The Last Stop

Like Luluew I was in a similar program, at 13-16 I was in a "TC" were yelling ,screaming ,shaved heads for the boys, girls had to wear stocking caps, we were shoveling snow with a spoon I was super rebellious and got 'shot down alot" , i have to say I am so grateful this documentary came out and the light you guys shed on these "therapeutic communities". I never understood why after I was away at the young age of 13-16 when i left for the " real world " I was always so scared of being screamed at and life was very black and white I was either good or bad no in-between., I feel like pain shared is pain lessened and as crazy as that place was, my experience was both bad and good, and I have both horrible and great memories of that facility I was in. Elan was really out there on many levels!

God Bless all the brave amazing strong people seen in the doc. You guys made it through there you can do anything !

The Last Stop highlights some of the inadequacies and lack of appropriate resources for troubled teens with a primary focus on what was Elan' in Poland Springs, Maine. Elan', was a controversial residential behavioral modification program for teens which was eventually closed, largely through the outcries from alumni carried over the internet. I lived in Elan' from 1983-1986, I was 13 ½ when I entered the program and this was the first time I've seen the facility since then.

I really appreciated the way The Last Stop was shot with aerial views of the wooded area around the Elan' campus in Poland Springs and the long road which lead onto the property and views of the lake. I remember walking down that road to go to school etc. The pictures of the students working, video shot of rooms from inside the houses, signs/LE's and audio footage truly helped to capture the way it felt to be there, especially when the experience of being there was new and overwhelming. The colorful drawings were also very relate-able, eerie and emotional.

I remembered hearing "ghost stories," about Parsonfield and it was exciting to see the actual place the stories came from and to hear first-hand accounts from people who lived there. I didn't actually know it was a real place, 100%. Also, the way TJ captured what I would call sensory overload was from my perspective wonderfully accurate, validating, and an important tool to paint the picture for others of what it could feel like there day to day. It's easy to understand how for some, the anxiety from that level of confrontation and negativity may have contributed to PTSD.

I've watched the film several times over the past few days, once with my (adult) child and my boyfriend. The opening scene of someone "getting their feelings off," allowed me to point out to my daughter that what she was watching was what I had to do to her Grandparents, after not seeing them for over a year, to ensure I would be able to spend time with them. I've told her this story before but in experiencing it through the film, she was shocked and after a couple questions she was also speechless.

My boyfriend commented that the movie solidified the stories I have told him in a way that was more understandable for him and he appreciated the way Joe Ricci's history was elaborated on. He'd had no idea who he was. For me, it was my first opportunity to share my experience with people I care about, (or really anyone,) in a tangible way they could identify with. What a gift to be able to share it! I didn't know I would ever be able to do that.

I especially appreciated the authenticity in the way living at Elan' and the program was portrayed throughout the movie and the fact that it wasn't exaggerated nor understated, (based on my personal experiences) and focused on the experiences and stories of the people who were interviewed, along with history, which I found interesting.

The Last Stop seemed to fairly share multiple points of view. There are always many sides which make up a story. The first time I watched The Last Stop I noticed that I was very distracted by the hope that it would be a balanced and authentic take on the program so that I could respect it, and for me it was.

The film introduces us to a handful of people who were failed by their experience at Elan' in that the individual experiences they described seemingly did not propel most of them onto a more positive path, offer them peace of mind, clarity, a stronger more positive sense of self, or increased self-love. One way a successful psychotherapy practice could be described is patients come (in need) and leave (improved). The therapist becomes obsolete as the patient accomplishes what they need to and the environment as well as the one to one exchange is safe. I walk away from the film with a sense of sadness and compassion in this regard.

At one point while watching the film my daughter commented, "most of the pictures show kids smiling and it looks like they are happy and then I'm listening to what the people they are interviewing say and I'm wondering why they are smiling?"

I told her that living there WAS often scary and it was scary in multiple ways and at the same time, it wasn't only bad. Just like any other situation in life, it was what you made it moment by moment. I told her that for each thing I can think of which may have contributed to my life negatively I could also see how the same thing also created a positive take away, just like flipping a coin.

Thank you TJ Nilssen and each person who was a part of making and contributing to this film !! I deeply appreciate your dedication to completing this project.

