Parent Testimonials

Venture Academy saved our child’s life.

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Comprehensive program, professional staff, caring host parents. Venture Academy saved our daughter’s life. We went from a dysfunctional family into a loving and empowered family, equipped with the tools necessary to adapt to whatever challenges come our way. We appreciate the ongoing support from the staff at Venture Academy. Venture Academy saved our family and our daughter’s life. We are very grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this excellent program. The host parents are so caring and empathetic. They are amazing people and helped our daughter transition into becoming part of a family and open to trusting others. 

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Needs to be put in every school. Venture Academy achieved what as parents we were unable to- structure, consistency, self-awareness, accountability. Astounding the level of support and hope that is given by staff (The Executive Director) HP an excellent wrap around support and hopes that our child truly understands and appreciates how this program has changed his course. 

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The program is thorough, safe and all encompassing.

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I’m very glad that we found Venture, as we were losing our son and Venture helped him to get better. The highlights have been his control of emotions, anger, improved communication and dialogue. They are now ready, and our child is getting ready to reunite and that was not something we could see months ago. 

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Venture Academy was our lifesaver for our Family. 

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It has been life changing and life altering. Our family was saved, and our child’s life will never be the same. The word healing comes to mind, emotionally, physically and as a family unit. There has been strengthening of family relationships and trust. Building healthy skills to help navigate in life. Our hopes are that our family can re-establish itself in a new way of connecting- communicating. 

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This place gave me hope when I had none.  I will be eternally grateful for what has transpired her.  My relationship with my child has a solid foundation for the first time in 5+ years.  

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Venture Academy Has changed my son’s life. He feels confident now and can express himself.  our Family had a lot of trauma and we were truly honored in the process at Venture Academy. Venture Academy has shown consistency with staying with their game plan working with our child 

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They saved my child’s life. It has given us as parents time to get ourselves together while she is in a safe place and getting help. There are no services available in our community. She was not safe at home. Venture Academy has helped our whole family.  new ways to set boundaries and improve my parenting. We have a chance at things being so different going forward. 

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We have already recommended 2 other families. Venture changes and gives life to people and families. Venture is a very collaborative process. We have received a lot of support and guidance. We are very happy with everything so far, the support is outstanding. 

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Venture Academy really works hard to find ways to reach the kids. Venture Academy isn’t afraid to get creative. I am tremendously happy with the program. our child is stuck at the moment, so it is frustrating, but that doesn’t mean I am unhappy. 

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It was our last resort and Venture Academy saved our Child. As a family, they have been able to regroup at home and reconnect as a family. We are able to recognize now that they did not have the tools to help at the time. Now they both have a set of skills to help one another. 

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Venture saved our family. We value greatly the guidance and coaching we received as parents.  our relationship is now one of mutual respect. Thank-you Venture.

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We hate to think of what could have happened with our child had she not come to Venture Academy. She would have never accepted that her struggles were her own and not due to parental rules. She really trusts the staff and their input. our hopes are that our Child will accept the rules and expectations in coming home, recognizing the struggles she has had in the past. There is hope she can be integral with us and with herself. We hope we can learn to work together and that The Team lead will not feel a need to revert to defensiveness. 

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We are unable to express our deep gratitude for your program that literally saved her life.

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When I had nowhere else to turn, Venture Academy was there for me. I don’t know where our Child would be if Venture Academy wasn’t there for us. Better relationship with child. Genuine change in family relationships. Updates have been helpful and informative- shift in the type of updates (more positive than negative). Hoping for a smooth transition home. Hopes to regain trust and more peace wherever our Child is. Mom’s hope is that she continues moving forward. 

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I strongly believe that Venture Academy saved my son’s life (mentally, physically) …. Literally. Venture Academy has given our child the greatest chance of succeeding with the rest of his life. Something as a family seemed unobtainable, at least through us alone. It took our child one year and five months to complete his journey at Venture that was most memorable. I was asked to come to Venture and be a part of a meeting between The Executive Director, our child and myself. It was a type of meeting that one might categorize as an intervention of sorts. Since it has been a while since we three had one of these meetings I couldn’t help but observe. Even though our child was very much still resistant to what was being said I couldn’t help but notice that his body language was different. Again, he didn’t necessarily Agree with the content of our conversation, but our child was far less squirmy, far less crawling out of his skin, but rather calmer, more relaxed and more accepting to listen to what was being said. That alone in my eyes was a tremendous step forward. A definite positive. After the meeting our child and I went to lunch together. During that lunch I told our child that story in the very end was a humorous story that ended up being about myself. our child broke into an almost over the top and unexpected laughter. As he stated, “OMG I never saw that coming” It was possibly the first real laugh he had allowed himself in many months. That entire day seemed to be such a pivotal day. A day I believed led us to today. A significant highlight going forward is that our child successfully completed his final 4 years of high school. He took 6 courses in the ILC program which is possibly one of the most difficult methods of learning but gives him a leg up once he gets to college and no teacher is there holding his hand as well. Going forward I feel confident of the possibilities that our child has a healthy and successful life and I am optimistically hopeful for his future. Thank you to the Executive Director… Thank you to Venture Academy. 

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Good Program. Brought our family back together, it’s like we are now back in the same bubble. Our Child is having much more confidence in himself and his successes, which we haven’t see for a very long time. 

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Venture provided consistent structure. Our Child has had a bit of an enlightenment and working at how to better manage her struggles. 

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Flexible and Approachable. Always able to listen and respond when we are needing something/extra support. Always accommodation our needs. our Child and I are more responsive than reactive. Overall communication is great. Weekly calls have been great and accommodating our needs and focus on family as a program. Hopes: relationship will get close to what it was, deeper relationship. That our Child is able to see the bigger picture, to feel that she belongs and can contribute. 

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Venture is a “Godsend”. We love the HP model.
We feel that it really helps our daughter thrive and it is a safer place to go after the day of programming. our Child has found a safe place to work through her traumas. our communication and trust is beginning to grow> We would recommend Venture Academy to others. 

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I find staff are good at what they do, both with our Child and with us.

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Venture is very patient and clear about what needs to happen and providing care for the whole family 

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“Venture saved our son’s life” He demonstrates empathy on a regular basis.  Our child cooperates in school and home.  Our child often speaks of his time at Venture.

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My child no longer harms herself.  My child learned how to deal with the disappointments of her bio mother.  

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So grateful- you saved our family!

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Thank you is not enough. You have saved our family. We have our daughter back stronger and healthier and more positive than ever. We have learned tons- about how to effectively and positively communicate with our daughter. The turning point -when our daughter turned 18 she had been at Venture for 4 1/2 months and she knew she could make the choice to leave but she stayed. We knew at that point that our child was fully committed and engaged. She was on board with her wellness journey and committed to her goals. our child’s HP was excellent. From the get-go with stretching her eating habits and also with overcoming hurdles of integrity. Any and all staff that my husband and I interacted with- The Executive Director, The Receptionist, Admin Assistant- were amazing. Fully engaged with us and our journey. What a year this has been – Thank you! 

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I’d hate for people to not come to Venture Academy because of what they learned in the news. It is absolutely worth trying it for your child. Maybe even an earlier intervention than you would think. 

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Venture has been instrumental in keeping our Child safe. 

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Although our child has continued to struggle with some of the same challenging behaviours, she has experienced longer periods of stability at Venture Academy. She received great support in those difficult times as well. 

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This was exactly what we needed. When we needed it was not a difficult process to get help. 

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Our Child is in a safe place and being kept from getting into serious trouble. If he wasn’t at Venture Academy he would likely be in jail. 

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I wish Venture Academy was closer to home.

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We could not have done it without your help! 

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We receive much support, patience and guidance from Venture Academy. 

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Very thorough weekly reports. Very detailed safety plans, detailed plan. Very great people, obviously care very deeply for the youth and our Child really appreciated how the circle is closed and supported around him. 

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I like your consistent behavioural approach.

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Thankful that Venture Academy was there as there are no other choices. 

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Venture Academy is very thorough at everything they do.

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Venture Academy really knows what the kids are up to and adapt to differences. 

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Venture Academy really connects with the kids and really do foster teamwork. 

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We aren’t in absolute turmoil and destructive state, that doesn’t exist anymore. 

