Elizabeth Phillips
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
There's actually a Netflix show called The Program about this as well.
The nonprofit Unsilenced is the one that has the database of these residential programs for troubled teens.
So like that Agape Behavioral, Agape Boarding School I mentioned earlier that moved from Washington State to Missouri to be less regulated, they would be in that database.
There's active litigation against one of those programs called Shelterwood.
That was actually a Joe White-affiliated troubled teen program.
So, yeah, the summer camp industry, the troubled teen thing, a lot of times kids will go to summer camp, they're troubled, and so then Joe White or someone at the camp might recommend they go to a behavioral school or behavioral program.
And what's been uncovered recently, and thanks to people like Pierce Hilton willing to put her name on it, there's been more awareness around that.
with your traditional American summer camp, like these sleepaway camps.
Huge industry in the Hill Country in Texas.
And being from Dallas, I had a lot of friends that went to Camp Longhorn, Camp Mystic, a ton to Kanakuk, of course, too, but...
These are also 100-year-old camps in the Hill Country and they're in Kerr County and that's like the county's industry is a lot of it revolves around these camps because it brings in tourism.
So my life changed again on July 4th of 2025 when I was at the beach with my family and my sorority sister's group text started blowing up.
And it was like flash flooding in the hill country.
I'm like, so?
I'm up in the northeast.
I'm like, why are you giving me weather updates?
And then that escalated into Lila's missing, one of my sorority sister's daughters.
And then I turn on the news.
I mean, we're all getting ready for the Fourth of July parade.
And then I keep getting texts.