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"Treatment Shouldn't Leave Survivors" | Reflecting on Paris Hilton's Peaceful Protest in Provo, Utah

Eric Skwarczynski • Oct 12, 2020

"Treatment shouldn’t leave a community of survivors."

With that simple yet impactful statement, Craig Blake - an attorney with Utah's Disability Law Center - drove home the entire purpose of the protest I found myself standing in the middle of on Friday, October 9th.

Rather watch than read? Check out the video version of this blog post:

On my show, Preacher Boys, I have been doing many episodes about the troubled teen industry.


When the documentary, This is Paris, came out - detailing Paris’ abuse at the hands of the Troubled Teen Industry, I knew I had to watch and discuss it.


Once I posted my episode on the subject, Paris reached out to me directly.


She filled me in on upcoming plans to combat the TTI, and then let me know that there would be a protest very soon in Provo, Utah.


It was an honor to join nearly one hundred survivors of the troubled teen industry, and it was incredible seeing firsthand how incredibly supportive this community is.

I live in Vegas, about 6 hours from Utah. I left in the morning and drove straight to our meeting point – a park in Provo – about a mile from Provo Canyon School, the last troubled teen program that Paris attended.


At the beginning of the gathering, we heard speeches from the team at Breaking Code Silence, a nonprofit working to expose abuse in the TTI.


I was also able to hear from a representative from Charlie Health – an organization that provides personalized mental health treatment for teens, young adults, and families.


One other standout for me was Allen Knoll, whom I was also able to meet personally. He is the author of Surviving Bethel, which is currently available on Amazon.


The most powerful moment of the day came as I stood in the park, surrounded by one hundred survivors, and the director of Breaking Code Silence began asking questions.


"If you were forcibly removed from your home, raise your hand."

"If you were physically abused, raise your hand."

"If you were sexually abused, raise your hand."

"If you weren't allowed to communicate with your parents, raise your hand."

"If you know someone who died in one of these homes, raise your hand."

"If you know someone who died due to depression from being in one of these homes, raise your hand."


Even though there were people from California, Utah, Nevada, Texas – and several other states, hands were going up for each abuse mentioned. 


Not just one or two. With every question, a majority of this group raised their hand.


The reality was, although this group was incredibly diverse – their experiences were not.


My mind kept circling back to the statement from Craig Blake I cited earlier – "Treatment shouldn't leave a community of survivors."


If these homes were doing their job, there would have been a hundred people out there celebrating.


Families reunited.


Addictions conquered.


Lives changed.


But instead, it was people who overcame and succeeded in life despite these schools.


Those thoughts stayed with me as we began a silent, peaceful march.


We marched in front of the gated Provo Canyon School. A single security truck sat in front of the entrance. There was eerily not a child in sight.


As we circled back around to the park, we heard powerful testimonies from the people who had survived these homes.


As the event drew near a close, I spent time talking with many of these incredible people personally. 


I got to meet recent Preacher Boys guest Hannah Kay – who has been an outspoken advocate against the TTI, amassing nearly 60k TikTok followers on her account, @hwy89survival


And then, of course, I met Paris Hilton.

I have to say, she's one of the most down to earth people that I've ever met. When someone has as high a level of success and platform as she does – or even far less so – you can expect some sense of arrogance or pride – I felt none of that with her. She was incredibly approachable, kind, and made time for every single person who approached her.


Talking to Paris, I didn't feel like I was talking to a celebrity – I talked to a survivor who found her voice and was leading the charge for change. The same way I feel talking to incredible women and advocates like Amanda Householder and Hannah Kay.


It's clear she's taking this very seriously, and I'm very excited to see how I can continue to help raise the alarm a little alongside her and Breaking Code Silence.


