This is a staff list for Anchor Academy in Vanduser, MO (Formerly in Havre, MT and prior to that another unknown location)*
(we are working to acquire the complete records for ALL years)
We advise current and/or former staff to report any abuses you may have witnessed while working at Anchor Academy. For information on your rights and how to take action, visit www.heal-online.org/blowthewhistle.htm. If you were fired or forced to resign because you opposed any illegal and/or unethical practices at Anchor Academy, you have the right to take action.
If you were harmed (family or survivor) by Anchor Academy, please contact info@heal-online.org if you remember the long-term employees and from which years. This will help! Also, if you recognize any of these staff as having worked at another program, please send in any information about their past or present employment at other facilities and/or cults.
Please don’t place your loved one in Anchor Academy and rescue them if they are there now.
|
Name |
Unit/Position |
Additional Information |
| Dennis McElwrath | Superintendent |
HEAL has submitted a request to the MO Dep't of Education regarding whether or
not Mr. McElwrath is a certified educator in the State of Missouri. We
received a reply from the MO Dep't of Education and they claim they cannot
verify whether or not McElwrath is a certified educator unless we can
provide his social security number. Mr. McElwrath can
contact HEAL directly to provide his Educator ID # or Social Security #
so we can verify his status, if he is licensed.
McElwrath is not a licensed mental health nor medical professional in
Missouri. Source:
https://renew.pr.mo.gov/licensee-search.asp
Eighteen young men and three adults spent their days and nights ginning cotton at the Vanduser Cotton Gin in Vanduser, Mo, for 10 weeks. Then, on Dec. 10, they headed back home to the Anchor Academy for Boys Camp in Havre, Mont. Taken from: Show Me Missouri Farm Bureau • January/February 2006 They require a minimum stay of one year. So, these are additional problems with the facility. Forced labor (wages not mentioned and where the wages are sent or if they are signed over to the program is also not mentioned in the article--this is what happens at most programs that farm out children as labor--the program profits, the kids don't) and a minimum stay of a year also point to this being an abusive program that exploits children and families for profit under the guise of religion and "treatment". Dennis McElwrath was formerly working at the confirmedly abusive and now closed Mountain Park Boarding Academy (a Roloff Home) "The years seem to fly by when you are in the ministry. In ten years the Anchor Academy has moved three times, ministered to over 400 young men most of whom trusted Christ for salvation, helped many parents, built numerous buildings, traveled in 45 states, Mexico, and Canada..." (From anchoracademymo.org/july09.html on September 19th, 2010) Concerns include that they relocate often and are associated with abusive and fraudulent programs like Mountain Park Boarding Academy (closed). Also, it is a concern that they travel and appear to be little more than a wealth-building traveling show for the few leaders of the program as opposed to providing a real solution to children and families. There were 8 youths in the "graduating" class of 2009 and it is highly unlikely that they have served anywhere near the 400 children they claim. In more recent documents they claim to have only taken on a handful of new "students", a total of 12 in the last year (since August, 2009) by our calculations based on the statements of their website claiming the numbers. (anchoracademymo.org Newsletter pages on September 19th, 2010). |
| Trevor Spencer | Pastor | HEAL has submitted a request to the MO Dep't of Education regarding whether or not Mr. Spencer is a certified educator in the State of Missouri. We will post the information upon receipt and appreciate your patience. Spencer is not a licensed mental health nor medical professional in Missouri. Source: https://renew.pr.mo.gov/licensee-search.asp |
| Abraham Ueland | Staff | HEAL has submitted a request to the MO Dep't of Education regarding whether or not Mr. Ueland is a certified educator in the State of Missouri. We will post the information upon receipt and appreciate your patience. Ueland is not a licensed mental health nor medical professional in Missouri. Source: https://renew.pr.mo.gov/licensee-search.asp |
| Lucas Chouinard | Staff | HEAL has submitted a request to the MO Dep't of Education regarding whether or not Mr. Chouinard is a certified educator in the State of Missouri. We will post the information upon receipt and appreciate your patience. Chouinard is not a licensed mental health nor medical professional in Missouri. Source: https://renew.pr.mo.gov/licensee-search.asp |
| Isaiah Ueland | Staff | HEAL has submitted a request to the MO Dep't of Education regarding whether or not Mr. Ueland is a certified educator in the State of Missouri. We will post the information upon receipt and appreciate your patience. Ueland is not a licensed mental health nor medical professional in Missouri. Source: https://renew.pr.mo.gov/licensee-search.asp |
| Josh Boals | Staff | Qualifications--"Graduate" of the program in 2003. HEAL has submitted a request to the MO Dep't of Education regarding whether or not Mr. Boals is a certified educator in the State of Missouri. We will post the information upon receipt and appreciate your patience. Boals is not a licensed mental health nor medical professional in Missouri. Source: https://renew.pr.mo.gov/licensee-search.asp |
| OTHER | OTHER |
This program is a Roloff Home...It
is on a list of affiliated programs that include:
Anchor Character Training Center(coed)
Calvary Boy’s Ranch, Boarding Academy, City of Refuge, Baptist Institute &
Seminary Joshua
Scott Boarding School (boys) Lighthouse
Children’s Home (girls)
Pearls of Promise Girls Academy
Reclamation Ranch (boys and girls12-17, young men 18-45)
Shenandoah Boys Ranch
Shining Light School for Boys
Victorious Valley Homes (coed)
William Seth Rochester Home for Children The Ark Youth Shelter (boys) |
*(Anchor Academy, like many other programs in this industry, keeps a "tight lid" on any specific information regarding their staff, qualifications, and practices. Please contact us with the names of any staff of which you have firsthand knowledge or experience. Thank you for your help.)
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