As another survivor of the New Bethany experience for three year, I have news for everyone who may not have heard.
Mack Ford, the head of the snake "his own d@mn self"...is D.E.A.D. Died 9 years ago in 2015, and I only learned about it today while researching a comment on FB.
May he rot in the hell he so fervently believed in and preached about...and beat into us.
I hope this brings some measure of comfort to any other survivors out there who are still suffering with the memories, burdens, and scars left by those horrid places.
I was a resident of both the Home for Girls (for a short time, when the boys were housed there), then the Home for Boys when they shipped us off to Walterboro, SC.
I'd say thank god they finally shut that one down & I managed to escape their clutches...but they thoroughly convinced me that if he exists, he has a most malign sense of humor...in the words of Mark Twain.
I find it horrifically mortifying to have come across this. I spent a year here in 1990. 30 years in and out of therapy and scars that will never go away. The home was permanently shut down in 2001. Do your research about the pure evil that was New Bethany home for boys and girls. Only horror came from this place. We did not volunteer to be there, we were children, we were prisoners.
I think I was there from 1980-81. When I got there, it was before the fence. I ran away with 3 other girls, after the fence. We crawled out a window, on top of a van, out ran the German shepherds, crawled over the fence (which was only around the main dormitories at that time, not around the school/cafeteria yet). We ran into the woods, along the road. Stepped on snakes, had armadillos run over our feet. Finally we flagged down a car that happened to be sheriff vehicle. He turned us over to CPS. They turned us over to our parents. The other girls went home. I was returned to New Bethany. The White haired woman, the rotund, black haired woman, the young woman who lived in the upper dorms. These were the people that beat me on Christmas Eve. God forgive you people for what you did to us. Well, actually, I hope he DOESN'T forgive you. We were children...
I was sent to New Bethany in 1986, and stayed 1 1/2 years.
My time there has left permanent emotional scars. We had no privacy whatsoever, always watched when using the restroom and shower. We even had to state what we were doing in the bathroom, in order to give us a certain small number of toilet paper squares.
Never alone, and for the first few months were placed with a "watcher" (trusted girl who had been there longer) We were called sluts, whores and n***** lovers on a regular basis. We were beaten with large paddles that left bruises and welts for near 3 weeks. I had friends who were handcuffed to their beds.
We were fed expired food, and forced to eat everything in our trays.
We were allowed 1 phone call per month for about 10 minutes, with only a parent. House mother told us what to say before connecting us on phone with speaker.
We were threatened with losing our next phone call, or other punishments, if we spoke of any of these horrible things. We were not allowed any communication with brothers, sisters, and grandparents. Any letters we sent to our parents were read before being sent out.
If we wrote of any unhappiness, our letters would not be sent out.
We were only allowed to read the bible, any other reading material was prohibited. Of course no TV or radio, we were completely cut off from the world.
The only doctor we were allowed to see was a gynecologist, to make sure none of us "harlots" gave the male staff diseases.
Talking about anything on the outside world, or our previous lives, etc, would result in severe consequences.
My friends tried to run, got cut up on the razor wires, and refused medical attention. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.
I am writing this now to bring into light, the things these unregulated private schools are still doing to so many children.
I was sent here in the 80's and suffered from years of PTSD and anxiety after doing my time at New Bethany "Home" for Wayward Girls and Boys. I'm glad it was shut down, but that does not undo the damage that was done to the thousands of kids that walked through those tall gates lined with razor wire. It is difficult verbalize the level of mental, emotional and physical abuse that I endured there. That, on top of being abandoned by my family, left me with layers of emotions to unpack and deal with for the rest of my life.
The zealot who calls himself "Brother Mack" ... I hope his soul is in limbo and is tortured for eternity the same way he tortured thousands of kids.
I served my year there from 1984 to 1985. I had daily nightmares about the abuse there until my mid to late 30's and have them occasionally to this day. My boyfriend found this site for me so I could put some of the pain behind me, and I am so thankful to know that they were finally shut down. This place ruined me! I am so sorry that that other girls went through what I went through. I wouldn't wish that place on my worst enemies. I hope God gives them exactly what they deserve for what they did to us, since the law didn't know how to.
To any parent that reads these reviews please note that this school has been shut down since 1996 due to extreme abuse of the children who lived there I am a victim of this cult based school please take note before either sending them money or contacting them
There must have been some serious kickback going on in that parish because the townsfolk of Arcadia should have stormed the place with pitchforks and torches thirty years ago and rescued the imprisoned children.
Eventually they did--shut it down, but not soon enough to prevent the untold damage that it did to God's most precious gift, our children, our future. It's an embarrassment to the good citizens of Louisiana who need to set the record straight.
I'm laughing at the "client served" category. Anyone donating to this organization needs to be made aware that: 1: IT'S CLOSED. 2. Any proceeds donated go to a man who has been publicly called a child abuser and pedophile. 3. If this organization is on your church's missionary list, you need to notify your pastor that the church's tithes are going to an organization that NO LONGER EXISTS! Thanks you!
This home is a vile hole that tears children apart mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and even in some cases sexually! They are mean and down right cruel! Any parent that would sent their child to this place is a fool and has been totally lied to. It is suppose to be a christian based home to guide wayward teens, well it's anything but godly! Be warned!!!!!
I am very familiar with survivors of this "school". If you google "New Bethany Home for Girls" the first three results are as follows:
1.History of Violence: Christian boarding schools and the March 10 ...
2.Survivors of New Bethany
3Survivors of New Bethany - VICTORY VILLAGE
This institution was run by a denomination, Independent Fundamentalist Baptists. The abuse that happens in these institutions is unspeakable. Google "tina anderson" for more information.
Finally to get a better picture of the larger issue I recommend this documentary, watch the whole thing, the first clip on youtube just starts to introduce the issue.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prAcf5rOc5Y
But in the end, this "school" is closed.