With HBO Max’s “Teen Torture, Inc.” and Paris Hilton’s “I Am Paris” documentary, the evils of the Troubled Teen Industry (TTI) are now being brought to light. How can people help fight against an industry riddled with abuse and neglect that has caused over 350 children to die while under its “care”?
Meg Appelgate, CEO of Unsilenced, a nonprofit dedicated to ending institutional child abuse within the Troubled Teen Industry, and author of “Becoming UNSILENCED: Surviving and Fighting the Troubled Teen Industry,” shares five ways you can fight back against the Troubled Teen Industry.
“Every year, thousands of children are sent against their will — often ripped out of their beds in the middle of the night by strangers — to private facilities to be treated for various mental illnesses, addiction issues, and perceived behavioral problems,” says Meg.
“For years, thousands of survivors have come forward and spoken out about the abuses they received or witnessed while interned in programs. It is time to believe the survivors. It is time to take action.”
5 Ways You Can Fight Back Against the Troubled-Teen Industry
1) Understand how programs hook parents: While marketing themselves as providers of therapeutic treatment for almost every problem, the TTI promises “tough love” (in reality, punishment) to frightened and worried parents with “troubled teens” who are acting out (in reality, many times simply being normal teens).
2) Understand how the TTI actually operates: Instead of delivering evidence-based treatment, many facilities deliver a mix of maltreatment such as abuse (physical, verbal, and sexual), isolation, forced hard labor, chemical sedation, sleep and food deprivation, attack therapy, and aversion therapy.
3) Understand the results: Unsilenced has found records of over 350+ children who have died while in facilities. Thousands more have passed due to suicide after their time in the programs. Due to the toxic stress and abuse, Meg — a survivor herself — has Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) as well as rare autoimmune, thyroid, and cardiac disorders that occur in TTI survivors at an alarming rate.
4) Support legislative change such as California Senate Bill 1043, which would require residential treatment facilities to report to parents and the state government when they use restraints or seclusion rooms in disciplining minors.
5) Support the mission of Unsilenced: You can donate to help, or volunteer your time by downloading the Unsilenced Impact app for either Apple or Android to join our mission to stop institutional child abuse.. “The challenges we face are not surmountable by any one person,” says Meg. “But together, we can do the impossible.”
For more information, visit the online press kit at MegAppelgate.
About Meg:
Meg Appelgate is the co-founder and CEO of Unsilenced, a nonprofit dedicated to ending institutional child abuse within the Troubled Teen Industry (TTI). A survivor of two TTI programs where she spent over three years, Meg now advocates for systemic change and supports other survivors. Her new book, “Becoming UNSILENCED: Surviving and Fighting the Troubled Teen Industry” (April 2024), details her harrowing experiences and the urgent need for reform. Download the ‘Unsilenced Impact’ app now for Apple or Android. To learn more visit MegAppelgate.com and Unsilenced.org.
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