A former troubled teenager has revealed her harrowing story of being kidnapped by her parents and taken to a wilderness therapy camp, where she was abused and forced to lie in a barbaric grave.
Natashia Perowski, a New York City-based yoga teacher, recalled waking up to the sound of boots outside her door on November 23, 2014, before someone burst into her Silicon Valley bedroom. I recalled.
The then-16-year-old eventually came face-to-face with her kidnappers – two strangers, a man and a woman – “so tall and wide that they filled the door frame,” she wrote in her essay. It is written in Published by Newsweek.
Perowski recalled them saying, “Please come with us,” before freezing in fear and retorting, “No.”
“I'm not listening,” the man said as he grabbed the arm of a young teenage girl who complained that her life was being taken away from her.
The high school senior screamed for help as he was pinned to the ground, then was handcuffed and carried downstairs, where he was met by Perowski's mother.
The female kidnapper revealed that only her mother could stop her kidnapping, but the girl's parents only said “I'm sorry'' as she was dragged from her home and put into a “cold black car.'' That's what it means.
Ms. Perowski's high school principal had recommended a natural therapy program because her parents believed that “forcing” their daughter out of the house was an effective way to get her there.
The teenager, who suffered from depression in high school, spent 53 days in a camp without electricity or shoes, was stripped and tested, was prevented from speaking to her peers, and was forced to work in the fields. Ta.
One harrowing morning, Perowski was woken up by staff before sunrise, blindfolded, and ordered to follow the sound of drums.
When she removed the covering from her eyes, a six-foot open grave was revealed, in which she was buried and a eulogy read: “The end of my old life.”
But Perowski's nightmare didn't end there.
After undergoing natural therapy, she was admitted to a residential center in Utah, where she was kept in solitary confinement 24 hours a day and subjected to “aggressive therapy.”
Perowski said that during her stay at the residential center, she witnessed several suicide attempts “after staff members beat up those attempting suicide.”
She claims she developed PTSD after being released just before her 18th birthday.
“For 10 years, I couldn't understand why my family had abandoned me,” she wrote. I don't blame the parents anymore, but I wonder why the lawmakers who have the power to help vulnerable young people can't help them.”
Mr. Perowski said her forced abduction was not unique, and that troubled teens were sent to various institutions (private youth programs, therapeutic boarding schools, residential treatment centers, religious academies, conservation programs, drug The most common method is to take the child to a rehabilitation center (such as a rehabilitation center).
Estimates suggest that “between 120,000 and 200,000 young people reside in some type of group home, residential treatment center, boot camp, or correctional facility,” and of those, more than 50,000 are personally placed there by their parents. It is said that it has been entrusted to. By the American Bar Association.
“This network of corrupt juvenile mental health facilities known for abusing minors receives more than $23 billion in public funds each year. Minors 120,000 to 200,000 Anytime,” Perowski said.
Operated by private companies, nonprofit organizations, or faith-based organizations, these facilities are committed to helping young people with behavioral problems, addictions, eating disorders, and, in some cases, sexual orientation or gender identity. .
Perowski, who now lives in New York, is not alone in speaking out against the controversial treatment of young people, with others including Paris Hilton shining a spotlight on the industry.
In 2023, Hilton specifically claimed that she was abused at Provo Canyon School in Utah and pushed for legislation on Capitol Hill against this treatment.
“Situations like this still happen in these places, and 200,000 children are sent to these places every year,” she said.Fox & Friends” at that time.
In April, he called for greater transparency in youth treatment facilities and supported California lawmakers' efforts to crack down on the industry.
california Accountability in Child Treatment Act It was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom and goes into effect on January 1, 2026.
