Is Straight a Druggie`s Last Chance?

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b Straigh! a Druggie's tast Chanca?
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Volume20 Number ll
Fnzrunas
I ns ideO neP &GP l a z a
........65
A close look at our most prominent corporste citizen after 150 years.
T heS ear c he rs ..
Local odoptees share the anguish of their quest for the past.
.....138
T heS ec r et ofBo g a rt' s
.......148
How does a politicol science mojor from Cleveland keep this club at the top
of the heap?
S t r aight : Las tC h a n c e fo rD ru p g i e s ? ..
......156
Some say it's frighteningly obusive, others soy it saved their lives.
Hom es : A S h e l te rGu i d e
.....167
A historic residence, orgonized closets and housewarming gift ideas.
65
Cotuaus
Nightlife..
....40
Saturdoynight at SudsyMalone's: a lot of noise, o jug of Tide and thou.
Travel
........42
Across France by bike, borge, bolloon, then bock on the Concorde.
HangingOut..
........46
Man's real bestfriend is basicolly good-natured and a wonderful sddition to
the family.
YourMoney....
Common senseqdviceon how to plan for your retirement.
-9
f
......48
E
FirstPerson
....52
Back in time before SisterMortin Francis becumeSisterMary Jo.
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Off to Kenwood to sampleInCahoots and T.G.I. Fridoy's.
E
156
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ON run Covpn' Hand-tinted photo by D. Altman Fleischer.Speciolthanks to
Bob Butz and WayneDunn for creating the puzzle'
167
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CINCINNATI August 1987 3
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It Work?
Does
father walks up to
the microphone,his
voice shakingwith
angerand pain. "One
thing I want you to learn is
to feel shame," he tells his
son. The son and an audienceof some200 others
at Straight,Inc.-one of
the most publicized and
controversialadolescent
drug rehabilitation programsin the countrylisten stoically. "You've
lied to me, you've stolen
from me. I don't know
how you can do that to
peoplewho are helping
you. May God forgive
you-I don't know anyone
elsewho can. The hardest
thing I have to say tonight
is that I love you."
This intenseconfrontation is vintage Straight.
The Friday night open
meeting,when parentsand
family publicly confront
children with their emotions, is the therapeutic
equivalentof riding the
Vortex at Kings Island.
You don't know where
Rick Bird is newsreporter
for ll'EBN.
CINCINNATI Ausust 1987 157
i:ii:iat3t:::it:ia::3t:!::.
158 CINCINNATI August 1987
your emotionswill be hurled next. Outbursts of angerand pain are juxtaposed
with declarationsof love. Each conversation is parenthesizedby a sometimes
comically long chorus of "Love Ya,
Mom. Love ya, Dad. Love Ya, SallY.
Love ya, Bob. Love ya, Eric. Love Ya,
Bobbie," as family membersgreet each
other in the traditional Straight way,
sounding like the Waltons on a Particularly zealousnight.
Some parents are in susPenseabout
whetheror not their child hasearnedthe
privilege of a five-minute, supervised
talk with them after the meeting. Some
parentsrejoice as their child flings open
his arms. runs to embracethem and
yells, "Coming home!" This is a
Straightritual announcingthe end of the
first, most restrictive phaseof the program; the child is allowed to leave his
host home and to return to his family.
Therapy groups aren't the only places
where Straight arousesintenselydivided
emotions. Among former clients and
mental health and legal professionals,
Straight elicits passionatedifferencesof
opinion. "This placehelpedme savemy
life," saysMichaelLambek, 21, who is
in the fifth, or final, phaseof his program and a trainee for Straight's
paraprofessionalstaff. His fresh-faced
to the
good looks bear no resemblance
emaciated,vacant-eyedyoung man in
the snapshot taken when he entered
Straight a year ago. "I havefriends who
are dead from auto accidentsor suicide,
or practically vegetables.I'm going to
help as manypeopleas I can. I don't see
how peoplecan think that trying to save
kids' livescan be sucha bad thing."
Other families feel emotionallY
scarredby their experiencesat Straight.
Rosemary and Robert Weaver of
Loveland say that their l6-year-old son,
Eric, was diagnosed at St. Elizabeth
Medical Center as having a major
depressiveillness when he came out of
Straight. "When we pulled him from the
program, I was stunned when theY
brought him out," saysRosemary,who
has blondish-brown, shoulderJength
hair, blue eyes, and a straightforward,
expressive face with little makeup.
"They were on both sides of Eric,
guidinghim out the door. He waslooking past us. My only way of expressingit
is that he was in a trance, with a very vacant look. Eric said in a verY slow,
measured voice, 'Are You sure I can
leave?"'
Eric, who has fluffy, verY blond hair
and bright blue eyes, speaks softlY,
shyly. "Each day I feel better, although
that isn't much," he says. "I'U
withdraw various times. I daydream
about Straight, and try to changethings
in my memory.As soon as you're free,
you realize,'My God, what have theY
been doing to me?' It's like mY whole
brain shut down and didn't start working until I cameback out. There wereso
many times I've been restrained and
assaulted, so many ways I've been
abused." Robert saysthat, before entering Straight, Eric was an active high
school athlete. Now he is much more
passiveand reserved.
The Weavershave filed a $1 million
lawsuitagainstStraight,Inc., askingfor
compensatorydamagesfor Eric's participation in Straight from March 12 to
June 13, 1985.The suit allegesthat Eric
Weaver "was on numerous occasions
subjectedto physicalbeatingsand painful physicalrestraint" authorizedby the
Straight staff, and that Straight
misrepresentedthe qualifications of its
staff.
