SURVIVING THE TROUBLED TEEN INDUSTRY
SURVIVOR SPOTLIGHT
If you would like your own Survivor Spotlight page, please submit this Google Form
S
abrina
1998-2005
YEARS
11-18
AGES
PROGRAMS
Charity Haven
Bethel Boys and Girls Academy
Charity Haven: Victory Acres
Rebekah Home for Girls
Reclamation Ranch
7
5
Sabrina is a survivor of five Troubled Teen Industry programs that she attended her entire adolescence. She is an interracial adoptee who was sent away by her adoptive family at the age of eleven after enduring years of narcissistic abuse from the family that raised her, particularly from her adoptive mother in the form of traumatic verbal beratement due to the color of her skin and aggressive physical onslaughts.
In her videos on TikTok, Sabrina also shares her stories of abuse and neglect within the TTI as an adoptee. Her primary intention in sharing these stories is to spread awareness and to do everything she can to help end the abuse in TTI programs.
In one video, she discusses how isolation was used to control students. At one time, during her stay at Charity Haven, she was placed in an isolation room called “The Prayer Room”. Inside this room, she was required to read and copy bible verses while religious sermons played loudly through a speaker for hours. The door to this room was locked from the outside and she was only permitted to use the bathroom when staff allowed.
All of these programs also strictly restricted communication with parents and families. Upon their arrival, students were forbidden to speak negatively about the program to their parents or they would risk facing repercussions such as losing the privilege of calling home. Before Sabrina left her last program, Reclamation Ranch, she collected letters from fellow students with information they wanted to share with their families but were not allowed to by the program. When she returned home, she mailed these letters to the families of the other girls. She then received a threatening phone call from the director of Reclamation Ranch reprimanding her for distributing these letters and facilitating forbidden communication between students and their own parents while also threatening legal action against her.
When she was preparing to leave Reclamation Ranch, staff attempted to groom her and convince her to join the program as a staff member instead of leaving as she had planned when she turned eighteen. The only reason she was allowed to leave the program as an adult was because the staff and directors knew that the next time the residents of the program were taken to church within the local community, she would use the opportunity to share her experiences with the community outside of the program. They could not allow this to happen under any circumstances, or they could face inspections and repercussions from state agencies such as Child Protective Services.
Dear Renisha: Turning Trauma Into Triumph
by Sabrina Young
Despite her struggles to overcome the trauma she endured due to her adoption, the abuse from her adoptive family, and during her time in the Troubled Teen Industry, Sabrina has worked hard through her healing process and is now thriving in a blissful marriage to her husband. They share two beautiful, intelligent, compassionate children. Her oldest, a daughter, will soon be graduating from high school.
Sabrina recently published her first book about her experiences in the Troubled Teen Industry- Dear Renisha: Turning Trauma into Triumph, now available on Amazon. She is also incredibly active in sharing her trauma and healing journey on her TikTok profile and within the vast community of Troubled Teen Industry survivors. She has plans to write a sequel to Dear Renisha in the near future. She also works closely with A Man Apart Podcast, amplifying the voices of survivors. Sabrina focuses on activism against the Troubled Teen Industry and the adoption industry, bringing awareness to issues that affect traumatized children.
Sabrina is an inspiring mentor to other survivors of the Troubled Teen Industry, an endless source of support and empathy for those who have experienced trauma, and a powerful voice for those who have been abused and neglected. Sabrina opens her arms and her heart to all survivors of trauma.
follow @sabrinakyoung_author
