Former Woodside Trails Therapeutic Camp Counselor Discusses His Experience and Opinion on the Tough Grandma

I arrived at Woodside Trails one afternoon to stay for a 48-hour observation. Throughout this two day period I told myself several times that I did not want to subject myself to this type of work. However, on the second day I sat through what they called "Life Work Group." This was a group therapy. During these sessions the boys had to present essays that they had written in which they examined their pasts and the mistakes that they had made. If they had hurt someone, then they had to tell the story in detail. Next they would have to tell the story from the victim's perspective. Then they would have to write an apology letter. There were several of theses essays that had to be written and presented, then approved by their peers, staff and therapists. What I saw that afternoon made a strong impression on me. It was enough to make me want to dedicate the next year and a half to working with some of the most disturbed and potentially dangerous children in the state of Texas.

My experience as a Child Care Worker at Woodside Trails Therapeutic Camp changed my life. Three or four days out of each week I lived with the boys in those piney woods. There were four camp sites where groups of about12 boys were living at any given time. There was a main area with a school, an office, a cafeteria, therapy rooms, showers, lockers, a basketball court and a wood shop area. There were trails leading to and from each of the camp sites. Although most meals were eaten in the cafeteria, the boys would prepare their evening and weekend meals in camp site. The boys learned to cut down trees, saw logs, and build their own shelters. There were chores that needed to be done every day. Although some took longer than others, the boys eventually had to learn to get along with one another. It was clear to everyone involved that lives were being changed there in those piney woods.

On Friday, the 13th of August, everything changed. We all had known for months that Carole Keeton Strayhorn wanted her name to be in the news as much as possible. Everyone out there knew that she would eventually announce that she was going to run for governor. She said that she was a grandmother who cared about the children of Texas. Apparently she had decided that there was no therapeutic value in being outside. She was on a mission to shut down every wilderness camp in the state. It all seemed so ridiculous to us. For months she had been sending her people out to camp to "investigate." Really they were just carrying out her agenda. They took pictures of muddy tennis shoes after it rained, and claimed that we were abusing the children by making them live in horrible conditions. Everyone who works with "troubled" and abused children knows that from time to time false accusations are made. Woodside Trails, like most, if not all, residential treatment centers, had a list of false accusations that the kids had made throughout the years. Strayhorn had this list printed in some report, but neglected to provide the results of the investigations.

On that Friday, we got a call from Child Protective Services. They said that they were coming to get the boys who were in our care because they were not safe with us. Within an hour, a line of black, rented suburbans pulled onto the property. Officials got out of their cars with a list of the names of the children that they would be taking. It was the craziest scene I had ever witnessed. The boys were running around crying, begging us not to let them go. I was told by several that they did not feel complete with their treatment, that they wanted to stay with us because they were afraid they would get back into drugs or gangs again. We tried our best to calm the boys down. We told them to act maturely, to show these people that they were learning with us. The boys were encouraged to cooperate and not cause problems.

Then they loaded up the boys and left.

They took them to a shelter where I can imagine they were probably placed in front of a television. There they would be safe? These people did not realize that these kids were showing progress but had not completed their treatment. This was supposedly carried out with the best interests of the boys in mind. Why then, did they leave the boys who were not in their custody with us? If we were so dangerous and their job was to protect the children of Texas, why did they leave the boys with us who were on probation? Of course we knew that they did not make the decision. We knew they were just doing as they were told.

So now, two years have passed since that day. Woodside Trails has gotten its license back, and a law suit has been filed against Strayhorn and nine other state officials. To some extent, justice has been served. That is, it has been served to the people who ran the camp. But what happened to the boys? Where are those sex offenders who did not yet complete their treatment? Does Carol Strayhorn think they are safe to be back in the public school system? Where are those gang bangers and drug dealers who did not feel ready to go back into society? It's disgusting to see the result of the combination of ambition, greed, arrogance, and power. Such a combination does not protect the children of Texas, it destroys lives and puts others in danger as well.