Abby Connolly
“They showed me a video showing the property and the people who ran it all the way down in Louisiana. I said that [it was] for people struggling with using substances, and my parents insisted that It was for ‘all troubled youth,’ [which] really made me feel loved.”
While he wanted to look into different programs for him, it was too late, as his parents had already signed the paperwork needed to admit him to the program in Louisiana. It became clear that his parents wanted him to leave, not so he could get help, but so they wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore.
Soon enough, he was shipped off far away from home, and he never looked at his parents the same way after that.
The group home was traumatic for him. It was a filthy place on the edge of a swamp. He was forced to do physical labor around the home in the hot, humid, swampy weather.
He and his housemates, who he didn’t get along with for the most part, were only allowed to make one routine phone call home, and the entire experience was very isolating and exhausting.
When he advanced in the program and was allowed more independence and phone usage, he would call his parents and beg them to let him go home, but they would accuse him of not being a changed man and deny him from leaving.
“I later left the program because I turned 18,” he said.
“I live on my own now in New York [but] I’ve never been more alone, confused, angry, and sad. My mother sends me long messages about how much she loves me and wants me to come home. I cry every time I read her messages, but I also hate her guts.”
What would you do if you were in his position? Would you bother reconnecting with your parents?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
