IF YOU WANT YOUR KID M0LESTED SEND THEM HERE. I was sent here at 15 years old and m0lested often by the head staff member of the house hold. On these things called point times where staff members could take you out alone make you their personal slave and m0lest you in the Forrest or play weird games and film and force you to take your clothes off. Sounds fun right? Often they would threaten me with working hours or restriction as they call it. A way to keep kids quiet from spilling the truth. I spent most my time (12months) building this property and it’s gorgeous views! So yes you have me to thank and other kids who were touched for its beautiful landscape and picture’s layout. They always claimed GOD and JESUS CHRIST were punishing me for being such a bad kids. This place knows nothing about Christianity it’s the closest thing thing to hell. Therapists and owners and upper management knew these things were going on and likely participated in it suppressing information and further indoctrinating kids into believing they deserved it all because they were bad children. Half the kids that “ran away” from this place are just running from child predators lol. I believe this is some sort of deep s*x ring starting at the very top, yes I’m talking to you Mark Gregston! Exchanging child CP and forcing kids to do horrific acts for adults pleasure both boys and girls. I’m 1 of about 10 kids that I KNOW this happen to just while I attended this “cult.” Super fun for a healing kid already traumatized and from a broken home. Who’s gonna believe a “troubled teen” was m0lested numerous times at a Christian camp right? Could not even contact my parents until 3 months in and by that time it was too late. I can’t believe I’m still alive I have no one to thank besides myself. I could write a book but I have moved on from their propaganda mind games and lies and the fact they hire mainly predators. We paid 100,000$ for all of this! You really get your moneys worth lol. All the good reviews are fake bots or staff members. They have now convinced google to stop the ability to post reviews. Crazy right? Count your days HeartLight. Bye for now. Don’t think for a second I forgot what you did to me!
Three years ago today, February 13, 2022, our family was blessed beyond measure to attend our daughter’s graduation from Heartlight. What started out as a dark and scary time for our daughter turned into a complete blessing! Drop off day will always be a vivid memory of sadness as well as one of hope. As we drove away, I knew that we were doing the right thing for our girl. Our daughter was not in agreement with this decision but eventually trusted the process and the counselors and allowed herself to receive the support. Although she was a resident for 9 long months, my husband and I were also growing and improving our parenting skills. Heartlight worked on all of us. Our daughter tells us now that if we had not taken her that chances are she would not be with us today. Thats a huge comment!! Thats a big relief as a parent to know that our daughter understood the importance of our decision. We will always be grateful to everyone at Heartlight!!
Signed Thankful Parents
Scott and Melinda B.
Our son was so lost in a mess of drugs and emotions. He didn't want to live and didn't want his mom and I to live either. When we found HeartLight we did all the research and had several phone calls. It is never easy to send your son 1,000 miles away to live in a place you know so little about. While at HL our son spent 13 months slowly progressing at a pace he could handle. The staff and counselors were always one step ahead and assured us that our son was on track. The visits and phone calls weren't just for him, they were for our entire family to get better. It's been almost 2 years since leaving HL and our son has grown so much. The growth and healing he received at HL still impacts him today. HL was what our family needed.
Quite frankly, Heartlight saved my grand daughter's life. After several very difficult years, my son and his wife made the difficult decision to send our grand daughter to Heartlight. She graduated and left the program last April, and I have to say that Heartlight returned our grand daughter back as the person we knew she could be. She is flourishing in school, and in relationships with classmates and with family. THANK YOU Heartlight for saving our grand daughter and our entire family!!
Heartlight saved our son's life. I know that sounds dramatic to many, but unless you have been through the drama of having a child tear their life apart because they were hurting so bad, then you don't have the right to say I am too dramatic. My son was a severely depressed and anxious teenager, who was using alcohol, hard drugs, sex, self harm, and suicide attempts to try to make his depression and anxiety go away. Instead of opening up to us as his parents, he internalized it by thinking something was wrong with him and fell further and further into despair, stealing, being chased by police. We caught him with marijuana a couple of times. But alcohol? Hard drugs? No way! How could he function? Have good grades? Play sports? Then he started staying out all night, then all weekend. Eventually, it all came to a head when he was caught by a friend's parents and was kicked out while high on meth. Not knowing, they let him drive home. He hit a guardrail, but dIdn't go over, though he wished he would have. He came home in the middle of the night, strung out, but able to say for the first time in years, "I NEED HELP!" We ran with that! From that small sentence, we went to the ER, then to hospitalization, then to time to be away and detox while waiting on a placement at Heartlight, then to Heartlight. Leaving him at Heartlight was likely the hardest thing I have done as a mother. But I told myself "this is where he belongs". I had no doubt of that. He stayed for 14 months; graduated high school, turned 18, and graduated the program. The time and energy and the lifestyle that Mark, his wife, extended family, and the staff put into these kids is remarkable. They love on each kid and help them learn how to work through their issues without substances or other devices. I would recommend Heartlight to anyone who has a struggling teen; not just one who is struggling with alcohol or drugs. But one who is struggling with a plethora of things today's world places on their shoulders.
