Welcome to the Code Adam podcast, hosted by yours truly, Julia Quinones. As a survivor of the 'Troubled Teen' industry, I know the horrors that come with being taken from your bed at 4 am by complete strangers and sent to a so-called "Therapeutic Boarding School". As a scared fourteen-year-old girl, I was stripped of my clothes and personal belongings, cut off from the outside world, and forced into silence.

We had to earn basic human necessities like a mattress, pillow, and even the privilege to speak or shower. I received food punishments, restraints, medical neglect, forced labor and psychological torture. If we tried to run, they would radio “Code Adam”, stopping everything on-site to search for us until found.

Unfortunately, our story is all too common. Many of us tried to run, some making it farther than others, but we all shared the trauma that comes from surviving Ironwood. That's why this podcast exists – to give us a safe space to share our experiences and break the silence surrounding the 'Troubled Teen' industry. Our first interviewee is by Wyatt Thurman, a former resident of Ironwood 2012. While our interviews may be funny, potentially therapeutic, and most likely triggering for survivors, our stories won’t be silence. #breakcodesilence.