Wherever Straight goes-currently
there are programs in Tampa BaY;
Orlando; Atlanta; Springfield,Virginia;
Ann Arbor,
Stoughton,Massachusetts;
Michigan; and Dallas-controversY
follows. You can find the same
testimonialsof savedlives.You're likely
to find lawsuits alleging physical and
mental abuse,and ill-defined suspicions
about cults and brainwashing. Straight
has evenbeenbestowedthe official Seal
of Controversy,a 60 Minutes expose.
Recurringquestionshaunt Straight: is
the program run by a professionalstaff,
or is it kids supervisingkids, potentially
descendantsof Lord of the Flies? Does
the program's structuremakethe danger
of physical abuseof clients particularly
strong? Do adolescentshave civil liberties that should not be violated, however
noble the intent?
Interestingly, this essential question
has remainedunchangedsinceStraight's
genesiswith the Seed program, which
had branches in Ft. Lauderdale and
Cleveland.When The Seed, Inc. left
Cleveland in November 1978-after
operating without a license for three
years-the Cleveland Plain Dealer
quoted an Ohio Youth Commissionofficial as saying, "You get the feelingthe
kids are being brainwashed.Still, if I
had to pick betweenbeing brainwashed
by Seedor being brainwashedby drugs,
I'd pick Seed."
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William Glick, director of the Cincinnati branch of Straight, Inc., scoffs at
the notion that anyone is being brainwashedby his organization' "What the
kids are experiencing is a change in
perspective. People are saying things
about the program that aren't happening," says Glick, a slight, intellectuallooking man with curly black hair
recedingslightly from his forehead. He
has an intense, appraising gaze and
angular features. "If you want to see
real brainwashingin the community-a
kid can turn on fourteen beer commercials. That's where brainwashing is."
Lambek adds, "Straight didn't brainwash me. If anything, theY debrainwashedme. I carried a little matchbook with me always that said, 'Drugs
are my life.' The way I lived, I had a big
drug-dealerfantasy, like Scarface.I had
to learn a new way of living. I had gone
down as far as I could go."
Some dismiss the comPlaints as the
grumbling by people who didn't have
the fortitude to completethe program.
"When I ran away from the program,
when I copped out, I wanted to blame
Straight, to say that Straight held me
against my will," says Richard
Mullinax, a 22-year-old graduate of the
Washington area program who recently
joined Straight's professionalstaff.
The Straight building in Mt. Repose
(near Milford) in Clermont County
looks like one of those facelesspublic
schoolbuildingsbuilt in the '60s-brick,
flat, windowless,cream-colored.In the
lobby are photographs of NancY
Reagan'svisit to the Cincinnati Straight,
and a framed thank-you letter signedby
Mrs. Reagan. In Glick's office is a
blown-up photograph of Nancy Reagan
and PrincessDiana at the Washington
office, simply and reverentlytitled "The
Visit."
Straight won't divulge the amount of
the non-refundable admission fee, but
sourcessay the best current estimateis
$5,000. Daily rates are $19 for local
residents and $25 for out-of-towners.
Glick saysno applicantsareturned away
for financial reasons. Therefore,
although concerned about the sparse
number of minority clients, he saysthat
ability to pay is not a factor.
Inside the building, teens"motivate"
and lead newcomersaround by the belt
loop. Motivating occurs during group
rap sessions.In order to be recognizedto
speak,clientsmust jerk their bodiesand
flail their arms wildly. The theory is that
clients are breaking out of the passivity
that characterizedtheir "druggie past"
(a constant buzzword in the Straight
lexicon).
Whenever a first-phase client leaves
the group, he must be accompaniedby a
client in a higher level, who grabs him
firmly by the belt loop. Straight staffers
say this givesthe first-phasersa senseof
security, of knowing that.someone is
always there to help them. Straight
clients and graduates-even admiring
ones-perceive it as a means to assert
control over the first-phaseclients and
keep them from fleeing.
For some, the beltJooP restraint is
symbolic of everything they liked least
about Straight. MollY Moss, now 18,
entered Straight in May 1982. To this
day, she jumps if anyone touches her
belt loop. "It would alwaysmake your
underwear yank up," she says with a
somewhatembarrassedlaugh. "No way
could you get awayif someonehasgot a
hold of your pants, and they say it was
'because we care about You,' " saYs
Mike McNamara, ?A, who graduated
from the Straight program five years
ago.
The Straight program is based on
what its directors call "positive peer
culture," and an adaPtation of
Alcoholics Anonyrnous Steps for Personal Change (e.g., "We admitted that
we were powerless over alcohol and
drugs-that our lives had become unmanageable.").
"One of the distinct advantagesof
our program is that the young people
hold each other accountable," Glick
says. "They'll say, 'I saw you talking
with your druggie friends, and I don't
think that's in your best interest'' "
Adolescents also are more skilled in
detectingany dissemblingon the part of
their peers, Glick says. "Chemically
dependent kids are very resourceful.
