Faith Christina Shirley

[formergothardite]

http://downersgrove.patch.com/articles/ ... n-hinsdale

IBLP president Bill Gothard said Shirley was staying in an apartment on the IBLP campus and her roommate discovered that she was missing Monday.

Shirley is one of many teens who are sent to the IBLP by their parents, the president said, and she had "some unusual troubles and situations" in her past.

"I think she’ll be back," Gothard said. "It’s just one of those steps along the way to help to her to total freedom."

Shirley had originally come to the institute for its "Journey to the Heart" program, Gothard said, which sends young people to the northwoods of Michigan to study the bible according to IBLP's website.

Gothard said the missing teen had been staying at the Ogden Avenue location for a period of time after the program had ended.

:cry: I hope she ran away and is finding a safe place and that nothing horrible happened to her at that awful place. I hate to see what Gothard would do to her if she does end up back there. He would make her life a living hell.

[ThatSnark]

Sounds like she might be making a Journey Away from the Heart and on to a more reasonable way of life. Hopefully she has connections outside Gothardville and is well on her way to a safe, happy life away from the northwoods torture camp.

[GenerationCedarchip]

Oh my goodness - run, Shirley, run!

Something about Gothard's prediction that she'll be back just sounds ominous. That poor kid definitely has my sympathies. Even though I don't know her specific history, I would definitely consider life in Gothardism "unusual troubles and situations."

[chaotic life]

Unfortunately, this child is 16 and not 18 yet. Gothard is confident she will be back because the police will be obligated to return her to her parents, who will bring her back to Gothard to "fix" her. She's homeschooled, or she couldn't be there in the first place, so her education is likely non-existent. Her safest route is if she has family that took her in, and have a legal basis to fight her family on her behalf. However, the sad reality is that most likely she will be found and she will be forced back into the system for another two years. Either they will break her will in those last two years, and they will most certainly try, or she will be tortured even worse for fighting them until she's 18 and can legally walk away.

[chaotic life]

FTR, I homeschool. I don't believe all homeschooling is non-existent education. However, I believe most Gothard style homeschooling is non-existent education.

[ILoveJellybeans]

I hope that she is somewhere safe :( Unfortunately, she will probably be bought back home, cause she is so young :( She was very brave to make an escape attempt.

I hope she manages to get out for good one day.

[curlykate]

Here's hoping she got out, and can stay out! I would hate to imagine how horrible they would make her life if she were to be returned to the cult.

[formergothardite]

Is there any reason they said this is a missing person and not a run away, I wonder?

[DistantStar]

He probably wouldn't want to admit publicly that anybody would want to run away from his wonderful program, now would he? I bet she's not the first.

I wish I could help her out - if nothing else, help her come up with a plan of what to do the minute she is 18 and can get away from her parents and Gothard legally.

[formergothardite]

Is there no resources for teens of that age whose parents are sending them to a place like that? If she has been there for several months there is no way she was getting an education, so wouldn't the lack of schooling at least be something she could bring up to make it so she can't be sent back? Gothard seems so sure that he is going to get her back into his control and it makes me think that she is going to end up with "special" one on one time with him where he will make sure to destroy her soul before she turns 18 and can really escape.

ETA: By the way, Gothard lied when he said nothing like this has ever happened. Maybe not to a 16 year old, but I know of at least one "student" that ran away from the Dallas traning center not long before I went there for EXCEL. They were super strict and made if viritually impossible for people to be alone after that to make sure that no one else could escape.

From reading the comments it looks like she ran away from home last summer too. I bet after that is when she got sent to Gothard so he could "fix" her.

http://whisnews21.com/2012/07/22/faith- ... e-reports/

[Trynn]

Sadly, I don't think so. The legal age at which you can quite school is 16. Therefore, it is not required that she go to school, so she probably couldn't go that route.

I REALLY hope she has someone she can turn to for help... because even if this works out for the best and she does get away, she is going to need it. Integration into the real world? Not as easy as it sounds.

[chaotic life]

A fair number of homeschoolers are are merely bidding their time with education commonly "graduate" their homeschoolers at 16, the mandatory school attendance age drops. After that, they avoid the stigma of saying they dropped out but quit bothering to even pretend to school their children. That's why you see so many fundie homeschoolers, especially in the Gothard circles who "graduated" at 16. They did NOT acheive a high school level of education. They merely complied with truancy requirements to stay within the letter of the law.