By Eric Skwarczynski 02 Apr, 2023
Dr. Steve Pettit – president of Bob Jones University – a fundamentalist college in South Carolina, resigned on March 31, 2023.
By Eric Skwarczynski 05 Sep, 2021
The texts read as follows: "Please consider the following Bible commentary and commandments related to sexual assault. Scripture: Genesis 39:7-21 What MUST we do when someone makes unwanted sexual advances? 1. Joseph Refused 2. Joseph RESISTED 3. Joseph RAN. 4. Potiphars wife CRIED OUT. See Deuteronomy 22:23-27. Look at Jn. 8 For Jesus’s application in the NT. Note also that this was before Moses received the law. Common sense and human conscience tells us that this is proper. 5. Potiphars wife had EVIDENCE. A coat. 6. Potiphars wife REPORTED the attempt the SAME DAY. She told her husband when he came home from work. 7. Potiphar Went to the POLICE! Immediately. If someone knows to do good and does not do it then they have SINNED. This summarizes a message I intended to bring to our church family but have not been allowed to deliver. Summary: People accuse pastors of covering sin when they themselves did not follow the Biblical Instruction in Genesis 39. I have two other studies on this subject. The passages and topics are as follows: 1st. Pastors are not Policemen. Go to the police immediately to report a Crime! Go to your pastor for Comfort! Study Romans 13:1-6. 2nd. What Sins ought to be covered> See 1 Peter 4:8. Please pass this on to anyone and everyone possible! It’s time to unsheath the sword of the Word of God which is the sword of the Spirit. I should have asked for a copy of the police report when people came with accusations. I was asked to be a detective. Never again.

If you have a car stolen who should you call? Call the police. If you have someone breaking into your home who do you call? Not your pastor. He does not bear that sword of justice. It belongs to civil authority! If you were assaulted or molested and did not report it to Gods other ministers as taught in Romans 13 your car or house is evidently more important than the well-being of your family member. Who has done the cover up?

Please distribute this as widely as possible for the truths sake!!" *A little while later, Kingsbury sent another text*