They really know how to con the outside
world. In our program there's a saying-'You can't con a con.' "
The program is structuredaround five
phasesof treatment,which graduallyadvancethe client to greaterautonomy and
fesponsibility.During the first phase-a
minimum of fourteen days,but typically
much longer-clients live with a "host"
family, which includesa client in an advancedstageof the program, known as
the "Oldcomer." The "Newcomer"
stays in the building roughly twelve
hours a day Monday through Saturday,
and sevenhours on Sunday. Television,
telephone, radio and reading anything
other than the Bible or anotherreligious
text are prohibited, becausethe client is
supposed to be working toward selfawarenessof his chemical dependency.
"There's no lounge in the building' no
ping-pong or pool tables," Glick says.
"We're dealing with a seriousand lifethreatening disease, and we have to
socially detoxify them. They respond
well to the structure."
Although at home during second
phase,the client still will be spendingthe
bulk of his time-roughly twelve hours
daily, and seven on SundaY-at
Straight.
During third phase,the teensgo back
to school or work, coming directly to
Straight afterward. Visitors at home are
still monitored, and so are conversations
at school. They are exPectedto say,
"It's not in my best interest to talk to
you," if approachedby one of their old
friends.
Breaching that law can mean being
hazed by the group or even being sent
back to a lower phase,accordingto the'
accountsof many former clients. Some
say that the policY enhances the
adolescents'sense of security as they
face the brave new world of going to
school drug-free. "The rule gives them
somethingthey can hold onto," saysDr.
Edward Fisher, a consultingpsychiatrist
for Straight, who has a private practice
in Clermont County. "The rule gives
them an out that doesn't make them feel
like they're the ones who are rejecting
their old friend."
Davia Raimey-now 19 and a Xavier
University student-left Straight when
she turned 18, although nearly finished
with her program. She says that
Straight's demandswere so distracting
that she couldn't concentrate on her
school work when she returned to
Walnut Hills High School. She resented
telling old friends that they were "not in
her best interest." "They said, 'What?
What does that mean?' TheY didn't
understand.Straight has all thesecliches
that people outside of Straight can't
understand.If you don't feel it in your
heart, you say it like a clone, and
naturally people think, 'Oh, she's been
brainwashed.' You weren't allowed to
talk to peopleif you had beento a party
with them and had a couPleof beers'
"My friends were really hurt that I
wouldn't talk to them. The rules apply
to everyone, despite the fact that a
20-year-olddoesn't need the samerules
CINCINNATI August 1987 159
as a l4-year-old. People would call me presentationsat Walnut Hills. School
and say, 'We saw You talking to some- officials are cautious about selling any
program, preferring to offer parents a
one who wasn't in your best interest.' It
I
number of tre4tment options. Shepherd
like
I
felt
was a big, complicatedmess.
saysthat he has not experiencedprobAfter
three
right."
anything
do
couldn't
got
lemswith any of the drug treatmentproweeksback at Walnut Hills, Davia
grams. "My feeling from talking to kids
her
of
with
some
sent back for talking
old friends. She ultimately missedthree who have gone through Straight is that
they havenot beensubjectedto physical
quartersof her junior Year.
restraintor abuse."
Straight
against
lawsuits
recent
Some
Physical restraint is the hottest issue
havechargedthat the drug rehabilitation
Straight, fueled by lawsuits
surrounding
program may violate Ohio's compulsory
like the Weavers'and another-containschoollaws. The law providesthat prining allegations of particularly brutal
cipalsmay excusestudentsfor a "bodily
physicalabuse-by Wendi Weidmanand
(Ohio
Revised
or mental condition"
Code 3321:04).The law also stipulates her parents, Michael and Joann
McCombie. Most of the accountsof unthat "provision must be made for apwarranted restraintsand physical abuse
propriate instruction." Straight's Dr.
go back severalyears, although some,
Fisher concedesthat these kids are out
of
like the Weavers'story, are more recent.
a
matter
of schoolfor too long. "It's
Weidman'sattorneysdeclinedcomment,
dollars. Straightis hardly paid by any insurance companies. I could list 100 but the affidavits filed in the Clermont
County Court of Common Pleasin 1984
things that Straight ought to have." The
allege that she was subjected to conhospital care units may not get a much
better grade card on education. One tinual abuse, Weidman, who now lives
in Illinois, wasenrolledby her parentsin
care-unit director saysthat they do proStraighton April 18, 1983,accordingto
vide educationaltutors, but calls it "a
the affidavit, and was assuredthat no
token."
physicalforce was usedin the program.
Chemical dependencY is a lifeStraight clients, host families and
threateningillness, Glick contends,that
employees repeatedly battered Weidschool.
"Our
from
warrants absence
man, the suit claims-grabbing her'
view is that this is a disease,no different
striking her in the face, sitting on her,
from leukemia, Polio or any other
And
scratchingher, pinching her, picking her
fatal
disease.
potentially
chronic,
because the disease has many social up by her hair, jumping on her and callgo
aspects, we want it controlled before ing her obscenenames.Her pleasto
worker
social
a
see
to
or
a
hospital
the
to
most
of
For
school.
return
to
they
were denied, the suit says. Finally, on
time before entering Straight, the kids
August 2, according to the affidavit,
school
treated
did not do well in school,
"Wendi Weidman,who wassick, dazed,
as a throwawaY right. When our kids
return, they know why they're there. stiff, sore and covered with abrasions
and bruisesfrom previous beatingsand
Most of the kids return to the level of
abuse,was draggedout of bed and uP
achievement Prior to drug use, and
many do better becauseof the structure some stairs and laid on the bathroom
floor by Laura and Deborah Wahl
and internal self-disciplinegained from
[Straight clients], who kicked her about
the program."