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Venture has had a huge positive impact on our family.

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Venture Academy was able to give us an opportunity to help our son, a last-ditch effort. He was accepted so quickly into Venture Academy. Contacted Venture Academy Wednesday and admission was Friday. 

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Venture Academy is thorough; the process definitely works. Happy with the outcome so far. 

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The program is very involved. Some parents would find engagement difficult. I would love a Parent Support Group. 

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Venture provides a safe place for our son to reset and understand his grief.
The support and coaching is helpful. 

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Right from the beginning Venture Academy was on our side. I’m glad that they exist. Not much for options. We didn’t know until we researched. Wish more widely available. Liked that Venture Academy takes a teaching role with parents. 

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A dedicated team of workers/professional people that like what they do. “Successful”
This experience has been life changing for our whole family.  our greatest take away is that we never stop this process and grow as individuals and as a family.    Venture also saved our marriage!

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I appreciate that Venture Academy got to the root of the matter.  They were not just working on behaviour; they tried to get to the source of the issues.  It opened his eyes (and ours) to a lot of things.  

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The biggest thing was getting my child back.  And helping my child learn from the past experience.  I’m also grateful that our Child is grateful for Venture Academy.

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I think Venture saved his life “I will continue to promote Venture”

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Venture Academy is thorough; the process definitely works.  

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We deeply appreciate that Venture Doesn’t give up on our child.  We receive incredible support and coaching.  We are so grateful for all Venture does.  They are professional and kind and patient.  They are life savers.

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Venture provides amazing wrap around care and parent support. There is great value in the program size as it creates an intensity for the youth to do their required work.

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You saved my daughter and gave us hope when we didn’t know we had any. 

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Venture Academy has been supporting our son in their progress.  The program is working.  Family has benefited positively and helping family’s overall wellbeing.  

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Venture is a very safe supportive program for both child and parent. I appreciate the coaching to become more assertive and hold clear boundaries 

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Venture provides a safe, nurturing environment for our child to work on her issues.  

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Great support to our family. Family sessions were really helpful!

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Venture Academy focused on our son’s mental health and wellness.  Venture Academy offers a well-rounded approach.  Venture Academy has improved family’s ability to communicate in a successful manner.  Has redefined what a healthy family looks like. 

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Our Child is in a safe environment where she is not making poor decisions and engaging in risky behaviours as she was before Venture Academy.

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Venture Academy team continues to support our child in positive ways.  our child is learning life skills, better communication, hearing positives and celebrating small wins.

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We feel that having family therapy has been good for us as a family and our Child has been more open to making genuine changes in her life.  Better communication as a family. 

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Venture Academy provides consistent care and supervision. The staff are very patient and forgiving (being able to move away with no grudges for her violent incident towards them).

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Venture is very supportive in every way.  We were very nervous at first, however, Venture really understands and has great communication with us.

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Venture has been really supportive, and I value the teams recommendations and care that has been provided to our Child and myself. 

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Venture is very concise in their reports, thorough in their work with our son. 

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What I appreciate about Venture Academy is the well-rounded approach. They brought peace and optimism into the home.

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Great efforts to improve children’s mental health.  Brought family closer together with more truth and honesty. We hope we can keep respect, honesty and connectedness.

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Venture Academy allows our child to be safety while going through something really hard in her social life, emotional life, and family life.

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Very thorough in their practices.  The Executive Director has been a “rock” and instrumental in helping ground us as parents as we work through all the “discoveries” of our Child behaviours and actions prior to enrolment. We receive excellent support (and hard) coaching.  The program sure knows what its doing.  We appreciate all the work of the team.

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Unbelievable – so impressed with the changes already from the work we have done with our Child.  We have all benefited greatly. Mom still has much work to do; however the differences we see in our Child and others see is like night and day from when we brought him.

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Venture Academy has turned our family life around for the better. We have become more open and honest.  We have learned effective communication.  Our Child is a lot more open to feedback. 

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Remain consistent and deeply caring about us.  Communication is one of the biggest barriers in our relationship as our child master’s manipulation .  I have received a lot of coaching about active listening.  It is appreciated.

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We are able to have a normal family life again. We are able to have a positive relationship with my child. We feel like we are more involved with our child’s life.

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Saved our family. Everything is just so much better. We can talk to each other. We have open communication.

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I have better communication with my child and my child was able to express herself.

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Venture Academy was willing to provide support for our family when we needed it the most and continued to support us as needed!  Our Child has learned to regulate his emotions and deal with his anger.  Venture Academy is helping our Child work on his self-identity. As a family, we are able to communicate with each other – to talk about things rather than fight about it.  Improving with his academics. 

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Venture Academy helped my son to stabilize and get better and allowed our family to heal and rebuild.

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We saw progress in our Child and her wellbeing. 

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We are unsure of where we would be if Venture did not take us under their care. Venture has been a life saver. The patience and “stick to itness” from Venture is very confident building in the changes that need to occur in our Child. 

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Venture Academy has shown consistency with staying with their game plan working with our child.  Venture Academy stepped in when the family has not had the ability at the time to support our child. Venture has helped provide guidance & support. Venture has helped save our child’s life by helping him stop using/ abusing drugs. 

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We hate to think what could have happened with our child had she not come to Venture Academy. 

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Venture has saved our family. our child being at Venture has allowed us to clearly see how far we had gone as a functioning family. We appreciate the support and guidance as parents to be compassionate to ourselves. We have come so far.

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” I love it”, just thrilled and want this to sustain all of us. We have benefited significantly from Venture. 

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We have developed stronger family relationships. 

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Good support in times of crisis. 

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Venture Academy is impressive in how they deal with difficult kids like my son. 

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It has given me hope for a situation of which they had none. 

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The benefits for my child are that he has been given the possibility of having a successful life. 

Venture Academy staff have great perseverance and clear communication.

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We have received much support and guidance from The Executive Director on how to communicate clearly. 

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They take a family approach to solving problems. 

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Venture is thorough and detail oriented.  We see positive change in our son.

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Venture is thorough in their treatment process I have learned to practice tighter boundaries with our child.  This time apart has helped me heal from the traumatic event.  I feel supported by the staff.

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very safe, supportive for any teen and families struggling.  Great program to help your child move to a safe place, to work together as a family.

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Venture helps the whole family by assisting parents to recognize their patterns of behavior.  

Venture Academy is highly consistent & supportive.  

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Venture Academy has improved self-esteem & attitude and our relationship. Our child has learned a lot and certainly has improved his academic performance 100%. 

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Very detail oriented, deeply caring.  We appreciate the updates and coaching as parents.  This is a very complex case history and family dynamics.

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Very clear and super supportive. 

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Venture is a tower of support and strength. Venture supports the whole family functioning with current family disarray Venture provides amazing support and counsel our daughter.

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Venture is the best thing that has happened to our family.

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We are so grateful for Venture Academy and see tremendous growth in her.  Venture is like no other, the support, guidance and extraordinary patience is remarkable.

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Very clear, persistent in care of our son.  We have all benefited so far. 

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Venture is very thorough in their approach to each individual.  As a parent that experiences traumatic events by child, I have been highly supported.  Addressing this was done in a thoughtful, non-shaming way with our child. This is an excellent wrap around care program.

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LIFESAVER! It has been crucial for our family, both our child and parents.

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Patient, Persistent towards helping youth meeting the wellness goals. I’ve learned “a hell of a lot” about my child and what was happening. 

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Life Changing
Family is now a functioning family from what Venture has taught Isabelle, myself and family. Rationality has returned. New parenting skills have been applied to children at home. 

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Venture has patience like no other.

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As parents we have received a large amount of parental support and ways of communicating in a healthy way with our child.

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Our experience has been life changing for us and for our daughter.
We have learned an abundance of skills that are valuable and will help our family for years. We can now move forward and be a family. Before we were just surviving and now we are living. 

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Determination, persistent, kind, and caring. Venture has challenged me as a parent to look deeper in myself and give me a different outlook on my son. 

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Venture helped our child to truly value herself and how to maintain herself through adversity.

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Very happy overall.

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 Our child expresses frequently how much he misses everyone at Venture and has occasional calls into The Executive Director at his request which seems to help boost his mood.

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 We are grateful.

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We are so grateful to the Venture team.  

