Documentary Kidnapped For Christ Describes "Ex-Gay" Teenage Torture Camp

Via Raw Story:

“Kidnapped for Christ” is a new documentary that tells the story of teenagers sent to an evangelical Christian boarding school outside the U.S. where school personnel attempt to rid them of feelings of same sex attraction or other “ungodly” influences. “They mess your mind up,” said former student Deirdre Sugiuchi to Raw Story. “Prisoners have more freedom than we had.” The “school” is Escuela Caribe, an evangelical Christian reform school that is run like a prison camp by an organization called New Horizons Youth Ministries. Many of the students are the children of Christian parents who believe their sons and daughters’ nascent feelings of same sex attraction can be eliminated by the school’s program of Bible study, brutally hard work, exercise and physical punishment to break the students down.

An important detail from the above-linked article: "The Romney family contributes heavily to the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASP), an umbrella organization for evangelical reform schools like Escuela Caribe — which was briefly closed down, then reopened under the name Crosswinds — and their Mormon equivalents." The film's website is here. It makes its debut next month at the Slamdance Film Festival.

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Posted in: brainwashing,documentaries,ex-gay,LGBT youth,movies,religion,torture

TRAILER: Road To Home

From the producers:

In the avalanche of homeless young people spreading across America, nearly half are LGBT, despite the fact that gay kids make up only 5-7% of the general population. In an era of increasing openness regarding LGBT issues, where marriage equality is making strides and anti-gay bullying is publicly shamed, kids are coming out to their parents younger and younger. But social trends don’t translate into all households equally, and LGBT kids are often getting kicked out into the streets long before they’ve developed the skills to survive on their own.

Addressing this problem involves more than providing beds. It also involves providing hope and healing. Our 90-minute documentary Road to Home will follow the development of 4-5 LGBT homeless young people of various genders, backgrounds, and origins as they’re provided beds as well as guidance by the staff of the Ali Forney Center, the organization dealing with LGBT homelessness most effectively in New York City. By showing several young people finding a place to lay their heads and a way to heal their hearts, our film will not only depict a dramatic emotional journey, but also stimulate the attention LGBT homeless kids deserve.

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Posted in: Ali Forney Center,Carl Siciliano,documentaries,homelessness,LGBT youth,movies,NYC