head and bodY and stePPedon her
at
the
Shepherd
Dave
Initially, Principal
stomach. Laura Wahl then repeatedly
Walnut Hills High Schoolworried about
struck Wendi about the bodY with a
the long "time out" from school.Extenforeign object, and kicked Wendi in the
allayed
has
Straight
with
sive bxperience
side of the face. Wendi was bleeding
his fears, he says. "For someit was the
only way to get back on track. There's from the mouth, her teeth had been
damaged,and shehad beentemporarily
no instruction becauseof total isolation
knocked unconscious." Weidman spent
from the familiar. There'sa retrainingin
most of that daY and the next in the
with
impressed
values.I have been very
is
Straight's intake room before being
As
an
educator,
recidivism."
low
the
he bothered bY the ban on reading? taken to Clermont CountY Mercy
Hospital, the suit claims.
"They come back with a thirst and
The defendants'answer,filed with the
hunger for knowledge, re-dedicated,"
says that Weidman was violent
court,
Shepherdsays.
and often tried to bite peomoody
and
drug
several
of
one
is
Straight
rehabilitation programs that make ple, and that they did what was
160 CINCINNATI Ausust 1987
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necessaryto restrain her. A statement
from Deborah Wahl in the file states
that she rememberstelling Straight that
Weidman should not be in the program
becauseno one knew how to deal with
her.
Glick is bound by state and federal
confidentiality laws not to discuss
specific charges,he says. "What they
allegedidn't happen," he sayssimply.
"Imagine a scenariowhere a chemically
dependentkid tells his parents part of
the truth. The kid might tell the parents
that he went to get some milk,. but the
kid's not telling that he met someoneat
the store and went over to his houseto
do drugs. There's a tremendous difference between truth and dishonesty.
Kids using drugs-what kind of conception of right and wrong and truth do
thosekids have?"
That's a typical Straight dodge when
anyone challengesor criticizes the program, Robert Weaver says-who can
believethese kids, these druggies?The
parentsreceivea more sophisticatedbut
no less peremptory response, Weaver
says, "Yes, I'm in denial," he says.
"Everyone tells me I'm a damnedidiot.
They call everythingthat disagreeswith
them denial, or a druggieattitude."
Eric describes several instances of
restraint and physical abuse. One
culminated in his being confined in
Straight's intake room for more than
three weeks,he says,His parentsbecame
alarmed when they saw that he was
carving on his arms. This phenomenon
apparently is not uncommon in drug
rehabilitation programs; kids use their
nails or a piece of metal to carve
messagesor designs. "Carving on the
arms, rubbing the skin raw, is a form of
rebellion; you get attention from it,"
saysChristy Kirschner, 15, of Fairfield
Township, who spent seventeenmonths
in the program. "They can control
everything, control you from talking
and singing, but they can't control you
from carving on your arms. I saw guys
who had carved up their whole arms,
who would hold up their armsand watch
the blood drip."
When asked, "What is on your
arms?" Eric answered,"Feelings." His
father recalls,"He saidthat he had deep
feelingsthat he couldn't get out. Selfmutilation appearsto be prevalent.I attribute it to a deepsenseof loss."
The Weavers'.requestto speakto an
executive staff person about the selfmutilation was denied, they say. One
I
procedures,it would not meet the restaff membertold them that it was a step
in the process.No one preventedhim
quirementsfor contract services."
from carving on his arms, Eric says,
Dr. Richard Heyman, the part-time
"I'd just dig away. Some kids said, medical director for Straight, saysthat
'Thosearen't deepenough.I'll getyou a
in two and a-half years he has only
knife."'
treated one client who was injured while
The word among Straight graduates being restrained.That client suffered an
from several years ago is that unabrasion on the kneecap. "If kids are
necessaryphysical restraint has been being hurt, it's more likely to be the
greatly reduced,perhapseliminated. "I
restrainer. I've treated some who have
think they have stopped sitting on peobeen punched and kicked," Heyman
ple," Mike McNamara says. "They
says. Only professional staff practice
wouldn't restrain people who didn't
restraintnow, and only when it's essenneed it," Davia Raimey says,."but I
tial, Glick says.
think they intimidated peopleinto blowStraight is proud of its emphasison
ing up by yelling at them, 'You did this
family involvement. "When the family
in the past; you're a big baby.' "
comes to Straight, the whole family is
Christy, who left Straight slightly
considered the client," says staff
more than ayear ago,says,"Restraining
memberBill Maloney. "The overwhelmwas done every day, and done when it
ing spirit is that, 'I feel free to talk about
wasn't needed,when you weresupposed my family. I feel safe and securethat
to sit up straight."
you're not going to talk to your
During a February 1986siteinspection neighbors.' Before coming here, many
of the Cincinnati Straight program,
parentsfeel they're the only ones. All
membersof the Ohio Bureau of Drug
the guilt and shamethe parentshavefelt
Abuse (BuDA) investigative team
startsto lift."
reportedwitnessingfour incidentsof unTom Aulicino once stole from his
necessaryphysical restraint during one
parentsto support his drug habit and got
twenty-minute period. During a
into a brawl with his steofatherover the
followup inspectionon August 18, 1986, issue of Tom's girlfriend's residencein
BUDA investigators concluded that
his parents' house. "The program
Straight had adopted a new policy on
teaches you basically honesty, not
participant restraints. Four staff
judging people, loving your parents-a
members and two clients testified that
lot of thingsthat if you go to high school
clients are no longer routinely held in
they think it's sissy," saysAulicino, a
restraints.
