Victory Forge Truth Website

Recall, that we had been working with a web developer to create and publish a website exposing Victory Forge and those running the establishment. We had interviews and stories from former students, employees, and residents of Port St. Lucie. We even managed to find some people from Brinkhaven who gave us some pretty lurid details on Alan Weierman. Towards the end of last year, our web developer became really busy and the website development slowed (we are not exactly a well paying client for him). We have now completed most of the website and were ready to release it to the world.

One parent suggested to us that the contents be reviewed by his attorney prior to release. We complied with the request and the attorney has suggested that we refrain from posting the details at this time due to potential legal issues that may be raised. We have two options:

1. Let Alan Weierman and Victory Forge review what we have and provide us with any statements or evidence to whatever they disagree with or think is untrue. We will then either remove the content (if we have it wrong) or display the content (if we think Weierman is trying to lie to us).

2. Publish the website and expose the truth behind this jail for teens.

Ok reader, here is your chance to tell us what to do. We know most of you will select option 2, but please try and keep emotions out of this. Remember, our goal is to expose these deviants no matter how long it takes.

Another Option for Troubled Teens

We continue with providing parents with alternatives to the hellish place known as Victory Forge. We received another letter from a former student who was there in 2002 - he repeats the same allegations that all others have about this place. We cannot caution parents enough about VF.

From official statements: Teen Challenge is one of the oldest, largest and most successful programs of its kind in the world. Established in 1958 by David Wilkerson, Teen Challenge has grown to more than 170 centers in the United States. Teen Challenge is structured to allow flexibility in meeting the needs of those whose lives have been shattered by addictions. Where residential care is needed, Teen Challenge offers a well-developed, multi-phased discipleship training program. Teen Challenge also provides extensive non-residential assistance through personal and group sessions. Prevention programs are provided to thousands each year through public school assemblies and church meetings.

It is our guess that the Weierman's have tried to copy the religious aspects of Teen Challenge to offer legitimacy to their prison for teens. Teen Challenge, according to our research and interviews is more cost effective and promotes confidence in teens rather than destroying them. Moreover, there are Teen Challenges' in just about every state, and there may be one right by you. Click here for locations.

Spin Master Weirman (no not the machine you use in the gym!)

Happy New Year to all our readers.

A while ago, a parent contacted us and stated that he had hired some private investigators to perform a background check on VF and those running the program. The parent did not want to share that information with us on advice of his attorney. Now, the parent has been permitted to share some information on the findings of the PI with us. This story has been corroborated by prior employees.

Recall that Alan Weierman is married to Molly whose father, Rev. William Brink, was a convicted child molester who went to prison. Also recall, that Alan Weierman himself had many run-ins with the law and has known violent tendencies. Details can be found in older posts and elsewhere on the web.

Alan and Molly’s son, Jonathan was also a troubled child who had issues with drug and drug abuse. Alan and Molly had tried to cover this up and even went so far as to lie to their staff that their son was in drug rehab when in reality he was at his child molesting grandfather’s house. At this time, we do not have additional details as that information was not sent to us by the parent.

Knowing that a child is in custody of a violent man who is known for his bad temperament should cause a parent to pause. Add that to the fact that the institution was started by a convicted child molester who had a shady history and the fact that the Weierman’s could not discipline their own children, let alone someone else’s. How could someone of good conscience place their children in such a place run by such people? I guess forgiveness is divine, but if someone has 3 or more strikes against them, caution is needed not forgiveness.

We will try and get more information on the Weierman’s for you. They are, and let us quote a former employee “spin masters” so facts are what will matter. The facts are in front of you – the Weirman’s are a messed up family who are trying to teach kids the straight and narrow. Hypocrisy, is one of the words that comes to mind.

Another alternative, which is very cost effective is to use a parent support group in your area. There are a lot of support groups which provide classes, tips and other suggestions to help out your teen. This is a great place to start and will also help provide you with ideas.

Counselors sent us a list of some of the support groups they were familiar with. We wanted to compile a list, but we noted that such a list has already been compiled by Parenting Teens. In some cases, a few states are still missing and we will try and complete the list on that site.

To find a support group in your area, click here.

If you have additional questions, please forward them to us and we will send it out to our counselors.

Alternative 1

We will be posting a list of alternatives to the miserable boot camp, known as Victory Forge. We will then be providing a brief write-up on some of them.

The one alternative that has garnered rave reviews for the counselors who we have been talking to, is run by a foundation called "The Starr Foundation". They run several schools in Michigan and Ohio which are part of the Starr Commonwealth. We ran a brief query of news story on this organization and it appears that local government officials and MI and OH senators visit these locations frequently to get a first hand look at the potential. President Elect Obama has also stated his admiration for this place. We talked to some of the people running this program and they are professional, grounded and have NO past history of run-ins with the authority. Now that is a refreshing change. We also had a parent visit one of the locations and they reported back to us that the grounds were beautiful and looked like something out of a well manicured golf course. The housing is first rate and the children are not placed into a tiny little house. They have the opportunity to be free but disciplined and guided. A stark contrast to the little house on Biltmore crammed with children.

For more information, go to the Starr Commonwealth website. You can see pictures of the place and get a good idea of what a place for troubled teen should look like.

If you have information on this or other schools, please send them our way.

Laughing all the way to the bank

Our sources have informed us that Alan and his wife have been stating that the best thing to happen to them was that the DCF started investigating their school. This forced the parents to remove the children.

To see why these Weierman's have been so happy, consider the math. Assume there were 20 children in school right before the DCF started their investigations. Each of then paid, at a minimum $28,600. Let's assume for the sake for brevity (Alan, that means being brief - try it sometime!), that the average time that these students spent at Victory Forge was 6 months. Meaning that they had 6 months left. Do the math - the Weierman's pocketed about $200,000 of unearned income - this is money that was prepaid by the parents that was not used on the children. So what happened to this cash? Only the Weierman's know and they are not telling.

My guess is that it was not used for school purposes. Looking into the money trail to see where that may lead us as well. Alan, you can run but you cannot hide. If Bernie Madoff can be caught, you are a petty little wannabe compared to him.

Anybody have any ideas on what Alan and Molly did with all this cash?? Any guesses?

Alternatives to this Prison

We will now begin a series of posts helping parents find alternatives to Victory Forge. This institution has been accused, time and time again, of child abuse. I guess the old saying still holds, "where there is smoke there is fire". In many cases, think of this - "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me". The Weiermans have done a fantastic job of fooling parents and the community, but the truth is being exposed. Here is part 1 of alternatives:

Most troubled adolescents have underlying emotional and behavioral problems that are rarely addressed in military-style boot camps. Boot camps are about discipline, deferring to authority, and saying, "Yes, Sir!," often in response to pointless directives. Does running miles on a muddy track carrying a log teach the same thing as cooperating with peers in creating a camp fire so you will can cook a meal and be warm at night?

Therapeutic programs that combine therapy, the teaching of survival skills, and the impact of the natural environment create more profound, lasting changes in struggling adolescents.
Boot camps, even more juvenile offenders, have a history of problems, from accusations of abusive staff to poor training that has led to serious incidents and even death of their adolescent participants.


Therapeutic Wilderness Program teach:
- Respect of authority
- Self-DisciplineCooperation
- Responsibility
- Self-Esteem
- Self-confidence

Military-Style Boot Camp teach:
- Fear of authority
- Doing "as told"
- Obedience
- Repression
- Resentment

Source: CRC Health Group