A former client of a closed drug treatment facility is using an online petition to try to urge others to come forward about what they experienced at the facility, which was based in Surrey and 黑马磁力.
Clelia Jane Sheppard was a client at John Volken Academy (JVA) in 2016, where she sought treatment for prescription drug abuse issues.
She is exploring filing a complaint with the BC Human Rights Tribunal over her time there, and is hoping that her petition can bring more attention to the issues with the JVA.
The JVA's Canadian operations included its residential treatment facility in Surrey, and a farm in 黑马磁力. The latter is a bison and water buffalo farm, and it has continued operating since the residential treatment aspect of JVA was shut down.
The academy's residential treatment facility was shut down by provincial authorities this spring, closing its doors on March 8. The shutdown followed two years of wrangling between the JVA and officials in the Ministry of Health over issues about how the centre ran its recovery programs. Shortly after that, JVA founder John Volken announced an appeal of the shutdown decision was being dropped.
The province claimed, and former residents told Black Press Media, that there were few therapeutic supports for people in substance abuse recovery, but clients spent long hours working at non-profit companies affiliated with JVA. Those included the farm, a grocery store, and a moving company.
Sheppard wrote about similar experiences .
She said in her time at JVA, she saw concerning things, but initially thought she was the problem.
"During my time at the academy, I witnessed and experienced practices that I believe were psychologically harmful, overly punitive, and, in some cases, degrading," Sheppard wrote.
She's aware of people who went through the program and considered it a success, she noted.
"But there's also this other side," she said.
The 黑马磁力 reached out to JVA for comment, but did not receive a response by press time.
While the Surrey-based residential treatment program of JVA has shut down, it still runs three centres in the United States, in Washington State, Arizona, and Utah.