tan, muscularyoung man training to be
A BuDA official says that Straight
a police officer, and looking nothing like
tried to receive certification for three
a sissy.Todayhe can talk openly with his
years until finally obtaining it last
parents, tell them he loves them. Their
August. The agency generally doesn't
marriage, once threatenedby his drug
re c e ive compl ai nts about drug
abuse, is strong again. "They're best
rehabilitation programs, but it has a
friendsagain."
thick file on Straight, the BuDA
The program that rejuvenatessome
representative says. "Most programs families tears others apart. Familieslike
don't have any problems meeting our
the Weaversand Shellyand Rick Rybolt
standards," he says.BuDA is operating and their daughter, Christy Kirschner,
under standardsthat are ten years old,
speakof their experienceswith Straight
he adds, and do not addressthe unique
like weary war veterans.Christy, whose
residential situation of Straight's host
parents divorced when she was an inhomes. Further complicating the situa- fant, was 12 when she decided to live
tion is the fact that a separateagency, with her father. When she ran away
the Ohio Department of Human Ser- from her new home, her father and stepvices, is responsiblefor licensingfoster
mother decidedto put her into Straight.
homes.Sinceno other agencycan have "Straight told them that if I didn't come
jurisdiction over drug rehabilitation proin I would die within a year, that I had
grams, no one currently overseesthe
druggie attitudes," Christy says. "The
host homes,the BuDA official says.
basic concept of Straight is that if you
Jim Wasserman,executive4lgStqlof
leave Straight, you're going to die.
the Clermont County Mental Health
When people turn 18 and leave, they
Board, says,"We do not have a profes- say, 'I'11 be reading the newspaperand
sional relationship with Straight, but
you'll be dead. You'll never be worth
from our knowledgeof its policies and
Cont. on p. 163
CINCINNATI August 1987 16l
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Cont. from p. 161
anything.' They ask parents,'How are
you going to feel when your child cops
out and dies?'"
Christy says that she had tried Pot
once and drinking twice when she
entered Straight. Her mother and stepfather believeher. "Her dad called me
and said that she had been doing drugs
for two years. I was appalled," Shelly
says."Rick and I havedonemore drugs
than she has ever heard of, and we
would know." The Rybolts were even
more appalled when they heard Christy
recite a litany of drug use at her first
open meeting-pot, alcohol, mescaline.
Christy saysit wasn't true, She says
that no professionalstaff was presentat
her admission interview, commonlY
calledintake, and shewas pressuredby
other Straight clients to "confess."
"One girl said that she had done
mescaline,and that soundedgood. So I
just said I did pot, alcohol, speedand
mescaline.It's done all the time. It's a
desperatefeeling.A lot of girlslied, just
to get people off their backs." Other
Straight alums confirmedthis practice.
"People would always build it up,
elaborate on what drug use they had
done," Davia says. "This one guy I
knew from school was up there saying
that he did PCP and all these other
drugs.Now no way did this guy everdo
this, but he wasmakingout like, 'Yeah,
I'm really hard-core.' Maybe he was
to all this,
thinking that if he confessed
they would leavehim alone." It was as
if, at Straight, the greater the sin, the
greaterthe redemption.
"People would leavethe program and
do drugs,becausethey would hearabout
all thesedrugs and they would run away
to try them," Davia adds. "PeoPle
would say, 'It was really weird; I was
seeingall thesespots,' and peoplewere
really curious about it."
A number of the former Straight
clientssaid they had minimal experience
with drugsor alcohol before enteringthe
program. Glick saysthat careful medical
and psychiatric assessmentof clients
u p o n admi ssi on-i ncl udi ng bl ood
testing and urinalysis-ensuresthat only
kids needingtreatment will be accepted.
If a nythi ng, parents and staff
drug use, he says."Most
underestimate
parentsare unawareof drug use for two
years," he says. "Parents come here
after a crisis with a gut feeling that
somethingis wrong, knowing 15 percent
of what is wrong with the kid. By their
own admission, kids get very skilled at
deceivingparents."
Curiously, for a program that emphasizes the thorough medical and
psychiatric evaluation of potential
clients, Straight placed an ad in the
September28, 1986, Cincinnati Enquirer advertising for an admissions
counselor/intervention specialist with
"sales and marketing experience"listed
as the only qualifications.
One fifth-phaser at Straight cameinto
the program after being in a psychiatric
ward. Describingherself as "a punk
with a mohawk," shesaysthat shehad
only smokedpot and experimentedwith
alcohola coupleof times.Shewashanging out at the Jockey Club in Newport,
using a fake ID, and slam-dancingwith
friends who were doing drugs. Such an
individual, categorizedas high risk, is
appropriate for treatment, Glick contends. "I don't draw a distinctionbetween use and abuse; any use is unacceptable.People are sayingthat the use
of alcohol and marijuana is a rite of
passageof adolescence.
That's like saying that polio is a rite of passage."
According to one local psychiatrist
who has worked extensively in care
units, spot diagnosesare extremelydifficult to make. He sayshe turned down a
position as a consulting psychiatrist at
Straight becauseof the program's apparent failure to make distinctions between drug use and drug dependency.
"The philosophyseemedto be if a kid
casuallyused a drug once or twice, he
would be treated as if that were a drug
dependency."
