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May 24, 2001
Hello Mr. Woodbury
I saw that you’ll be attending the dedication of the bunkhouse
at the Mt. Carmel Youth Ranch, and I was reminded that I
had never written you to let you know of our experience.
Three years ago we were struggling with our son (Child),
who was 12 at the time. He had failed both 6th and 7th grades
at our “top-flight” schools and was headed for real trouble.
We eventually sent him on a white water rafting trip with
the Catherine Freer program, we apparently were minimizing
our problems because (Child) was kicked off of the trip
for being too difficult, and we sent him to a ranch in Oregon
for a
month. Military school was our next adventure (failed) and
we then realized that we needed to take some more drastic
action.
Over the summer of 1999 we sent (Child) on the Freer
Wilderness expedition (6 weeks in the mountains) and received
word that
we were going to need to make plans for the future for him.
I got online and eventually found your site.
After interviewing several programs, we were fortunate enough
to connect with Mickey and Jerry Schneider at the Mt. Youth
Ranch. We sent (Child) to stay with them for about 19
months (he had a ranching accident and came home a month
earlier
than planned). What wonderful people! We feel very blessed
that they were able to find a place in their home for …..
He is home now and is a pleasure to be around, he has values,
thinks (usually) before he acts and participates as a real
member of the household. He takes pride in the things that
he knows, and in what he has accomplished.
(Child) will attend school here now, not at the local
public high school but at a smaller school. While we are
sure to
encounter some obstacles along the way, we really feel
that (Child) has a good chance at being successful. He’ll
be
16 in two weeks and already has a job lined up. He is taking
drivers
ed now and isn’t too happy with the kids that are “messing
around” in class.
I just want to thank you for making the information available
to parents like us, who often feel lost.
A.W.
Naperville, California
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