The opening scene grabs you. You are never let go. The concept of Elan is an extremely difficult subject to communicate. I am very impressed with the way it was presented in The Last Stop. This film is wonderfully artistic and impeccably edited. The production as a whole is excellent. I think Director Todd Nilssen has real talent and I know we will be seeing more of his work in the future. I implore every one of you to watch this riveting documentary; it is just the tip of the iceberg. As a former Elan resident (1982-1983) it was extremely hard to watch. I can only imagine how hard this movie was to make by a former Elan Resident. It is a difficult story to tell, especially with the cult like language Elan used for programming. I was impressed with the way Todd was able to convey what a day in Elan was like. The animated parts were beautifully spliced into the film. Constant fear and anxiety was exposed to the audience in a very comprehensive manner. The interviews were brutally honest and although Tracy Hutchinson and I attended Elan a decade apart from each other the feelings and thoughts she expressed were exactly the same as mine. Life after Elan was a major adjustment. Many of my peers are dead. It would take hours to portray the horrific sadistic abuses I witnessed at Elan. I believe The Last Stop accomplished a certain amount of objectivity about Elan that I certainly would not have been able to achieve had I been creating the documentary. The Directors and staff at Elan honestly felt that they were helping us. "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." C.S. Lewis, Many of us tried to tell this story after leaving Elan; we felt the need to do something about the place. To see it closed. Nobody, (including myself pre Elan) could believe that Children were allowed to be so horribly abused under the guise of therapy. It was beyond cruel and unusual punishment. I still find it hard to believe Elan was allowed to operate unregulated for 40 years. I personally spent 10 of those years trying to close it down. When Elan finally closed their doors in 2011 it was a bittersweet moment because I realized just how huge the Troubled Teen Industry had grown over the decades. I felt the ending left something to be desired. I was left with an unresolved feeling of "now what?" Most documentaries in this genre are shown to motivate some type of change. I believe this was the intent of the film but it did not direct the viewer to any further course of action. The Troubled Teen Industry has expanded to out of control UNREGULATED proportions. This was touched upon several times throughout the documentary but in my opinion could have been expanded upon at the end of the film. The Last Stop is definitely a documentary you do not want to miss!

The Government Accountability Office investigated Residential treatment programs for teens and testified during the House Committee on Education and Labor on October 10th, 2007. After the G.A.O. Investigated Abuse in Residential Treatment Programs for Teens they needed a whole separate investigation into the Deceptive Marketing by Residential Programs for Teens. Both of these hearings can be watched on YouTube by searching Congressional "Hearing on Cases of Child Neglect and Abuse at Residential Treatment Facilities" and Congressional "Hearing on "Child Abuse and Deceptive Marketing by Residential Programs for Teens" Clips from these hearings are seamlessly woven into The Last Stop.

As mentioned in the documentary legislation to regulate the Troubled Teen Industry has passed the house several times and died in the Senate. Please help pass this legislation.

H.R.3024 - 115th Congress (2017-2018) Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2017

This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to require programs designed to modify behaviors of children in a residential environment (covered programs) to prohibit child abuse and neglect and meet other specified minimum standards. HHS shall: (1) Implement a review process for overseeing, investigating, and evaluating reports of child abuse and neglect at covered programs; and (2) Establish a process to assist states in the oversight and enforcement of this bill. HHS must refer any violation of minimum standards to the Department of Justice for appropriate action. The bill amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to establish additional eligibility requirements for grants to states to prevent child abuse and neglect at residential programs.

The text of the Original bill can be found at congress(dot)gov by searching "H.R.911 Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2009 111th Congress (2009-2010)

As someone who was sent away to a similar program I think everyone should watch this to educated in an attempt to put an end to the "troubled teen" industry.

Both shocking and enlightening, TJ Nilssen gives viewers both sides of the Élan story. Making the best of the desperate situation. Some students managed to gain valuable life lessons, friendship bonds and discipline despite the horrific experiences. Other's tried desperately and failed to escape the secluded rural school and were severely punished. Other's still capitulated and perpetuated abuse in order to survive.

The Last Stop is the most thorough visual documentation of the Élan School and the multi generational turmoil and mental scars saddled on the students left in it's wake. Witness shocking interviews, footage and first hand experiences of students and staff detailing the day to day, highly controversial "therapy" and rehabilitation techniques employed by both staff and students alike. Élan used systematic forms of divide & conquer, peer pressure, social engineering, public humiliation and forced indoctrination in order to create a self policing social environment were just another part of the 'curriculum' at Élan.

While the bad and worst aspects of human nature are shown to have been on full display at Élan. The Last Stop shows that the oppressive system couldn't completely squash the inherent good and positive aspects of humanity even at it's peak. From start to finish The Last Stop is a riveting experience that provides the viewer with closure where previous documentary attempts, and the actual shutdown of Élan, failed.