Some families say that this approach
escalated a workable family problem
into an enormousone. The Rybolts say
they becamehostagesof Straight. "The
most amazing thing to me is that you
believe," Shellysays."I signeda paper
sayingthat I would give up my visitation
rights if I pulled out of the program.
Why? Because they told me to. I
couldn't be in the programuntil I did."
Rick, a park superintendentand chief
ranger in the Butler County Park
District, laughs incredulously when he
to Straight
remembershis acquiescence
policies. "Everything you did, you had
to get permission from staff. Children
told me whetherto go on a businesstrip
or not," Rick says.Husbandsand wives
were encouragedto tattle on spouses
who went on unauthorized business
trips, the couplerecalls.Theyeventhrew
out a 175-albumcollection, including
vintageBeatlesalbumsfrom England,to
symbolizetheir liberation from a druggie
past. "They said, 'Double standards,
Mom. You can't keepyour recordsand
expecther to get rid of hers,' " Shelly
recalls.
At parent raps, the parents sing Up
With People-type songs and are expectedto make the accompanyinghand
gestures.If they don't, they are conCINCINNATI August 1987 163
=
The Rybolt famity-Rick, Angie,-shelly and^theirdayglt.ter,clrisp' Kirschner
to adapt io Straight policies and philosophJ:,but found
iiirisiouriil-tried
their
was
tearing
it
family apart.
ihat
Straisht director William Gtiek sitsin the room whereopen m7ellngya!!d
grou-praps are held. Straight's tw-eluesteps,basedon those oJ Alcohoucs
Anohymous, line the wall behind him.
164 CINCINNATI Ausust 1987
fronted. "I made somecommentto my
husband.One motherwasput out that I
would talk during grouP, and that I
wasn't singing.'What's the matter with
you, Mom?' " Shellyrecallsher saying.
RosemaryWeaverremembersbeing terrified when one Parent confronted
another for not singing, saying, "I'm
glad my kids aren't in your house." "I
was scaredto death becauseI wasn't
singing 'Zippidy-Doo-Dah' and not
makinghand motions," Rosemarysays.
"Then I felt stupid. Why am I afraid
becauseI'm not singing these nursery
rhymes?"
The group confronted RosemarYfor
telling Eric during open meetingabout
the birth of baby ducklings at their
Lovelandhome. "I just wantedto give
him a ray of hoPe," RosemarYsaYs
apol ogeti cal l y. " B ut Pet s and
'heavies'-sad subjects-couldn't be
discussedin open meetings.We could
only talk about feelings."
Parents become numbed into accepting things theY shouldn't, the
Rybolts say. One father in a parent rap
said how sorrY he was for having
molestedhis two daughtersin the past.
this
because
The Ryboltswereconcerned
man was actingas a host Parent,but
they said nothing.
Glick says that telling outsidersof
suchan incidentis a seriousviolation of
patient confidentiality.Host homesare
screenedcarefully,he says,and any recentor untreatedhistoryof sexualabuse
would disqualify parents.Straightuses
the guidelinesfor foster homes in its
host home check. "If the sexualabuse
happenedlong ago, and the individual
received treatment, it might be aPpropriate for the family to serveas a
host home. lf there'sany question,we
won't use them. We're bound by child
abusereporting laws. There's no gray
area.Our policy is that if there'sany in-'
dication that a client is suffering sexual
or physicalabuseor neglect,that report
hasto be on my deskimmediatelY."
Finally, the Rybolts couldn't take it
any more. "One night, I was in the
bedroom lying on the bed," ShellY
recalls."I felt, 'If I pull from Straight
I'm a terribie mother, and if I stay in
StraightI'm goingto commit suicide.'"
Rick is thumping the table with a
book, DestructiveCults Defined, thathe
usedin recentpolice training. He looks
the way you imagine a Park rangerfriendly,beardedface,fit, a man who is
=!
,': ,
E-
comfortable with himself and the outof-doors. "This is Straight," he says
emphatically. "Straight met twentythree of the twenty-sixcriteria for cults,
as defined in this book. Their whole
theory in this book is that if you can't
walk away from something,it could be
dangerous."
The Rybolts walked away. They
didn't see Christy for ten months.
Finally they saw a lawyer.
After more legal wrangling-and
much anxiety for the Rybolts and their
daughter-Christy was court-ordered
out of Straight and into the custody of
her mother. After a consultation, the
court referee told her, "You have no
more businessbeing in Straight than I
have."
RosemaryWeaver worries about the
effect Straight could have on families
that aren't as strong as her own, "What
really disturbs us is that if kids are terminated, their parents will just disown
them," she says."The parentsfeel that
Straight was the last resort, and there's
nothing more they can do. They don't
seek other help, other than the police.
One mother told me that her daughter
calledto wish her a happy birthday, and
she hung up on her. She said she
wouldn't talk to her daughter until she
cameback to Straight. The girl was 15."
Richard Mullinax was living on the
streetsin Washington, D.C., and his
family wouldn't let him insidethe door.
If his sisterssaw him on the street,they
would look the other way. He had left
Straight twice. "If they had given an
inch, I wouldn't be alive today. I was
doing pot three or four times a day and
doing cocaine. I was underweightfiftyfive pounds. I came crawling back on
my hands and knees.They gave me the
option of going back to the program. It
savedmy life."