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Venture supported us through a challenging time.  Transition was under unique circumstances and has not been easy but improving day by day.    I am very appreciative of Venture Academy’s ongoing support.

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Significant difference now vs. pre-Venture.

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Overall, Venture Academy support was positive.  

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Venture helped our whole family.  I needed much support and coaching to help move forward with our daughter.

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Mental Health needs were respected and supported. I would recommend Venture Academy. 

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our relationship is much improved in trust and friendliness. She accepts my parental authority now and expresses herself clearly. Thank you! 

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We are both grateful for Venture Academy. He is also remorseful of his behaviours at the end of Venture. 

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Venture is a life saver. We got our daughter back! It was a bit of a bumpy transition initially, however a call with The Executive Director brought our panic down and we were able to remain present and connected with our child. We are eternally grateful, our child is back to having clear goals for her future and working hard toward them. 

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Our child herself reports extreme gratitude for Venture as she contributes this to her ability to remain healthy. 

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Our son is not as reactive as he was pre. Venture Academy he is calmer in situations. more tempered, more maturing. more focused on relationships that he used to be. 

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We are so grateful for the work that Venture did with our child and us as parents. 

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A big part of our child’s time at Venture Academy was her Host Family. Our child is in communication with them still. She speaks glowingly of them. Our child has been asking to visit AB campus. She wants to see people from Venture Academy and wants to stay connected. 

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Venture Academy got him pointed in the right direction and for that I am thankful. 

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Venture staff demonstrated a level of patience I have not seen before, the parental support of maintaining hope was outstanding. I am able to see a bright future for my son. 

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I do feel forever indebted to all of you.

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Venture Academy saved our family.

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Thanks for all the coaching and parental support throughout his stay at Venture Academy.

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Venture Academy taught us as parents how to communicate differently with our son. Venture Academy taught me to advocate for our son.  Venture Academy was the first place to give us an understanding of our son’s struggles and listen to us as parents.  Venture Academy gave our son back to us during the time he was at Venture Academy. He was happy and safe at Venture Academy.  Venture Academy did a wonderful job compared to what other programs are doing.

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Our child is doing so well.  Our relationship has grown.  Dad has really stepped up and has really taken part in parenting.

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Thanks for the kick start!

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Our child is a different person.  Responsible, academics are important to her.  our child worked very well with the adoption agency and was a “trooper” throughout whole process.  Thank-you for your work with our child.

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Program is good but child needs to be in program long enough.  Program “saved our bacon”

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Eternally grateful to Venture Academy.

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Thank you!  I have my son back better than ever.  He is excelling in school.  He is excelling in CrossFit.  He is patient and kind with his siblings.  He is able to deal with his Mom, which is not easy.  Amazing!

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Overall, there is a huge improvement in her life functioning.

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Our child is a different person that we dropped off.  He is in college and is doing well.

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Understanding and obtaining an autism diagnosis was really helpful. 

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Our child states that she is very grateful for her time at Venture Academy. She is much more independent, attends school, is gaining trust with parents and has no desire to use drugs now. 

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Our whole family benefitted from this program. We have our child back and we are grateful.

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Our family is much stronger now, we are forever grateful to Venture Academy.

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We have our son back!

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We learned to communicate better. Oh my, it’s so much better! 

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We are so grateful to all the Staff at Venture Academy. our child is mature and grounded now.

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It was a gradual process for our child. Things really turned around when I became less co-dependent in behaviours.

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 Our child’s autism diagnosis was significant in his time at Venture Academy. This helps us as parents adjust our thinking. Instead of thinking that our son is unreasonable, inflexible and defiant we can now see it from a disability perspective. 

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The whole team is wonderful and treated our family with such kindness and respect.

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Venture Academy showed our child and the family how to respect and listen to one another during conflict. Thank you, Venture.

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I am very grateful for the program and the family help.

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We are happier than we have ever been!! I couldn’t be any more pleased with the job you guys did with our child, he is such a different kid!

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Absolutely amazing program. our son came home a different boy. So grateful we got our boy back. We still have minor conflicts however we now have the skills to handle them properly.

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Our child has gained so much confidence while at Venture Academy. He got back on track at school and graduated. He is self-confident well-grounded goal orientated young man now. 

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Thank you, Venture Academy,

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We learned so much as parents about our child and how to be a better parent.

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I couldn’t be happier. We have our family life back. I can finally enjoy our child again. 

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Our child misses Venture Academy. She says we “got her”, not like at her school. But loves being home.  

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Thank you, Venture Academy, 

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Our son learned he is able to achieve in school. He has learned many ways to thrive at life. Thanks for working with our son

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We can’t say enough about how grateful we are to Venture Academy team for helping our family. 

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We are happy with what we learned at Venture Academy just wish we could have kept her there longer.  

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We were overall very pleased with the services from Venture Academy. Our child continues to respect new boundaries and has higher self-confidence and motivation to be independent young adult.

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Our son stated on New Years Day to all extended family that the best thing that happened to him last year was attending Venture.

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It was so amazing that we found Venture Academy. 

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We couldn’t be happier with the program. our child has grown into a wonderful young woman with the support of Venture Academy. 

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As parents we learned so much from the team we thank all of you from the bottom of our heart.  

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We are very proud of our child and grateful for Venture.

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We continue to be thankful for the time spent with Venture Academy and the care that was provided to not only our child, but to our whole family unit. 

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We are so thankful for the time spent at Venture and for everything that the team has done for our family and for our child. We don’t know where we would be and our child talks about how Venture saved his life often. Our child also asks to visit often and wants to come talk to other clients!

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The whole group is committed to our family. Very caring bunch of individuals. The Parent Coach- totally patient and kind. She has taught me to be more attentive (intentional) with my daughter. The Parent Coach is a tremendous support. The whole team is wonderful. The therapist (The Clinical Therapist) kept working with my daughter to get her to a place where she wasn’t resistant to even attending a session. Bravo! Venture Academy is saving our family. Hope that funding could be extended for a longer stay. 

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Venture saved our daughter, she now says this herself.

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We remain eternally grateful for Venture.  The parental support is outstanding.  The care, guidance and kindness to our child really helped her find her value.

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Venture saved my daughter’s life! 

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Our daughter had said to me: “Mom, If I ever go back to where I was please take me back to Venture Academy”  

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We are so grateful. 

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Venture helped our child reset and work through issues that were interfering with his healthy lifestyle. 

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We remain grateful for Venture and staff, especially The Executive Director’s continued support that we have required on occasion. 

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We remain so grateful for Venture. The Executive Director was our rock and taught us how to parent effectively with such challenges. 

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We will say it again “Venture saved our daughters life”. 

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We are eternally grateful to Venture.  This program not only helped our son so much that he will be the engineer he wishes to be, but our whole family.

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Venture Academy really saved our daughter.  She was spiraling out of control with no hope of saving her.  Amazing turnaround It’s been a fantastic relationship that has completely turned around our daughter.  The various work sessions in individual and group therapy helped her understand the rationality for her past actions.  The skills she has learned have made a huge difference in how she sees herself and others.  We hope and anticipate she has the skills and self-worth to be successful in the outside world despite all the social media impacts that affect youth these days. She’s also developed great daily habits she never had before. Bedtime, reading, chores, etc.

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My son would not be the positive mature person he is today without the help of Venture Academy.  The program is exactly what he needed.  My son was going down a very dark path with no future, no goals.  Drugs, alcohol and low self-esteem.  With all of Venture’s help, he has completely changed and has goals, has completed his Grade 10 (wasn’t going to school at all since grade 8) He is so proud of himself and finally sees his worth.  I can’t say enough about this program.  It truly has saved his life.  Now he can go back home and do all the things a 16-year-old does!  he can finally enjoy being a teenager. He has totally embodied all the lessons, therapy, and coaching that Venture has taught him.

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The staff were so wonderful, understanding, knowledgeable, supportive and all around amazing. I cannot express my gratitude enough!  Therapy for my child & my family – the professionals were fabulous & extremely helpful & educational. The support of my child & progress is beyond what I thought could have been achieved. My hopes are to keep my child on the same routine, structure & therapeutic assistance.

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The team is consistent in supporting our child.  To continue strengthening our relationship, learned to communicate, our child to be able to move past her addiction phase, To remain committed to academics, to continue to nurture the beautiful talented girl she is.

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Thank you for believing in our son and showing him support.  There has been noticeable change in communication between our son and us. We have noticed he has been doing the work and applying it every time we would get a call with him.  We can also see that he is making progress on academics.  Our son has shown traits of maturity and awareness.  We are very proud of him and have much gratitude for everyone at Venture Academy.

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Responded with a timely matter in our time of need. Communication was open and honest.

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I saw a big change in my son emotionally and physically and mentally.  

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I appreciate the open dialogue we had and the openness to the concerns of early departure.  I believe there is a more structured understanding of what is needed in our child’s return.  I am also glad we have better communication between our child and her mother. I look forward to our child and I continuing to improve our relationship as the teenager years begin. I hope that our child continues to grow as a person and learns to open up with both personal feelings and communications to my wife and myself. Sincerely, I appreciate everything that was started her at Venture.

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Extraordinary support, highly dedicated and knowledgeable.  

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The program has been very supportive.  The family has seen a lot of progress with coming together to have healthier relationships. Looking forward to moving forward with everything we as parents and our child has learned.

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The structure has been excellent as we were not successful at implementing it.  

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The staff was very supportive and communicated well with parents. We appreciate everything they’ve done for our family.  We got our old daughter back.  She was lost and having a difficult time and Venture helped re-direct her way of thinking to a more positive outlook.  Thank you for strengthening our family!

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Worth every penny and more, the learning and demonstrated behavioral changes are golden and have turned our family towards a positive future. We have learned how our son struggles with authority and executive functioning and how we have contributed to his challenges. As a whole, our family has worked through the dialogue process, which was crunchy at times , but now forms a solid basis for us to better understand each other & work towards positive outcomes.  We are so proud of all the work he has done to face and surmount some epic challenges and are so very grateful for the wonderful, compassionate, caring guidance of the Venture team. With the help of the aftercare program, we hope to carry this on to further support our son becoming the bright capable caring young man he was meant to be.   

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Patience & steady approach to guiding students to personal success really works like in our child! A transformative experience.  Bringing our child out of the depths of despair and destruction restored sanity for the whole family.  In place of this, respect, health, recovery tools, integrity, academic success and base behaviour to refer to if difficult times arise.  Every person involved in the Venture Academy team possesses a wonderful depth of compassion and vision of the mission to respire the youth’s core goodness.  Host families/parents provide an honorable space in our child’s life, thank you! Education success, fitness and balance provided by program staff is nothing short of miraculous!

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Thank you. You turned our child from a broken teenager to a more stable confident one.  I cannot thank you enough.  Before Venture I was desperate. I really thought about giving our child away to a foster family or letting her live on streets.  Today, 6 months after our child’s therapy with Venture, I’m happy and excited again about our child’s future.

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Venture Academy not only takes a child & works with them, they help give a “birds eye” view of where they are.  Got a chance to step back and relax as the child was in a safe environment.  The parent support was very helpful.  It gave me(mom) a chance to work on myself.  our child did some of her work and got health under control.  The whole family feels better and hopeful for their sister.

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We are truly grateful we found Venture Academy to help our child with her struggles.  We will recommend Venture to anyone struggling with their children.  Weekly meeting with The Clinical Therapist and knowing her progress, our child being able to express her emotions and how she is feeling, the fact that she is concerned about continuing the changes she has made at home.  There has been an increase in motivation to succeed.

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Thank you. You’ve made a huge difference in our son’s life. He found a place to build esteem, learn boundaries, and respect the boundaries of others.  He has begun to develop empathy, and he can manage himself in so many situations that were guaranteed to see him acting out.

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I think our daughter has benefitted from the structure, routine and working on herself while at Venture Academy.  It was beneficial to have the assessment done.  To have our child work on herself and coping mechanisms.  I hope that our child will continue using what she learned here and building on it so she knows she can do it.

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Thankfully, feel like I got my baby back. 

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Very thorough & detailed oriented.  Developed mentally in a positive way.  Our relationship has improved.  our communication has become much more respectful.  Venture knows what they are doing with regards to youth and family and parent coaching.

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There is a lot more parental support than I would have expected.  It has done wonderfully at communication.  Our son has clearly detoxed successfully, and my hope is that he has learned tools to stay sober.  I am grateful that the staff was welcoming enough that our son could open up easily to receive help.

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I would like to say that Venture Academy is an absolute God Send, highly recommend.  Yes my child and family benefited from Venture Academy.  I am very happy to see our boy stabilized.

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Venture Academy gave our family the opportunity to have space and come back together stronger.  our family benefitted by being given the opportunity to grow together.  We were able to have time to implement a plan that will be successful and allow us to grow together.  I hope we can maintain progress and give the support to our son that venture has implemented.  I have nothing but wonderful things to say about the venture staff. that stepped up and took care of my son when we needed help.

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Choosing Venture as an alternative treatment program was met with many mixed emotions & feelings but throughout the process the staff and team worked with us and made the experience more manageable.  Overall, we as a family have shifted towards wellness and being happy together and spending good quality time.  our daughter’s healing process with self-esteem, early life trauma, social anxiety disorder, separation anxiety, addiction has taken major strides, and she knows this will be a lifelong journey.  As parents we are always worried about our children and with our child, we are hoping the teachings and tools will give her what she needs to function as an adult and to rebuild the connection with her sister, and as parents we only wish for what’s best for our children.

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Caring-every child comes with a story.  A journey that has lead them to Venture.  The staff care for each person.  Listening & supporting them through their journey. And providing a safe place to grow and heal.  Thank-you to Venture – patience, times, energy. Blessings to you.

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We have reconnected and are experiencing positive family interactions, something we haven’t seen in several years.  We are now having honest and trusting communication thanks to the dialogue process.   

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 Ventures approaches and methodology really works at reconnecting teens and their parents.  Improving family interactions, reducing teen angst.  Providing a structure that promotes self-responsibility.  

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The approach and methodology in this type of service program should be standardized and made accessible to all = funded by the Ministry without compromising its integrity. 

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Venture Academy has a wonderful program.  The staff are amazing, and I feel our son was well taken care of. 

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Professional atmosphere and approach to the needs of our child.  Venture helped break through our child’s walls, helped show her the benefits of opening up and talking about emotions & life.

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What an amazing, loving, supportive, professional academy. Venture has been very supportive in supporting the growth of all aspects in helping in the growth of our child and our family. I had total faith in the staff and their amazing communication.  We knew how important everyone a Venture was to our daughter when she was on her home visit and referred to the staff as her Venture family.

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Venture hands on and intensive approach has reset the foundational skills for the rest of our family’s life.  We will be forever grateful for everything we’ve learned from Venture.  Venture has helped our family to learn and apply strategies to improve our dynamic.  We have learned how to proactively work towards solutions, rather than things building up and “boiling over”  

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We felt supported throughout our daughter’s stay.  Weekly explanations of our child’s progress helped us to relate to our daughter’s actions over the past 2 years.  The time at Venture Academy allowed both our daughter and us reset to a time before drugs & phone addiction.  As parents there is no manual for raising children, the weekly calls helped us understand parenting styles which work and those which may not.

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Every staff member we met or spoke to were very supportive and knowledgeable about my daughter and her needs.  We have changed our outlook on parenting and shifted our priorities.  Before Venture, we weren’t aware of how negative our choices were on our daughter’s self-esteem and mental health.  We often focused on correcting behaviour over our relationship with her.  We also misunderstood the importance of friends vs. connection with her family.  I believe my own lack of vulnerability contributed to me focusing on behaviours of my kids and resulted in strained relationships.  Moving forward, I hope to improve relationships with ALL my children and spend more time connecting with my children.  My own self-reflection during our daughter’s time at Venture has been life changing.  I feel so hopeful now, that my family will be ok, even when conflict comes up.  I am so grateful that we found Venture.  Going through this experience with Venture Academy has completely changed how I view the relationships with my children and how to foster & nurture relationships altogether.  It’s been life changing.  I am viewing the world (society) in a different light.  Thank you!

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They were the first professionals to take our son’s issues seriously, and to give us hope that things could improve!  We have all learned that healing is possible, that unconditional love and a leap of faith can go a long way!  We can finally see our son as he really is, without the layers of shame & self-loathing that have been building up over years.  And more importantly, he can see himself, too. 

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 As a family we have had the time necessary for our own self-care and healing, as well.  This decision was made in desperation, but it turned out to be one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.

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I feel like this program definitely helped our daughter with her anger issues and helped with some of the programs she was going to face in the future.  It definitely gave us more of an understanding of her problems and issues.  Helped us come up with a game plan to make home and school successful for our daughter.

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Everyone was fantastic!  Thank you so much

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This is an excellent program for kids in crisis.  Venture was very good at stabilizing my 16-year-old daughter.  She was closely monitored and protected.  Venture controlled behaviours that were extreme and which I could not deal with.  

I appreciate the full therapeutic environment that Venture provides.  Other programs don’t offer the same experience.  our relationship has improved greatly. our son has been teaching the entire family his new skills. 

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Venture is a very structured program that has been extremely beneficial for my child mental health and wellness.  My daughter achieved the highest grades ever while attending Venture’s program.  When we were checking references on Venture, we kept hearing “buy into the program” or ” trust the program and they were 100% correct.  It seemed rocky at the beginning, but they do things for very specific reason to help your child.  We are very thankful for getting our daughter back on the right path!

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our daughter going to Venture Academy really brought the best out of her.  She’s stronger, confident and more self-aware.  Thank you for helping her with her life’s journey!  Venture Academy helped our child, but it also helped me!  The team helped me see my worth. Thank you.

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The staff were very kind.  And our son goals changed, and it’s very refreshing to hear him talk about living a clean life.  our son’ stay at Venture helped me focus on my role as a living caring mother and not to involve our son in my discussions with his dad. I feel a lot stronger to keep my safe boundaries with our son, regarding 0% drugs and alcohol use moving forward. The biggest take away from Venture is that our son learned how to open up about his emotional struggles.  Thank you, The Executive Director, for all the coaching and love I received from you. Many thanks.

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I felt like our daughter was in good hands.  The Staff were amazing.  The communication with staff was very good.  The Executive Director really cares about the children and their families.  our child was able to get the support and guidance that she needed.  She was able to do lots of therapy work and get an assessment and diagnosis.  As parents we have had the time we needed to reflect on everything, to look at our involvement in this and to work on any mistakes we have made.  To come together and build a plan for when our child returns.

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I cannot express enough my sincere thanks for all that has been done for my daughter and my family at Venture Academy.  Thank you, The Executive Director and the Program Coordinator. My daughter came to Venture with years of trauma abuse at the hands of her mother.  She had descended to depths of hopelessness, extremely low self-esteem, drug use, Riske sexual behaviour and an otherwise certainly doomed future. She was incredibly vulnerable to destructive governmental programs that served to pull her even farther away from me, her father.  At Venture she received the professional attention, support and structure she needed.  She gradually returned to the daughter I raised prior to her leaving and living at her mother’s house. which was a significant factor in her demise.  She now has a chance at life again.  I remain extremely grateful for the effort and professionalism of the Venture staff.

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Support from team, parent coaching, family therapy, getting aftercare support, All of this helped with our transition.

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The staff at Venture Academy have the training, commitment and compassion to help families navigate the most difficult of circumstances.  They have helped our entire family learn and grow and move in a healthier, happier direction.  We are forever grateful for their passion and skill.

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If we did not have the support of the Venture team on site and the parent support from The Parent Coach our family wouldn’t be celebrating our child’s return home. I’m not sure where we would be.  

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They know what they are doing.  The staff is very experienced, organized and available when needed.  My child was disconnected with the family to an extent that she didn’t want to stay at home.  When she came to Venture her stay her have given us our daughter back.  The Executive Director has helped us as parents grow and helped all of us to build our relationship stronger.  The Receptionist is amazing.  She does an amazing job at the front.  The Admin Assistant coordinates all the schoolwork very well. The other staff helps with the academics and mental health.  The ongoing support and help given to kids at school and at host parent homes gives them a soft place to grow and self-realize that there is a away to live their life safely. Thank-you Venture Academy for giving us a New Life!

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It is sad the number of locations reduced.  The service you provide is hard to find. Thanks for being there when we needed you.  As parents we were running out of ideas and options to help our daughter.  our daughter had a tough go of it, but she came back in much better shape than when she left. Sadly, she resisted treatment for 6 months and 12 months was much longer than we expected she would need in your care.  We are very glad she is home now and it continues to be a good kid.  

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Before our child attended Venture Academy, I followed the advice of counsellors and doctors despite having an intuition that wasn’t always the best course of action for her in those circumstances. Venture gave me the confidence I need to be assertive in making sure her care providers are following my direction, in line with my values and supportive of the relationship I have with my daughter. While it was a bumpy road, the environment Venture creates ensured that my daughter became aware of her behavior and how it affects everyone in her life. I appreciated the observational aspect of the program, as those observations were accurate and helped to create a treatment plan for our child but also confirmed what I knew about her as her parent.  It was fundamental for our child that she have psychiatric care alongside the therapeutic approach Venture provided, and this was acknowledged, and many accommodations were made to assist with this on a local level. My daughter is more engaged with our family, less reliant on medications, and is making an effort to continue our connection, as well as with other members of our family. I am hopeful that she will continue on this path and start to form healthier relationships with peers that share our values as she returns to “normal” life. I am also hopeful that her medications will continue to be reduced as she employs the skills she learned in the program to regulate her emotions and behavior.

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We reconnected and built healthy relationships with each other and worked on our personal struggles.  My parents (her Grandparents) learned how to parent better.  I learned to take care of myself.  

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Venture has made a positive change in our family’s lives.  our child is now able to regulate her emotions.  Her communication skills have improved.  Family therapy has helped us all be able to navigate tricky situations together.  our hopes moving forward is that our child will continue to show growth and maturity, keep lines of communication open, be honest and follow the family rules.  We also hope that she will be able to complete the tasks we ask of her.  We have seen vast improvements in our child’s mental health.  She is happier and more content in herself.

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You helped bring out the real potential of the youth.

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Our communication has improved “two fold” Venture was patient, kind and supportive.  The parent coaching helped us tremendously.

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We have become closer as a family unit.  We are able to communicate and focus on moving forward and supporting each other.  There is a new level of understanding and trust.  We have all learned about ourselves and the work (strategies & tools) it takes to keep positive momentum toward life success.  I see a bright powerful future for our child thanks to his own work that was founded under the Venture team.  Specific Highlights: hearing the happiness in my kid’s voice on our first phone call.  Connecting with everyone and also being supported as a parent.  our child’s way of describing himself reading stories/thoughts from his journal, specifically the story about feelings being in a box after dad’s death and how that heavy burden was lifted.  There are many more highlights!  Learning to read novels!  our child’s sharing stories from home and chats with The host parent.  She will be remembered forever- as all team will.  Thank you, for being a home for my child.  My hopes are that our child will be an ambassador for Venture.  I kept all of our child’s letters and responses in a binder- it’s a book already written- a pretty cool journey!

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Excellent experience for both my daughter and the rest of my family.  We felt very supported.  Venture has been successful in establishing trust with my daughter and has managed to reduce barriers and increase my daughter’s accountability.  Venture has also facilitated appropriate communication between my daughter and the family.  Venture has also kindly facilitated the adults in may daughters’ life revealing how we may have contributed in a negative way and also have given us guidance on how to move forward in a positive way.  We are looking forward to a healthier relationship with my daughter and look forward to her utilizing her tools to move forward and taking charge for this direction of her life.

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The help and support Venture showed to my family through phone calls with The Executive Director and The Parent Coach. It wouldn’t have worked without your help and support over the last 5 months. The visits in Red Deer and as well the home visits. I would say very important, that is where I really saw the change and growth in my daughter and reconnected with her during these times. For my daughter, it was the move she made to The Executive Director’s house, that is when a big shift happened in her. It was definitely good for her.

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I really thank all the staff working with my daughter for helping her turn away from the negative lifestyle and guided her to the positive way. Thank you for teaching her all the positive things.

