-year-old Michelle Sutton was an athletic and ambitious California girl who voluntarily signed up for the Summit Quest Wilderness program in Utah to "get in shape and feel better about myself." She convinced her friend, Andrea Dawes, to go through the program with her. Seven days into a forced hike in the Arizona desert, Michelle collapsed after reporting dizziness and impaired vision. She died of dehydration. Andrea Dawes tried to leave the program to mourn her friend's death, but was forced to complete the rest of the 19-week program. No criminal charges were ever filed against Summit Quest, but founder Gayle Palmer lost her license to operate in Utah...so she simply moved Summit Quest to Nevada. In July 1994, she was caught running an unlicensed youth wilderness program in Utah. Regarding Michelle's death, Palmer said the girl must have overdosed on drugs. An autopsy revealed the truth.

These aren't isolated incidents - numerous camps across the U.S. that promise to "scare your kid straight" have been charged with negligence and abuse, and many more aren't licensed at all. To make matters worse, parents usually lie to their teens about their plans to ship them off to camp, which - in my opinion - only further erodes family trust, and can create long-lasting bitterness. Remember, these little punks might be selecting your nursing homes, and there's plenty of negligent and dangerous ones out there from which they can choose...