NYRA has been forming a coalition of advocacy groups together to free the youth held in abusive behavior modification facilities during COVID-19, and we have just had another eight organizations sign onto our open letter including the International Indigenous Youth Council and the San Francisco Youth Council for Education Policy!
The active COVID-19 threat puts youth even more at risk from abusive residential facilities, but many of these programs are refusing to shut down. While we’ve been developing a plan of action for the coalition, NYRA and Freedom Village Experience member Gabriel González has been sending out a mass email to nearly all of congress. Creating legislation to regulate the “Troubled Teen” Industry is more important now than ever, and we have been in contact with with the office of Rep. Adam Schiff who has previously reintroduced the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act, which passed the house but not the senate in 2009 and would have regulated the Troubled Teen Industry. We think that our plan will create a conversation in Washington that can lead to change and make an impact on protecting the rights of youth.
If you want to help us free the youth held in these programs you can download the letter and email it to your Representative and Senators. Check out our Working with Elected Officials page for more tips on getting in touch.
And if you’re part of an organization that would like to join the effort, you can fill out this form to sign onto the letter!
I just want to say that I absolutely LOVE this page. I’ve been trying to come up with something similar for my website for my org. People always ask, “Well I don’t know what to do! How can I possibly help you?”
The truth is everyone calling and writing their reps is a great place to start!
Does anyone know anything about why Outback Therapeutic Expeditions is closing suddenly?