Your program has been on our mind a lot so we wanted to send you a note on how things are going in our household as well as a status on [our son]. He attended your academy after about a few years of getting trouble and some local ‘encouragement’ from his youth parole officer…. [Our son] certainly didn’t want to attend, but didn’t have a lot of choices at the point in his life. We were also exhausted parents and were hoping for the best and some needed help.
[Our son] is doing really good. He’s down at BYU Idaho in Rexburg this semester and working on his construction management degree. He worked here in Moscow through the summer doing doordash and saving up for college. We are really proud of him .. and most importantly know these are his own decisions.
We’ve grown a lot as parents since our early struggles with [our son]. We know now, that kids need structure, but at the same time have to make their own decisions. Like any parents .. we made a lot of mistakes, but are learning. We are incredibly thankful for what we learned through the years as we still have three boys in our household.
After the academy [our son] came home and still had his own personal struggles. He bounced between Boise, LC, and Moscow for about a year continuing to make some dumb choices but still moving forward. The light clicked on in his head right before March and he simply decided he didn’t want to live like he was living anymore. Thanks to the academy, and many good friends and families, we know that [he] was given so many tools to understand that his decisions had consequences and at the same time he knew that people cared for him. We will always be grateful for your efforts and commitment to these youth.