This is a project of a new partnership between the Survivors of Straight and The Trebach Institute.  If you were in a Straight or Straight-related rehabilitation program, or in any juvenile rehabilitation program, and feel that you were physically, sexually, or emotionally abused; or that your civil rights were violated; or that the program committed financial fraud against you, your parents, or guardians, then you have a right to report what you know to state and federal authorities. If you know of someone in a juvenile rehabilitation program who you have reason to believe is now being abused or held by excessive force, then you have a right to report that. If you feel that a crime has been (or is being) committed against a child or that a child’s civil rights have been violated, it is not your responsibility to determine whether statutes of limitation have expired--that is the job of state and federal law enforcement officials. It is your constitutional right to report what you feel may be an unlawful act. How will law enforcement officials know your story unless you tell them? We would also like affidavits from those who had a positive experience in a juvenile drug rehabilitation program so that we can make referrals based on your experience.

Were you ever denied privacy in a bathroom,  including being watched as you defecated or watched as you wiped yourself afterwards,  or were you ever limited in the number of wipes to clean yourself after using the toilet? Were you ever made to relieve yourself in a jar in a bedroom?  Were you ever forced to soil or wet your pants?  Were you ever forced to remove feces from a toilet with your hands? Were you limited to the number of strokes to brush your teeth or forced to share a tooth brush or razor with another person?   Were you ever placed on a special diet for not complying? Were you ever denied access to wash your hands before eating?  Were you ever denied sleep?  Did you ever sleep in a room with windows bolted shut?  Did you ever sleep in a bed with another person?  Were you ever chained, placed in handcuffs, gagged or led around by your belt?  Do you have knowledge of anyone being kidnapped or forced to a facility by an escort service?  Do you have knowledge of an escapee from an abusive program being taken back to the program by police or state social workers? Did anyone ever spit in your face?   Were you ever hit, slapped, or kicked?  Were you ever restrained without cause or provoked into being restrained? Were you ever restrained in your own vomit, urine, or feces? Were you ever sat upon? Was your finger ever bent backwards? Were you ever obliged to restrain or physically assault others as a condition of your own advancement in the program? Were you ever yelled at by a group of people?  Were you forbidden from reading religious material; from wearing religious artifacts; from participating in religious ceremonies?  Were you ever forced to participate in a religious ceremony that you did not wish to participate in?  Were you denied the right to leave the program before the age of consent?  After the age of consent? Were you denied an education? Were you ever denied the right to read or to watch television?   Were you ever dispensed drugs or medication by an unlicensed person?  Were you ever made to participate in program activities while having a high fever or to sleep in a room with a sick person?  Were you ever made to vomit in a common vomit bucket?  Were you ever denied access to a medical doctor or dentist,  or denied medication?  Were you ever denied access to your parents or guardian? Were you ever abused in the program and not allowed to tell your parents?  Were you ever placed in isolation?  Were you ever stripped searched?  Did anyone ever search your anus for contraband?  If female,  did anyone ever search your vagina for contraband or deny you access to a pad when on your period?    Do you have knowledge of anyone carving on themselves or attempting suicide in your program. Did you ever see anyone being teased, sung too or yelled at for being suicidal? Do you have knowledge of sexual abuse? Were you ever coerced into exaggerating your problem or treated for a problem you did not have?  Was undue pressure ever placed upon you to reveal your deepest, darkest thoughts? Were you cajoled into putting those thoughts in writing? Were you ever made to feel that what you had revealed could be used against you? Did anyone ever threaten to reveal your confessions if you did not do what was asked of you? Has your confession ever been used against you?  Were you ever singled-out for treatment based on your race, creed, sex or sexual orientation? These are some of the things you might think about as you prepare your affidavit.

Guidelines for an affidavit. The affidavit should be as factual as you can make it. Stick to the facts and only the facts. Do not exaggerate. Do not guess at facts. Remember, the penalties of perjury apply to sworn statements. Tell what you can recall and only what you can recall. Give dates as best you can and give names of those involved as best you can, or otherwise descriptions of people as best you can. Be as specific as possible. You can tell what happened to you and what you saw or heard happening to others. For example, if you saw John Doe and Bill Smith take Don White into a timeout room and heard a lot of ensuing screaming, then state that. The affidavit should be typed. If you cannot type get someone to type it for you. At the end of the affidavit you should include a statement like I SWEAR TO THE BEST OF MY MEMORY THAT THESE ARE THE FACTS AS I RECALL THEM. You should sign and date at least two copies (and perhaps three) of your affidavit in the presence of a notary public and give your full printed name and address on the affidavit. (Many banks have a notary on staff who will officiate your documents for like $1 or for no charge at all.)

Where to file. You should file the affidavit with the states attorney’s office (A.K.A. commonwealth attorney and district attorney depending on the state) in which the alleged offenses occurred. You should file another copy with original signatures with the U.S. Attorneys Office in the federal district where your alleged offenses occurred.

Send a copy to The Trebach Institute. Arnold S. Trebach, J.D., Ph.D., Chairman, The Trebach Institute, professor emeritus, American University; founder and past president, The Drug Policy Foundation, has agreed to work with the Straight Survivors group towards developing a strategy that might obtain redress or compensation in a court of justice either through civil law suits, filing criminal complaints, or both, for victims of abusive rehabilitation programs. Please send a notarized copy of your affidavit to The Trebach Institute with the understanding that the institute might use them as it sees fit, including publicity. There is no certainty that any action can be taken or that there is a legal basis for any remedy whatsoever. However, only by compiling the facts can any action be even contemplated. In the event there is to be a law suit based upon an affidavit, the affiant would be notified in advance.

Don't forget to save a copy of your affidavit for yourself. You may send an originally-signed and notarized affidavit by snail mail to: