Podcast Preview: Author Brett Harper on (TTI) Troubled Teen Industry Christian Run Facilities (Airs May 30, 2023)

The Truth Revealed by a Survivor in two books, a third is coming

May 25, 2023

Seeking to cover adult children of cults, I encountered the writings of Brett Harper recently and sought an interview. While the Troubled Teen Industry who lock in their subjects have permission from the parent or guardian may not be considered a cult, the facilities are very much like a cult, with Christian indoctrination and no federal or local government oversight, just like religion.

And the kids pay the price, while the guardians pay the fees. I met Brett Harper author of Spare the Rod on his Twitter at (https://twitter.com/SpareTheRodHQ) who I recommend following. But only if you want a hearty dose of reality.

Brett William Harper is a United States author of two books now, his sequel (Spare the Rod the War Rages On) just released, and survivor of a group home and a Christian boarding school age 13-18.

The so-called 'troubled teen industry' has barely been exposed, but there is much to see. Coming from a broken home, Harper experienced the death of both mother and father before age one. Being adopted by the nearest relatives, he was out of place with the family as the adoptive father was bitter about losing his friend to suicide.

That's where the 'trouble' began. An innocent child, by age 13 Harper's father had beaten, choked and terrorized him with the anger he felt towards the child. As a parole officer in a small Oregon town, he had connections and used them to control his step son, dooming him to many years of paid torture at the hands of one group home and one boarding school, detailed in his books and in our podcast episode (streaming everywhere May 30, 2023).

Harper's newest book delves deeper into the industry which has long been modeled after Christian boarding schools which wiped out indigenous culture in multiple countries. Escaping laws of child labor and unfounded 'discipline' the boarding schools and group homes which are Christian, make their own rules.

Indoctrination goes hand in hand with spoiling the youth brought to them for any real future. There is no training but work camps akin to a gulag. There is no solid learning but Christian doctrine, with on-premise schooling that meets no educational requirements, and produces youth struggling as adults after their departure - should they live through their time at the facility.

Harper takes time in Spare the Rod (his Jan. 2022 release) to articulate the history of the structure of these schools in United States and America. Conservatives invest in these schools - most notably Mitt Romney.

Unveiling where the money comes from, Harper painstakingly reveals its corrupt trafficking roots, and how the children are used to gain profit for a few, while incarcerated, all the while misinforming parents of the health status of their children.

With his direct knowledge Harper has been a prominent activist to change the laws that allow illegal transport of a child to other states (kidnapping), illegal use of young people for labor, poor education which sets up children for failure in the world, and sexual abuse which goes unchallenged in facilities to this day.

An expert on the topic, Harper's second book has just been released and I expect it will be just as eye opening as his first in the series, promising to follow the money even more.

In episode 57 of Frankie Files Podcast Harper and I speak of his own emotional, sexual and psychological abuses, his attempts to shut down the physical torture he endured and watched others endure, and who is funding and enabling the facilities, the system allowing it in Missouri and many USA states. Harper’s step parents had him clandestinely transported by agents from Oregon.

Our look with Harper into the troubled teen industry reveals that these teens were never troubled, but simply neglected and unloved. Yet this is exploited with further poor treatment which left him with a broken back, a variety of trauma effects and a chip on his shoulder to try and expose what is going on unchecked in theses facilities.

Tune in Tuesday May 30th for this candid author interview and our first delve into the topic which needs much attention if anything is going to change for future generations. Someone once said that a country should be judged on how it treats it's children and most vulnerable.

If that is the case, we have much to change to be free of generational trauma represented as "rehabilitation" of young people who simply need love, good health care, and to be able to grow up with a standard education. None of that is happening in these facilities, and Brett Harper is here to tell his daunting tale of mental fortitude which got him through it all.

If you are new to the trouble teen industry or are considering taking a child to one of these facilities, the direct testimony of Brett Harper will reveal the underbelly of these richly funded and highly unregulated facilities.

The lying to parents, the horrific nutritional conditions, the cult-like mandatory Christian indoctrination, the austerity, the neglect and networking of good ole' boys to suppress injuries to children which must be hidden to keep their facilities going, will shock the most stoic among us.

I Welcome Brett Harper (Twitter @sparetherodHQ) to the show for our 5th Tuesday interview spot in May. Don't hesitate to check out his books on Amazon or Amazon Kindle Unlimited now if you are a reporter who needs educating on the topic (the details and history on USA / Canada facilities is fantastic) or if you just want to know what is really happening in this space, and how we got to a place where these facilities are still respected, open, multitudinous and profiting off trafficking children under the guise that they are troubled. They are not.

See Brett’s website for calls to action and more:

https://www.sparetherodnp.com/about-us/

Listen to Frankie Files Podcast via Spotify - Brett’s Episode airs May 30, 2023 on all apps including Youtube, or just revisit this article and push play below.