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our child has benefited from us being involved with Venture Academy. How she sees her Dad and I committed to her work and process will show her how onboard we are with her “wellness”. The family sees us as being approachable, easier to talk to us about the “wellness Road”. We, the 3 of us, have benefitted by having been given the tools to look at ourselves and others in a new light. One highlight for my husband and I are how easy and accommodating Venture Academy has been on all levels. Our hopes are that the 3 of us can move forward with success and a little more ease than before. Very appreciative. Game Changer. Life Moving. 

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Venture Academy has been a god send, very informative and provided may tools at the drop of a hat. Would highly recommend it. 

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The help and consulting that was given to me. The care and connection you gave both kids. The continuity of care and consistency that she needed. Our child being placed with the host family that embraced her like their own, showing her another way of living.
The one thing that I would like to say is “Thank you” in helping our child find herself again. The love and genuine care you have given her to guide her back was amazing and truly appreciated. 

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our family dynamic has changed for the better-less tension, more listening, funnier. We can do family activities and have fun. We have built relationships with our daughter and are able to have meaningful conversations and interactions with her. My hope is that she continues to use the tools she learned in all her relationships (old & new) and continues to work on herself + improving, growing and learning. That she be successful in anything she decides to do.  Thank you all! Everyone I have been in contact with has been supportive, helpful, understanding and compassionate with both me and Isabelle.

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Clean & Sober for 8 months. My son is alive and has a new perspective on life. My son has been given a gift and a fresh start. He has learned to show respect and empathy. I hope that our child is aware of the difficulty I had in making this decision to put him in treatment.
I didn’t know where to go with our son. Venture Academy was very informative and provided guidance when I needed it. 

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Our son has matured so much through his time at Venture. Highlights are his change to a routine on a daily basis and his acceptance of his difficulties. He had grown into a very caring young man.  Excellent resources for dealing with my sons’ unique difficulties. We are so grateful for the Executive Director and The Therapist’s guidance to navigate through his issues. The help that we received through The Parent Coach was invaluable as well. 

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My son in the end loved Venture Academy. This program changed his life. He will forever be grateful as well as his mama. our child pre-Venture was extremely difficult to be around. The relationship between myself and our child was toxic, and he could not hold friendships for long. Family members could only handle our child for short periods of time. Any authority he would simply dismiss. our child post-Venture is so respectful, listens, is calm, wants to do school, and wants to go to the gym, fits in well with family and friends, can regulate his emotions and express how he is feeling so that I am able to understand and work through it. Thank you tremendously for the much-needed support you gave my family.

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1. Got our daughter back. She expresses her love and appreciation for us; that’s something that we rarely experienced before. 2. We have built trust with our daughter – also new. 3. We are able to talk about difficult issues instead of walking away and letting it fester. 4. We are able to express disappointment or dissatisfaction with a situation and respectfully deal/resolve it. 5. Mom still feels some anxiety overall – hopefully able to use skills we learned during family sessions. 6. Family sessions were so helpful. The ability to open up and learn how to deal with them now and in future gave us tools for new and future. 7. Hopes moving forward – a well-functioning, caring family unit. 8. Hope that our child can deal in a healthy way, with her sister who has a mental illness. 9. Hopes – that she is able to feel comfortable again with people who know her when she was unwell. 10. Hopes – that our story/success and even struggles will help someone else bring their child here. This program helps the child and parents heal together and build healthy relationships. Venture Academy Family sessions – opened our eyes to what we could do differently. Made us realize how we contributed.

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They have helped us greatly

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The love and support that the staff showed our child through his journey at Venture Academy was over & beyond our expectations. our child is not the same young man that entered the program in June 2018. The skills that he has learned at Venture Academy have helped our relationship and taken it to a whole different level. We are able to communicate much better as a family with mutual respect. The self-confidence our child has exhibited is due to the AMAZING staff at Venture Academy and this will continue to carry him forward in his life journey. We are forever grateful for the work and with the help you have provided to our child and our family. 

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Feeling supported through the process. Parent coaching and updates. our child has shown more emotions and communicating more when she is needing support. She is in a safe environment, more positive engagement as she was really struggling prior to Venture Academy. We have our moments, but our relationship and communication has really improved. 

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Venture Academy saved her life. Your service gave her the understanding that mom’s expectations were normal and acceptable. Benefits: behaviour improvements and less intense. 

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Initially Venture was able to provide an intervention for our son and bring him back from the low point in his life that he was stuck in. Venture was able to redirect our son and teach him that he has value and is worthy of love. The host parent model was effective in recreating a home model where our son was able to learn to become a contributing member of a household. Venture was able to get our son active again and become conscious of the connection between healthy living and a healthy mindset. He is now getting back on track academically and is excited about his future.

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The philosophical approach of Venture Academy is priceless. It helped me to find new approach to interact with mt child. For myself, I was able to reflect as a father and now I could provide for my son. My relationship with my ex-wife has also improved significantly. The feedback and information from the staff of Venture Academy helped me to improve and reflect on myself. The Clinical Therapist made me feel safe to admit my wrongdoing and how I can improve. Hope for the future, me and the ex can respect each other and move forward as a unit and continue to make positive changes. 

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The time away from each other was important to give us time to reflect on the past and to think about how we needed to change to improve our family dynamics. our child benefited by having a very structured environment and continuous feedback to help him change and get ready for his return back home. His group sessions seem to help I’m realize that there are always options and better ways to handle different situations. Listening to older peers or other adolescents who have gone through different situations . our hope for the future is that our son will have developed skills to help him adapt and cope with daily home/life situations, with less crisis and anger. He has certainly learned to not get involved when he should not, which is a big change for him. Much more mature and ready to handle life situations. Thanks for all that your team has done to help him. 

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For my son it was life-changing and lifesaving. I didn’t know where to turn, I don’t know where he would have ended up. I hope one day he will look back and see that it changed his life. Benefits: greater communication, less acting out and less attitude, more responsible. Highlights: academics, assessment and diagnoses of ADHD. Hopes: our son will continue on the road he started at Venture. Continued success and maturity. Feedback: Relationships with our son and Venture staff. The stories he tells indicated how much he respects the staff. Relationships he build with The Team lead, The Tutor and The Clinical Therapist. 

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We have been happy with the case at both campuses. our child has really learned how to control his anger. He is more mature. He is able to share his thoughts and feelings appropriately. We have ongoing concerns about his sexual behaviour, but we will continue counselling in home community. 

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When our child first came to Venture he was using drugs 24/7.  He had no self-esteem, was disrespectful, didn’t listen to mom or stepdad.  He didn’t have goals; he would run away from home.  He threw up a lot and constantly felt sick.  our child is now happy, healthy and full of life!!! He has positive relationships with mom and stepdad.  He has a bright future and has goals.  I don’t believe our child would have improved if it weren’t for Venture. Moving forward, we intend on running our house like Venture and slowly give freedoms over time as they are earned.

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Venture Academy has given us the opportunity to start fresh with our son. It has allowed us to mend some serious rifts in our family, without venture none of that would have happened. We are forever grateful to The Executive Director and the team at Venture for all their good work. We are hopeful that we can maintain high standards at home that our son has learned at venture.

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How amazing it has been to work with Venture Academy and getting the results. Enlightening. I view the world so differently now. 

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our child became much more self-aware. Her self-esteem has increased. She understands that she controls her emotional responses and her own well-being. Our family has learned many things to improve our communication and how to be better at setting boundaries.

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When we dropped our daughter off at Venture Barrie, Ont. We were completely out of options as a family.  Her 3-year spiral downwards, included numerous therapists, psychologists, health care workers and programs to deal with an eating disorder, self-harm behaviour, and other high risk behaviours including drugs that would have shortened her life.  The advantage that Venture offered us was a fully supportive and integrated program in a safe environment, that allowed for the removal of all the familiar support structures that she had relied upon for her disfunction, which then created the environment from which she was able to re-evaluate her life.  When all the noise stopped, she was able to listen and learn again.  our daughter credits Venture Academy for saving her life.  As parents we will always be grateful to Venture Academy and its staff, for caring for our daughter in her lowest moments and biggest struggles and living and guiding her back into a healthy community filled with hope and joy for the future.

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our family has benefitted greatly from our involvement with Venture Academy. Initially, it gave us and our child the space and support we needed while we sorted through events and emotions that led up to that point. It allowed us and our child the opportunity to have difficult discussions with each other in a sage and supportive environment.

