Parents take 'troubled teen' industry to court in lawsuit against owners of shuttered WNC wilderness therapy program

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Owners of Trails Carolina, a wilderness therapy program with a dark history in western North Carolina, misled parents about the true nature of the program and charged "exorbitant" fees, two new lawsuits claim.

Trails Carolina had its license revoked and was forced to close after a 12-year-old boy suffocated to death during his first night in the program. As part of the program's protocol for new arrivals, the New York boy had been zipped inside a sleeping bivy, wrapped in plastic. An April report by the state found that the camp failed to check if the boy was breathing.

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services found several violations while investigating the death, during which time all children were removed from the property.

But, Trails Carolina was just one program run by a company that has about 15 across the country: Family Help & Wellness. The parents who filed Friday's lawsuits are suing that company, too.

Trails and Family Help & Wellness failed to provide adequate medical care, food, clothing and shelter to the kids in their care "despite the façade of providing a safe and therapeutic residential and wilderness program for children and young adults," the lawsuit states.

WCNC Charlotte reached out to Family Help & Wellness for comment on Saturday.

One parent claimed their son, identified anonymously as "John" in the lawsuit, was left with lasting trauma from his experience at Trails.

"Instead of providing him treatment for his depression, as promised in their marketing and promotional materials, the Defendants’ and their employees subjected John to severe neglect, inhumane conditions, forced him to perform unpaid labor, and abused him emotionally and sexually," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit adds, parents weren't told their kids would only get care from a licensed therapist for about an hour per week.

"Instead, Defendants rely on field staff, who are only required to be 21-years-old and possess a G.E.D., to 'carry out' 'individualized' therapeutic treatment plans," the lawsuit states.

The parents also claim the companies knew or should have known about abuse and neglect going on at their facilities. Instead of promptly reporting major issues to authorities, the program tried to mask incidents of neglect and mistreatment from parents so they would enroll, the lawsuit said.

One parent in the case said they spent countless hours researching which program to enroll their child in, but landed on Trails after speaking with a person they thought was a licensed professional. It turns out, the person was actually just a salesperson in charge of marketing, the parent said.

"Young adults like Plaintiff, were often sent to Defendants’ under misleading pretenses and under the guise that the program provided adequate mental health treatment," the federal lawsuit added.

That parent recounted instances where their son was forced to camp for multiple days in freezing weather, stating staff threatened "that if he was unable to make a fire, he'd be forced to eat his food dry and cold and freeze at night."

His mental health got worse during his time there, the filing said, adding that supervisors often coerced kids to blame themselves and feel shame for their health and experiences.

"He quickly discovered he had no choice or option to leave the program, as he and his parents had previously been told. Instead, he would be forced back or even arrested if he attempted to leave," the lawsuit said.

--Erika Williams, WCNC