[mrs]

He probably wouldn't want to admit publicly that anybody would want to run away from his wonderful program, now would he? I bet she's not the first.

I wish I could help her out - if nothing else, help her come up with a plan of what to do the minute she is 18 and can get away from her parents and Gothard legally.

I feel the same way. I wish I could do something to help her and show her kindness. The story is so sad.

Is there anyway for the escapee to prove the Gothards headquarters and camps are actually perhaps somehow abusive? IIRC there has been abuse in the past, correct? If this is true why are they still allowed to operate? I cannot understand how a parent can send a child back to a please that is so awful she had to run away from.

Maybe if there is more media attention, there will be an in-depth investigation of the Gothard organization? Maybe that is how we can help.

[lagenialester]

Oh my goodness, I was seriously just on Ogden Ave this weekend! If I had seen her trying to escape I would totally have helped her out. :(

[Ralar]

Maybe if there is more media attention, there will be an in-depth investigation of the Gothard organization? Maybe that is how we can help.

The first step tpwards more coverage may be to set up a FB page for this missing girl, and also to plaster her picture and story all over FB. At teh very least, if she is forcibly returned home, maybe her case will be on CPS' radar.

[mrs]

Is there no resources for teens of that age whose parents are sending them to a place like that? If she has been there for several months there is no way she was getting an education, so wouldn't the lack of schooling at least be something she could bring up to make it so she can't be sent back? Gothard seems so sure that he is going to get her back into his control and it makes me think that she is going to end up with "special" one on one time with him where he will make sure to destroy her soul before she turns 18 and can really escape.

ETA: By the way, Gothard lied when he said nothing like this has ever happened. Maybe not to a 16 year old, but I know of at least one "student" that ran away from the Dallas traning center not long before I went there for EXCEL. They were super strict and made if viritually impossible for people to be alone after that to make sure that no one else could escape.

From reading the comments it looks like she ran away from home last summer too. I bet after that is when she got sent to Gothard so he could "fix" her.

http://whisnews21.com/2012/07/22/faith- ... e-reports/

This is the second time she has “gone missing.â€Something could be seriously wrong(either with the teen or her environment).

[Rarity65]

I hope so much that she's okay and doesn't get sent back. Sadly due to her age she'll probably be sent back and have her spirit broken.

[JMarie]

This is the second time she has “gone missing.â€Something could be seriously wrong(either with the teen or her environment).

The provided photo shows her in a strapless (EXPOSED CLAVICLES AND SHOULDERS!) dress. According to the article, she was last seen wearing shorts (SHORT PANTS!). Maybe that's why her family wanted her Gothardized.

[Mela99]

Here's hoping she runs to safety, then a local media outlet to spill on Bill.

Poor girl.

Makes me think of these signs my school district sent out when we were in Elem school. Parents put them in windows so any child would know that it was safe to go there if they needed help or got lost. Wish we had signs for lost fundie girls. Come here - we'll help. You'll be safe.

[Minerva]

Jeez, I'd make a run for it too. Do they not have legal emancipation there?

[ILoveJellybeans]

If shes ran away before, theres obviously something going on at home. That and that her family are involved with ATI, its incredibly likely shes being abused at home or something.

[Lady]

If she has a few dollars she could get to the train station, it isn't too far from Ogden Ave. From there she could go to Chicago where she would be very hard to find.

[Loveday]

Run, Shirley, run!! :clap: I hope you've made it to a place of refuge.

Here's hoping she runs to safety, then a local media outlet to spill on Bill.

Poor girl.

Makes me think of these signs my school district sent out when we were in Elem school. Parents put them in windows so any child would know that it was safe to go there if they needed help or got lost. Wish we had signs for lost fundie girls. Come here - we'll help. You'll be safe.

I remember those signs. Weren't they a pair of hands or something? There were several in the blocks surrounding my elementary school.

[lilwriter85]

I hope this girl isn't harmed or injured. I agree with another poster, she probably isn't the first to run away from Gothard facility. Maybe this sounds wrong of me, but I somehow hope that this story hits the mainstream media to put a bigger spotlight on Gothard and ATI. I do hope that this girl is ok somehow.

[nokidsmom]

A lot of the comments on the article are mentioning how abusive IBLP is (from former members) and there are links to recoveringgrace as well. Let's hope that she is safe with someone helping her and will not be forced to return. If she is found safely let's hope she has the courage to report abuses going on.

Interesting that one commenter reported that running away from there was not unusual.