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our daughter has employed better, healthier coping mechanisms that she is now able to handle situations she was previously unable to. We hope that she is able to continue using the tools she has learned in Venture during difficult times. It has been wonderful getting our daughter back. Full of laughter and hope for the future.  She loved it here in Venture and wishes all her friends going through their own troubles could come here. but not at the same time because they wouldn’t get much help if they went together.  Thank-you!

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My experience at Venture Academy has been very positive.  I’ve noticed a great improvement in our child.  I believe the Venture model of the youth staying with a host family and attending daily sessions at the Venture campus is very effective.  My hopes moving forward are to have a happy, healthy, positive daughter who will be an influencer of positive change on our planet.  I would like to say thank you for your efforts with our child. I wish you all the success with your program and my hope would be that your model/program could be available to the masses.  Thank you!

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Yes, so far the experience has been excellent and very rewarding for us.  We will see how it goes when our child is at home.  After the first 3 months we were nervous and not as confident if our child came home.  Now we are more in tune with our own feelings, his feelings and can share empathy with confidence.  We can be vulnerable!

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I believe we have all grown in this process.  Going through this has helped us focus on things that needed to change and help us to reset the button.  It is scary but hopeful that we will be able to take the Baton and move forward to help us grow, respect, being able to discuss together when a problem arises.  I/We find our child has grown a lot but also realize that she is still a child that is growing.  We need to be careful not to involve her on adult decisions.  This will be a challenge and feel that we will be able to manage head on with the help how we have gotten from Venture.  Thank-you for all your expertise and love you have given to our child and our family.  We will keep in touch.  

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As a family we have learned better communication and coping skills.  We have a better understanding of how to deal with conflict with our child and not to try and solve when emotions are high.  I think we know how to support our child better emotionally but not make tasks easier for her. “She is the driver at the steering wheel of her life” We are there to support and encourage.  We hope that Venture is the starting point in our child’s growth and we, the parents, have the tools to continue to provide the guidance she needs going forward.  Thank you!

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Our child’s self-esteem has increased immensely thanks to all the counselling and positivity he received at Venture.  He has set goals for his future which is a welcome change from his “living in the moment” attitude he arrived with.

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Thanks for giving out son back.  A respectful, focused youth with future goals and a love of live.

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fantastic foundation to support families and parents, never felt unsupported, Venture Academy definitely has good structure. HP family is a large plus vs dorm living.

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I learned new parenting skills.  She gained confidence to pursue a healthy lifestyle.  My hopes are for a strong family relationship to continue our work on self-improvement- healthy – happy – united.

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Our child gained some valuable self-esteem and was well taken care of by her host family.  She received the love and support she needed.  Our family was able to sleep well in the knowledge our child was safe and protected.

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My daughter has become more confident and aware of her needs.  She has set goals and is working towards them.  She has grown so much since her first day here.  As a family we have become stronger and more aware of her needs and our own needs.  With the support from everyone at Venture we have been able to repair our relationship, we all still have lots of work to do but have the tools now to keep working towards the same goal.  We hope that with continued effort at home with help from a local therapist and boxing of course to keep moving forward to using the tools learned through the program for the rest of time.  This team has become a part of our lives and saying goodbye is far more difficult than I thought it would be.  You saved our daughter, and you saved our family.  We will forever be grateful to you.

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Our daughter has shown a wonderful transformation! She was in a very dark place when she arrived.  We, as parents, had tried and worked with many if not all of the publicly available resources and although they were helpful, our daughter’s behaviour continued to get worse. Her disrespect and lack of acknowledging authority became so disruptive we were about to give up.  We found Venture on a website and did some research.  Although pricey, we slowly watched her behaviour change for the better.  Venture’s strict rules turned out to be just what was needed.  Our weekly discussions with The Executive Director were great to hear her troubles and eventual growth.  Their strategies and understanding of positive youth psychology are evident and effective.  We look forward to her continued growth at home!  Pleasantly Satisfied!  

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Our child has developed strong coping skills and self-esteem.  He is able to develop goals for himself and see them through.  Academically he has excelled and learned the value of working hard. He has developed the ability to self-spoke in a positive way. Our child being at Venture has allowed for some respite for myself and my other son.  I am not hopeful for our child’s future.  I found our weekly telephone session difficult not knowing how to overcome the trauma of his drug and alcohol use and his abusiveness to his brother and myself.  However, I will try to continue to work on this through therapy.

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As parents we have learned a lot about peer attachment.  We understand his addiction better.  We understand his needs better and how to be a better parent for them.  our whole family’s mental health has improved exponentially.  We learned to trust the “process” at Venture and the importance of playing our part in it.  We are incredibly grateful for the professionalism and care of the whole team at Venture – you are amazing.

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Our daughter clearly understands the dangers she was in and how her beliefs lead to this danger.  When our daughter came to Venture, she did not feel she was good enough.  She was angry with us.  Venture helped her unleash her stuffed feelings and provided a process for her to deal with her feelings appropriately.  My hope going forward are that we are a calm, loving and happy family also respect each other.  We want our daughter to achieve her dreams in a healthy way. Our daughter’s emotional growth and development since attending Venture is nothing short of amazing.  She has learned how to achieve the use of tools and strategies which not only avoid and manage her anger but also achieve happiness with herself in other aspects of her life.  I look forward to seeing our daughter continue to achieve her maximum potential.  I look forward to a great relationship with our daughter.

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Our family communicates in a more meaningful way.  We are able to see situations with more compassion and patience for each other.  In going over our maintenance plans we all feel we’re on the same page with boundaries and respectful behaviour.  One of the highlights for us was at the part where our daughter had expressed to us that she had given up and now she’s working towards applying to university!!  We definitely feel as if our family has been restored.  Moving forward we hope to share in our daughter’s positive experiences.  The times when she sees the payoff for all her hard work, discipline and sacrifice.  We look forward to supporting her in difficult times by reminding her that she can do anything – just as she completed her program at Venture Academy.  She’s very proud of sticking with it and determined to thrive.  We want to be by her side for all of it.  we’re so thankful for all the support and guidance from all the staff at Venture Academy!!

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When we came to you, our child was sad, Mom was exhausted, and Dad was angry.  our child is leaving with greater self-esteem and is happier.  Mom got a much-needed break and is ready to be more patient.  Dad got some concrete parenting tools he can use to be a positive parent.  I wish our child could have stayed longer, but I simply ran out of money.  If I win the lottery, the first thing I will do is send him back. 

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We are very grateful to Venture Academy.  The whole team is amazing.  You are all so kind.

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Nov 10th we arrived here at Venture and my child was unrecognizable to me.  Her health had deteriorated, and she was disjointed from the family and her life.  Today I am picking her up on her graduation day and she is emotionally and physically healthy.  It has been an extraordinarily arduous and tumultuous journey.  Personally as a mom, I could not have gotten through without The Executive Director, The Program Counselors, and Admin Assistant.  Everyone was instrumental in this day happening and our child ‘s success.

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Our child now can sight goals in his life.  He now has the ability to start setting life goals, we were able to step away from the situation where we were no longer able to help him.  We feel now that he has the tools to help himself.  We also have tools to help him and ourselves.  We feel that we are all stronger now!  We hope to have a loving productive relationship with him.  Yes, it will require work , but we feel that is very doable now.  We also feel that we have the help if a problem comes along.  We have developed a strong relationship with the staff! this is awesome!

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When our family was in crisis and our child was in need of an intervention for his own safety and wellbeing, Venture Academy turned things around.  Got our son back on track, sleeping, eating, caring about himself again.  We truly believe without Venture Academy that our son would not be here today.  Thank you to everyone who helped and was involved with the process.  We are forever grateful.

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Staff does a great job communicating between team members and with us and to her.  The Parent Coach brought out what I was doing well as a parent, and I learned a lot about myself through the process.  I’d be happy to talk with other parents about my/our experience with Venture.