My son graduated from the program 2 years ago and it saved our family. My son and I have a great relationship today. It taught both of us how to deal with life!! He was a teen with issues, and i was a dad with issues, and we did not know where to turn for help. I found this place on the internet and I feel it was God leading me to it. It was a hard year having my son gone but we had to face all of the challenges in our path. Heartlight gave him and us the tools to understand each other and face the daily challenges of life. My son has graduated high school and moved on to college. He is doing exceptional!! Our family has a new dynamic and we love it!! I don't think he would be alive or doing well today without Heartlight. This is one of the best choices I have made in my life.
Heartlight strives to create an arena for change for families and teens who have lost their way. I have worked at Heartlight for over 20 years and continue to see residents and families lives changed. It's an honor to be part of a team of like-minded servants. I was lead to this ministry years ago and still feel lead by the spirit in my daily role a Heartlight.
I have been employed at Heartlight for 6+ years now & I cannot imagine a better place to be. Mark & Jan have created a place of hope for families looking for help. The counseling team is spectacular & genuinely care for the teens they work with each day. The staff that live in house are truly something special. Heartlight provides healing through a level system to bring once broken families back together. From an employee prospective - it's rewarding to come to a job that doesn't feel like a job. From the team atmosphere, to getting to know the teens who live here as well as their families, & growing ourselves. If you are looking for a place of restoration for your own family or a place to give back, Heartlight is it.
I suppose I should start from the beginning. I was admitted to Heartlight against my will at age 15 because I was flunking out of school due to depression because of molestation from my stepfather. The first house they put me in was called South House. The first thing I noticed is that the staff members weren't much older than the residents. They showed cruel favoritisms and even hazed us one night by blindfolding us, walking us through the property, and smashing all kinds of food (eggs, breadcrumbs, etc.) in our faces and hair. This might not sound like a significant complaint, but I was in a situation where I was being bullied by other residents and had nowhere to turn to because I was being bullied by staff. Another resident was especially targeted as well. Staff and residents alike would sabotage our chores and hide things in our belongings so that whatever privileges we had to look forward to, were taken away and we would be forced to do manual labor in orange jumpsuits as if we were prisoners.
Heartlight consists of a 6 level program. I made it to level 3 pretty rapidly, but after that my progress stood at a standstill for over a year, and I couldn't figure out why. Girls who misbehaved and made less progress were awarded with public schooling and visits home while I was not. Finally, one day, my counselor (my second counselor; the first one was fired about 4 months into my stay) set up a meeting with me outside if our arranged time. She sat me down, and explained to me that she was getting fired, but before she left, there were a few things I needed to know. She told me that my family told police detectives that I had lied about the molestation, and that's why it was never investigated. She said that my grandfather had been making large donations and extra payments to Heartlight so that they would keep me there until I turned 18 (that would be 2 1/2 years for a supposedly 9-12 month program), and she told me a few other really devastating things about my family. I was absolutely shattered, and I don't think it's a coincidence how sick I became shortly after.
About two weeks after this news I had uncontrollable thirst and urination. I begged and begged my staff to book me a doctors appointment, but instead I was punished for "skipping out on activities for bathroom visits". I even wet myself and my bed a couple of times, and the bullying got really bad because of it. After 3 weeks of this they finally got me into a clinic. They took a urine sample and sent me on my way. As we were about to enter our van in the parking lot, a nurse ran in a full sprint after us and said I needed to come back in immediately. They sat me down and told me that I'm a type 1 diabetic and that an ambulance was on it's way. In the hospital they found that I was in diabetic keto-acidosis and I was in the ICU for days. I almost died.
Every resident at Heartlight had their own binder. None of us had access to ours, but they left mine in my hospital room. It was full of lies cover to cover. From my application that my autistic mother filled out, to weekly staff updates full of excuses why I needed to be in that orange jumpsuit.
Heartlight does a great job of "preparing" families for crazy things residents might say to get sent home. I cried on every weekly phone call for 18 months, and not even being diagnosed with diabetes was a good enough reason for me to experience the comfort of home.
After I returned home, I was even contacted by a male staff member who sent me explicit pictures of himself. I seriously doubt these staff members had to go through a background check.
This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Review from Guidestar
I used to work at heartlight ministries. I was overwhelmingly disappointed by the leadership and how things are run. Kids can still be helped but only because of the staff that know the kid. Many leadership decisions are made based on the desire to make money, instead of deciding what is best for the kids. Don't bring your kids here!
Heartlight Ministries helped us immensely with the tough decision to send our son. The admissions counselors talked with us several times before we decided to enroll him. They shared so much about the heart of the program that we really felt comfortable with it and knew that we had found a good match for our son’s needs. The application and admission process went so smoothly because of their gracious attitudes and promptness in communicating with us. Heartlight Ministries is a first-rate program.
Overall this program is nothing more than an expensive behavior modification program. The psychological counseling was inexperienced. My child suffered with dysregulated thinking and an inability to establish a life narrative that spanned more than a few days. They didn't know what to do and after 11 months kicked her out , no graduation and sent us back a kid worse off than when she arrived. And all for about $60K. Make sure a program has the tools to help your child. That they even understand what's wrong. They should have been honest and turned us away at the start due to the lack of training.