Sending our 16 year-old daughter away to Aspen’s Adirondack Leadership Expeditions (ALE) program to live in the woods for 9 weeks last summer was the hardest thing we ever had to do as parents, but we were desperate to get her to a safe place where she would finally start getting the help she needed to heal emotionally. We were afraid for her in so many ways, but didn’t even know the extent of her behavioral and emotional issues because she had closed herself off from us so completely by that point and was full of anger and hate; we couldn’t even communicate with her, let alone get her to cooperate with a therapist or psychiatrist.

Although it was so hard not being able to speak with our daughter while she was at ALE, our weekly phone conferences with her therapist were extremely helpful and encouraging. After a few weeks of continued anger, our daughter finally started to open up and share some of her hurts and experiences with her therapist, and with us through letters. We wrote to our daughter every week as well, to let her know how much we loved and cared for her and to explain our concerns and reasons for taking such an extreme measure to help her.

This past year has been the most challenging one of her life, and ours as well. However, our daughter would be the first to testify to her remarkable growth in that time. She would tell you with pride how tough she had to be – physically, mentally and emotionally – to live in the woods for 9 weeks. Her self-confidence and self-esteem grew dramatically, and she bonded with the other girls in her group. They came to look at her as a leader and example of how much a person can change in positive ways.

Our daughter is coming home to us as a much more mature, self-aware, self-assured and skilled young woman. We have come to understand each other and learned to communicate effectively as a family. We have re-built trust and loving relationships within our family. Without all the highly skilled professional support we have received for our daughter, we fear she would have been lost to us forever. Because of those programs and God’s amazing grace, our daughter has been transformed and our family has been restored. We are forever grateful.

Sincerely,

Rita