Familieswho pull from Straight often
question the sincerity and depth of the
program's much-vaunted love for its
clients. "All of a sudden, they totally
alienateanyonewho leaves.Parentsare
brainwashed as much as anyone,"
Shelly says.When the Weaverswent to
Eric's host home to pick up his belongings, the family wouldn't answer the
door, "Someone came to the peephole
and said, 'God, it's the Weavers.We
can't have any contact with pulloffs.'
The connotation was that it was
somethingdisgusting," Rosemarysays.
Emotional honestyis one of the tenets
that Straight promotes most strenuous-
ly. Many clients and former clients say
that the program taught them to confront their true selves."Straight worked
for me becauseit wasmore intensein the
senseof my talking about past feelings
and getting out my feelings," saysTom
Aulicino. "I was as low as a Person
could be, and I neededhonest friendships. The guys were like brothersnice, sincere.I learned how to cry and
talk about my feelings."
Others wonder if Straight's brand of
emotional honesty isn't more like
manipulation or exhibitionism' "They
make you feel so bad that You lean on
them so much," Christy says."They cut
you down and get you so dePendenton
them to feel betterthat you think, 'What
would I do without Straight?' "
Privacy disappears when a familY
enters Straight, some saY, and an enforted intimacy takes its place. Every
Straight mother is Mom, every father is
Dad. "It's all so fake," Davia says.
"People were always saying, 'Love ya,
Davia.' I thought, 'You don't love me,
you don't even know me.' It was reallY
easyto say what theY wanted, but I'm
not someonewho loves to tell people
about personal problems. I was often
thinking, 'This is none of Your
business."'
Confidencesthat she made in grouP
were exploited to elicit an emotional
responselater, Davia says. "I have had
problems with my dad and would feel
resentful, and they'd use that, saying
'Your dad doesn't care about you. Your
dad has more than enoughmoneYto flY
down here.' " BecauseDavia's father
livesin Canadaand couldn't fly down to
be "checked out" by Straight staff, she
was unable to talk with him for ten
months.
During first phase, kids have no oPportunity to talk frankly with their
parents.The five-minute sessionsare attendedby a staff member. "If you complained to your parents on Friday
nights, you would get sent back and
wouldn't get to talk," Davia saYs.
Somekids cultivated the art of crying
on command. "If I was being confronted, tearswerealwaysgood," Casey
McNamara sayswith a sly smile. Molly
adds, "When they ask you in group,
'What are your feelingsfrom the past?'
you'd better start crying, buddY."
The explosivenature of some of the
revelations in parent raps and open
meetings troubled the Rybolts. "One
woman neededcounselingfor a violent
time in her life, but not in the context of
hundreds of people, being led by other
Straight parents," Rick says' "I kept
thinking, 'Who are You, mister? You
probably sell cars on the weekends,and
you're proddingthis woman.'TherEwas
one tough old guy, and they had the man
in tears, needlinghim, trying to get him
to put out feelings. He kept saying, 'I
don't want you to know.' It's like
standing on Fountain Squareand being
forced to tell thesethings."
There is indeed something almost
automatedabout Straight ritual' Before
a recent open meeting, staffer Marti
Stamperremindedthe parentsthat there
was to be no mint-sucking or gumchewing during the meeting. Then she
asked brightly, "And what kind of
meeting are we going to have?"
"Positive!" the parentsthunderedback
on cue,
Although the Parents' comments
sound heartfelt, the kids' confessions
often sound breathlessand sing-songy,
like schoolchildrenrushing through the
Pledge of Allegiance. Perhaps it is
becausethey are following a specific
format. All begin, "My name is so-andso, and I do believeI'm a druggie. The
drugs that I've done in the Past
are. . ." They also tell about one incident from the past and about changes
theyplan to make.
"Ritual is important to maintain a
structure," saysWill Kniseley, director
of therapy at Straight, who holds a
master's degreein clinical social work.
"It givespredictability so that we don't
have to ask, 'What kind of rap !uewe
going to have?' It's more comfortable,
and there's none of the anxiety of not
knowing."
Are Straight's restrictions and structures necessary,or are they symptomatic
of a hysteriaabout certain things-rock
music, rebelliousness-thatare a normal
part of adolescence?"Our family-we
don't believe in drug abuse or unprovoked violence," Rosemary says
thoughtfully. "We want good things for
our kids. We want our son to grow up
and go to college.Growing up thesedays
is tough. There is a point when they
rebel and it's natural and healthy.
Parents with Straight have what they
want for a time, a kid with very short
hair. But I'm not sure it's really
healthy."
Some Straight kids complain that the
program has peculiar ideas about boygirl relationships. Clients are not
CINCINNATI August 1987 165
j
&
ffi
B
allowed to date until six months after
they graduate.Caseygot sentback once
for hugging a girl. "Well, she more or
lesshuggedme," he demurs.And Davia
saysthat her sister-who was 22-was
screamedat for admitting that shelikes
sex. "In the girls' rap, they would talk
about sexual problems and be very explicit. I was really embarrassed,"Davia
says. "My sister would say, 'I liked it
and I liked him.' People would say,
'You're not feeling good about yourself
and you're hangingonto that.' She'sa
woman; what are they talking about? I
thought it wasn't right, that they wanted
to get so much into her business."
Several girls described being yelled at
and called a slut or a "sleaze" during
their intake or group raps.
