Hey, my name is James “Krazy Koyote.”  I went to RedCliff when I was 17 years old. I’ve never taken the time to actually let the staff know how much it changed my life.  Now, five years later, I notice the impact it had on my life.

I admit that when I came home I was worse than before because I was mad. But you guys gave me the tools to deal with the messes I made for myself. I remember Doc Dan sooo well. I remember how we’d argue and I remember how he had this ability to make me see things without telling me.

I just want you guys to know that I’m doing well now. I got in a motorcycle accident last year and almost was killed a few times. If I hadn’t gone to RCA I think the way I handled those life changing experiences would have been a lot differently.

Now I’m enrolled in college and working on becoming an X-ray tech.  I don’t give RCA the credit, but I do hold them responsible for giving me the tools to strengthen myself as an individual and make myself a strong man. I no longer look to other people for help or blame other people for the things that have happened to me. I accept responsibility for my actions, then I change myself for the better.  

Unless you have been there and slept under the stars with your child in the desert of Utah, it is difficult to explain the harmony and trust that RedCliff works so well to accomplish.

Chris graduated from Bryant University in Rhode Island this past Saturday. He graduated with a BS in Computer Science Informations with a minor in statistics.  Bryant was rated as one of the top 20 universities in the US by USNewsandWorld Reports.  WOW!!
He missed graduating “cum laude” by .1 of a point - but that is fine.  He worked hard, finally found his balance and soared.  He reflects on his “highschool years” as a time in his life when he was not yet ready to move ahead at all. He was just comfortable having a “good time” and just moving through school as an average student.  His guidance counselor for years insisted to me that Chris was bright but was not yet ready to “spread his wings”.  In hindsight, she was right.

He continues to do this “annual camping event” each Summer with his fellow college friends.  And I have to constantly remind myself to “bite my tongue” when I ask and remind him if he has “everything he needs for camping”. He compares camping in Maine each Summer as the “Ritz-Carlton” compared with RedCliff - I can understand that!!
 
You will always be such a special person in our lives……………
 

Fondly, Gail

Right now I am enrolled in a teaching credential program here in CA.  I am teaching 6th grade and will be in an elementary school for the fall.  I have been married to my husband for 3 years in June (together for 10!) and we are trying to have a baby!
My family situation is wonderful.  We have a much healthier and loving relationship than we did while I attended Red Cliff.  And now that I’m looking to start my own family, I have a new understanding of what they went through with me.
I still have all of my Red Cliff journals (3 since I was out there so long.  I was told I set the record at the time…)  and my puaka.  As you can see from my e-mail address, I cherish my Indian name to this day and it has become a huge part of my identity.  After many abusive and unhealthy programs that I attended, I really felt that I was listened to by some of the staff at Red Cliff.  I was never asked to do anything unreasonable or dangerous, and was never mistreated, unlike the other programs I attended.  I know it’s a long shot, but are there any staff still there after
13 years?
 
Sincerely,
Kerry

Doc. Dan and Staff, 

Jordan has been accepted to the University of Colorado at Boulder and will attend in the Fall of ’08.  Without the Red Cliff Ascent Program and Staff none of this would be possible.  When everyone else walked away RCA stepped up and said we will help Jordan help himself.  Today, Jordan is clean and sober, works 40 hours a week, attends community college as a full-time student, maintains a 4.0 GPA, works out every day and does MuTai combat training.  He even makes time for the girls on occasion.  His RCA gear is in his closet and it still has the faint smell of smoke from the fires he started to warm his food.  I think of you folks often, and have recommended the program to many. 

Thank you all for saving my son’s life.  Mike C.

Dan Bigelow could hear his friends talking about what to do with his body. He’d collapsed at a friend’s house after a drug overdose. One person wanted to throw him in a ditch. Another argued they should call an ambulance. Fortunately for Dan…

http://www.redcliffascent.com/newsletter/da/DAemail03_21_08.html

This is a video of an actual conversation with parents whose sons are struggling with sexual behavior problems. For families that find themselves in this same situation, it’s important to know that…you’re not alone.

http://riversled.blogs.experienceproject.com/33290.html

I fondly recall a conversation I had in the car with an Educational Consultant as we were visiting treatment programs for troubled…

http://riversled.blogs.experienceproject.com/32931.html

Hey everyone,

This is a very touching letter sent to Darrell at RedCliff Ascent. I have changed the names to be sensitive to the privacy of this family.

http://www.experienceproject.com/uw.php?e=177191