 "Don’t bother sending it to anyone. Thanks."
By Eric Skwarczynski 27 Jun, 2021
I know what you're thinking... "Oh great, another guy offering his unsolicited takes on purity culture. Just what the world needs." You're probably not off-base for feeling like that. The staggering amount of opinions swirling around the internet right now in the wake of the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting and, especially the now-deleted Matthew West song, Modest is Hottest are exhausting. But if you can find the patience within yourself, please hear me out, I won't be long. I got the less painful side of purity culture. All men do. That's just the truth. It's equally toxic (more on that in a minute), but it's less painful. The majority of the shame, extreme restrictions, and hurtful rhetoric tends to fall on the shoulders of young women. The same women, no doubt, who have been raising their voices to share their rightful hurt after watching Modest is Hottest and seeing it warmly received by many of their fellow Christians. On the surface, it's easy to miss why purity culture and the Christian conversation is, in fact, so toxic. It began, no doubt, in the minds of well-intentioned parents and pastors. It has been shared and developed by well-intentioned Christian authors. It even had a song written about it by a well-intentioned Christian musician that has been shared by well-intentioned Christian fans. But good intentions do not mean good results. As they say, the road to hell is paved with them. One could write a book on the reasons that purity culture and the church's teachings on sex and modesty misses the mark. In fact, several great books have been. I'd recommend those interested to read The Great Sex Rescue by Sheila Gregoire, Talking Back to Purity Culture by Rachel Welcher, Prey Tell by Tiffany Bluhm, or Recovering From Biblical Manhood and Womanhood by Aimee Byrd for a start. If you're not a reader, you can watch an interview like this one with Rachel Welcher.
By Eric Skwarczynski 26 Jan, 2021
The quote above represents just one of the gut-punching passages within Prey Tell , written by Tiffany Bluhm. The new book – releasing in March 2021 from Brazos Press – “explores the dynamics of power and lack of accountability that occur within many organizational contexts and encourages women and men to speak out in the face of unjust systems.” (Publisher’s Summary) Prey Tell is undeniably well-researched, but it also comes from personal experience. In the opening chapter, Bluhm recounts the terror of spotting her sexual abuser in public – the person she spent so long trying to avoid entirely – as well as the racially-charged mistreatment she experienced as an adopted child from East India.
By Eric Skwarczynski 17 Jan, 2021
IFB Sermon Clips on Twitter retweeted clip, confirming the identity. Cavanaugh's bio on Bethel Baptist's website reads: "Since graduating from Providence Baptist College in 2009, Bro Cavanaugh has served in several different ministries including: traveling with Dr. Dennis Corle and Revival Fires, starting a church in Nigeria with Missionary Mark Holmes, and traveling and serving as Camp Evangelist at Cedar River Baptist Camp. Bro. Cavanaugh joined our staff in 2017 and serves as the Bus Director, Dean of Students, and teaches the Faith Builders Sunday school class. He is married to Leah, and they have three boys – Marcus, James and Nicholas." It is notable that the founder and president of Providence Baptist College, has a history of inflammatory political rhetoric.
By Eric Skwarczynski 15 Dec, 2020
By Eric Skwarczynski 03 Dec, 2020
As most of you have seen, I had planned to lead a peaceful gathering of survivors at North Valley Baptist Church in Santa Clara, CA. The event was scheduled for January. After an immense amount of time and thought weighing it out, I’m making the decision to cancel the event. Sincerely, I can say that the motivation behind the event was a positive one. I know the motivation of those attending was also positive. The goal of the rally - like everything I do with the Preacher Boys Podcast - is to try to shed light on abuse, give a voice to survivors, and spark helpful conversations. My reason for cancelling comes from that same place. While there are extremely valid arguments that need to be made, and discussions about NVBC and other fundamentalist institutions that need to be had, I don’t feel comfortable about this particular forum for a few reasons. 1. Context is a crucial element for productive conversations. I try to be very careful not to place myself or others in situations where words can be taken out of context, misconstrued, or ideas can be misrepresented. I do not feel comfortable with the fact that anyone could take a picture of the peaceful gathering and position it as a riot, bitter people screaming at NVBC attendees, or people who hate church on some vendetta. Not one of these things are true, and I don’t want to give people the chance to say that they are. 2. Optics matter. I have been accused of attacking the Church at large, as well as Christianity and local churches broadly. The reality is, I am a strong believer myself. As such, I unashamedly love my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and His Church. I'm thankful for the reality of the Gospel and the truth of God's Word. As I mentioned in the first point, I don't wish to give others the opportunity to say that this is a full-fledged attack on the Christian religion in it's entirety. Nor do I want to give the signal to pastors that I am going to show up on their sidewalk with a picket sign the minute there is a disagreement. There are people within North Valley Baptist Church and congregants and staff in churches like it who are reaching out for help and guidance, many on the brink of leaving and finding healthier ministries. I don’t want to put those good transitions in jeopardy by giving the vibe that we are exactly how we will be inevitably presented to be. I don’t want to confirm isn’t the minds of those in the congregation that my goal is to persecute the Church at large. My goal is to help good people get out of bad situations. 3. COVID restrictions. COVID rates are on the rise in California right now, and even many within my family have contracted the virus. I also recently lost someone due to the disease. I don’t want to put risk on anyone, and also, want to respect the current mandates and CDC recommendations. Conclusion I feel like the potential cons of this largely outweigh any potential positive. For the sake of the cause at large, I need to take precautions to be - for lack of a better term - above reproach. I still want to project the truth as loudly as possible, but I want to do it in a way that is defensible against scrutiny or misrepresentation. For that reason, I don’t feel comfortable attaching the protest to the Preacher Boys Podcast at this time. I know that there might be disagreement with me, but I truly feel this is the best decision.
By Eric Skwarczynski 17 Oct, 2020
In 2013, Jack Schaap, 62, pleaded guilty to taking a 16-year-old girl he was counseling at First Baptist across state lines for sex. Jack's guilty plea apparently wasn't enough to lose the favor of his devoted followers. 140 letters – written by family, staff, and parishioners – were submitted as exhibits to be reviewed by the judge as he carried out sentencing. They pleaded for lenient sentencing.
12 Oct, 2020
EDITOR'S NOTE: The information in this article was made available by Jonathan Grisham Burchfield, creator of Stop Pastoral Abuse. ( https://www.facebook.com/stoppingpastoralabuse ) TRIGGER WARNING: The following article contains descriptions as of sexual, and mental abuse toward minors, and one photographic piece of evidence of child abuse and neglect.
By Eric Skwarczynski 28 Sep, 2020
The following is a transcription of Part 3 of my interview with survivor Rachel Peach. If you'd prefer to watch, you can do so below:
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