Straight staff and clients seempreoccupied with appearance,talking about
hairstylesand clothing asif fashionitself
were a form of substanceabuse. "Even
if a kid has relatively mild drug
abuse-has only beendrunk onceor had
a few cigarettes-it makes senseto me
for them to enter the program. Kids fall
into categoriesnot on the amount of
drugsthey havedone, but how disabling
it is. Signs are kids tattooing arms and
piercingears," Dr. Heymansays."They
say you can't tell a book by its cover,
and I sayshow me a boy with an earring
and I'll showyou a boy on drugs.A kid
into sports, family and citizenshipis not
going to be on drugs. We're not 100percent, but we have a high level of suspicion. If you have four kids on a street
corner wearingsuits and four at another
corner wearing acid rock t-shirts,
chancesare that one group is selling
drugs and the other is not. You act a
little on instincts."
During an afternoon rap, the girl of
the former mohawk has an emotional
confrontation with a new client who
comesin sporting a "Simply Red" do.
Fighting back tears,shetells him that his
appear anc e br in g s b a c k p a i n fu l
memories. She recalls the trauma of
going back to school when she reached
third phase. "I didn't want to face my
best druggie friend. She looked awful,
all punked out, and I felt guilty. I
thought it was all my fault becauseshe
was imitating my old image. She never
looked like that until I cameto school."
Does the girl still have a drug problem?
"I drank twice with her, but she didn't
get drunk," the girl replies."She's one
of my drug-free druggie friends. Some
people have druggie friends who don't
1(6
aTNCINNATI Ausust 1987
do drugs, but who were weak with
them." Despiteher initial discomfort,
this l7-year-old fifth-phaser is thriving
in school, founding an art and literary
magazineand participating in the art
club.
Clothing and appearance matter
becausea drug rehabilitation program
must encompass the teen's whole
culture, whole lifestyle, Glick says."It's
very important that the kids make a
cleanbreak. I saw a televisionprogram
that focusedon occupationaltherapy in
another treatment center. They showed
a girl silk-screeningan Ozzy Osbourne
t-shirt. That's drug and sexuallY
oriented."
The question most critical to
desperateparents is also the one most
difficult to answer: how effective is
Straight?Staffersgenerallycite a success
rate of 70 percentafter two yearsamong
graduates.The program has the lowest
dropout rate of any in the country, Glick
says.
"Groucho Marx says, 'Who do you
believe, me or your own eyes?' " Will
Kniseleytells a group of visiting parents,
"I've seenpeoplein treatment,and their
lives don't lie. They're healthy young
people,and they stand tall." A former
director of a private treatmentprogram,
Kniseley says, "This program is radically different. If I had a successrate of
20 percent, I was euphoric."
"Our adolescentsare lost," Dr'
Fishersays."Ifyou providestructure,in
the end the kids who click realizethat it
wascare.Most, by the time treatmentis
done, realizethat someonehad to clamp
down on them in order for them to improve.I've seenpeoplefail at careunits,
and the impressionI get is that there is
not enough structure, there are drugs
hiddenin the ceiling."
Other mental health professionals
wonder about the long-term effects of
suchan approach.An internalizedtreatment program is ultimately more powerful than a rigid, external program like
Straight's,in the opinion of Lawrence
Valmore, district administrator of the
Clermont County Family Servicein the
Cincinnati area."I like to compareit to
th e e xoskel eton and the endoskeleton-the forms of life that have an
exoskeletondon't adapt as well as those
with a limited external shell," Valmore
says."I've seenhalfwayhousesrun with
a rigid external structure. When people
are living in rigid structures,they can't
make mistakes and can't learn from
their mistakes.That's part of the reason
that people come from prison. without
being rehabilitated. There's no way to
learn. There's value in the early stages
there's
for muchtightercontrol,because
security and safety in that. The endoskeleton gives support, but not so
narrowly defined that it limits."
Peer pressure is valuable, Valmore
believes,but it must be usedjudiciously,
and the adolescentsmust be carried
beyond that-into the dangerouswaters
of individuality. "Using things like the
belt loops is dangerous. It shows no
trust, and it's devaluing.It saysthat we
value the absenceof drugs more than
simple human dignity-that they're less
important as human beings than the
drugs are. Which is preciselyhow they
got into drugs in the first Place,"
Valmore says. "Peer pressure has
shadings and gradations. A 12- and
l3-year-old has very strong associations
with peers.Ideally they'll grow beyond
that. Programs like Straight keep kids
developmentally at that level. The
strengthis in identification with a group,
all of whom talk the sameway and dress
the sameway."
Straight undeniably has helped some
kids, and perhaps saved lives. Even
some kids who are bitter or ambivalent
about the program acknowledgethat it
diminishedor stoppedtheir drug use. "I
learned to be more responsible and
organi zed, taki ng care of t wo
newcomers every day," Davia says.
"I've learneda lot of things.I don't use
as much as I usedto." Mike McNamara
acknowledges that he was "scared
Straight"-but that it wasultimately his
friends' from the program, and not
Straijht rules, that kept him off drugs.
Another woman, who has a sibling in
the program-and nearly co-opted into
Straight herself as the result of a sibling
interview-doesn't like the program, but
believesthat her brother probably would
be dead if he hadn't gone through
Straight.
And for thosewho are not saved?The
scarsare deep and perhapspermanent.
There are those who believethat no end
ever justifies such a means. Robert
Weaver recalls a Monty Python joke
that describeshis feelings: a sick man
cameto a magicianfor a cure. The magician turned him into a newt.
"You turned me into a newt!" the
man cried.
"Yes," the magician said. "But I
n
curedyou."