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Making the decision to send our daughter away to Venture Academy was one of the toughest decisions we made.  We reached out to the public healthcare sector for help prior but ultimately felt that the academy and their overall strategies to be the best for our daughter and ourselves the parents. We soon came to learn that this was also an exercise in parenting and gaining back our daughter. This is really a team effort.  The academy works with our daughter in a safe environment, the host parents providing structure and the parent counsellors helping and providing us with resources, so we could understand where it started to go wrong and the decisions that were being made.  We were absolutely impressed at the changes we saw with our daughter and believe Venture has set us all up for a new start.  We hope that our daughter will continue with the tools she has been given and as parents, we strive to build the relationship and trust back and hold onto our daughter as she maneuvers through her teenage years.  Thank you so much for this opportunity.

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our child has been clean for 2.5 months and can think clearly at this time.  our child seems to recognize the benefits of exploring himself with a counsellor – indicates he wants to continue the process in an outpatient setting.  our child is open to resuming a relationship with his mom and hopefully is strong enough to withstand any negative influences as that relationship is built.  Our child asked for a chain/cross for Christmas I believe that means his HP has provided some insight into an area that our child may further explore and find comfort in.  My hopes are that he remains drug free, continues to explore his mental health issues and finds strategies to cope with life’s ups and downs so that he can be healthy, successful and engage in positive relationships.

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The whole process is a highlight.  Helped our child “See the light” I always knew he was a good kid and told him so but now he believes it.  Venture was exactly what we needed for our family.  Absolutely 100% would recommend Venture Academy to other families and I will be.

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The Executive Director and the Venture Academy team (Helena & Paolo as well) was very pivotal in turning our child and my relationship.  The amount of hard work and reflection our child has gone through has benefitted him and our whole family.  It’s been a hard and tough journey that ends with our child’s stay and beginning back at home and school.  Going forward the hope is to continue to build off our son’s & my progress.  Ongoing support will be paramount to “our” success.  The host family have been wonderful to our child.  I can’t thank them enough.  The Executive Director is a gem.  Her counsel has been invaluable.

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He’s started to work through the stuff with his mom.  He’s had a chance to have some stability.  The Parent Coach has been a huge help.  Grateful for all Venture has done for us.

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we now have a fresh start.  Drug free, not suicidal or cutting, stable at this time. Gave us breathing room.  Get over bad feelings. 

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opened communication, disconnecting from peers and social media, gave him an appreciation for body.  Proud of academics. Highlights: fun going paddleboarding and mini golfing, laughter, able to redirect on the phone.  Hopes: keep an open healthy mind and body going forward and upward.  Really neat that he talked about school

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feel blessed that Venture exists.

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Seeing the relationship with HP was unexpected.  Role of HP is very impressive.

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Our relationship and respect of all involved has improved.  We have a better understanding of our child.  His attitude and mindset have greatly improved. We hope that we can have a healthy relationship with our son and a happy family and that he will participate in school without getting in trouble and that he will graduate.  In the need we hope that he will have a happy and productive live and be a good citizen. As far as stories we had some doubts about Venture but we’re looking for solutions; in the end we are very proud of the improvements we see in our son.

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We are very grateful for the timely manner in which our son was accepted into the program during our time of crisis.  The combination of emotional academic and professional support is perfect.  We are deeply grateful to The Executive Director Beard and the staff!  Wonderful program!

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We will be forever grateful for Venture.  They restored our family and helped our child find his true self.  Each staff member really cares and our child’s progress has been enormous!  Thank you!

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Everyone had a restart/reset.  Enables parents to prepare for the reset, gave parents understanding of when was really going on behind the scenes.  Highlights: material definitely, support from The Parent Coach,

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Venture Academy has put our child back on the path to success.

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Getting away from everything: stress, video games (trying to escape).  More focused, with instruction he does well.  Cut his hair, drastic improvement in hygiene.  He had gone so long without caring and it shows that he’s taking more pride in himself.  Stay on track and continue with his progress.  Seems to be coming into his own self more.

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As her parents, we learned a lot about how our parenting was contributing to her behaviour, how we can change our parenting to make thigs better for both our child and our whole family.  We have allowed her to be parented by her peers, and this is something we now feel knowledgeable and capable to take back our role as parents.  The materials we read have been very valuable and contributed to positive conversations and changes for us as parents.  This has allowed us time to breathe and make changes in her absence.  

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Our child has improved with her communication and behaviour since being at Venture.  With our child being at Venture, it has given my husband and I time to reassess our family and our goals.  We realize that communication and spending time together is the main key to having a better family relationship.  The highlight of our child attending Venture would be watching her let her wall down and release the anger associated with her mom’s death.  She has done a lot of hard work and now has the tools to succeed in life.

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have good basis for reconnection, gained skills.  Positive, seeing changes she’s made.  Hope to draw her back into a relationship and have closer connection.  I’m very happy with the whole thing.  How much parents have learned as well.

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The parenting skills, fact that my son was safe and free of alcohol and drugs, I liked the letter writing, it is a nice way to engage.  Thank you

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We truly appreciate everything provided to our son at Venture Academy.  At every step along the way, the team of amazing people at Venture guided our son and provided the coping strategies and support he needed to make the right choices.

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The host parents were amazing.  They provided a structured but loving environment for our son.

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We are extremely happy with the outcome!

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Thank you for saving my son.

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Forever grateful to Host parents and Venture Academy team for the tremendous support and care of our son.

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We did have a lot of expectations regarding her behaviour towards family and friends.  She looks healthy, her teeth are cleaner than before.  Her conversations are improved.  She had figured out her goals clearly, she is quite enthusiastic towards going to her school and studies.

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Our family has an amazing experience with Venture Academy. When we brought our child here, our family life was turmoil, our relationship was foundering, and it seemed that there was no light at the end of the tunnel. The Executive Director and the Venture Academy team, through a very in depth, well designed and comprehensive customized program have given us a new found hope for our collective future. We have our daughter back!! 

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Thank you all so very much, you all have helped our child and our family immeasurably.

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Venture Academy provided support during a difficult time in our family’s life,
They (all venture academy staff, host parents) have shown compassion and extreme support to my child and as (parents).  This is an amazing program.
I have recommended Venture Academy to others who have struggles.

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It’s hard to say all the positive feelings I have for the program. It’s well organized. professional and grounded in solid philosophy. But more than this, the care and trust The Executive Director, Receptionist, and the rest of the staff and host parents instill is amazing, their patience with us as a family, and our daughter’s journey (and that of the family) is incredible. I’m so glad we found you!

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It was so hard to admit that as parents, we couldn’t help our son. Venture Academy did what we couldn’t – changed his path and our approach as parents. 

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We appreciate the positive growth you have nurtured in our child and our entire family. I was impressed with each team member-> skills and dedication to every individual student. The changes in our child were miraculous-> from someone in a dire sad, unhealthy state to our young happy, healthy adult man.

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Truly amazing-> The Executive Director managed to juggle overwhelming demands and each session with her shed a bit more light into our everyday life. She is a fine captain of the ship. The Receptionist is wonderful and seems to organize all the juggling balls to keep us all moving forward. My wife and I and our child give thanks to Venture from our hearts. (our heads are still full of thoughts) Looking forward to our continuous chats and our child’s healthy life. Thank you and God Bless.

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We are thrilled with the transformation. The lovely boy is back. Thank you so much for your outstanding work with our child.

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I was impressed when I’ve seen my son for the first time in 10 months. In the 2 days we spent with him, I realized how much he has changed. He is a lot more mature, calm and respectful. I know his journey at Venture made him a different person. I will be there with him to give my support and help our child continue his progression.

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We have a renewed, positive relationship with our son.

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We were provided with consistent ongoing compassion, understanding and support.

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The Host Family model provided excellent models for re-attachment.

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our child will always be a challenge. Venture Academy helped me to better understand why. Venture Academy helped me to have better skills to deal with our child and how to set him up for success.   

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I feel that as a person and parent I have learned some very important life lessons and skills to make me a much better listener. That will make life a lot easier and a whole lot richer for everyone in are family and friends “that’s a fact jack” this was a greatest experience for our family and you guys will be missed in our lives.

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We have a renewed positive relationship with our son.

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The time that we spent going through this process as a family has been challenging but rewarding. We have all benefited as immediate and extended family, sharing our strengths and weakness, accepting ourselves and each other and the needed to support and encourage.

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We have grown closer, have shared more, and have gotten to understand our responsibilities a lot more clearly.

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Venture has been very supportive and helpful as we begin making changes in our home to continue to prepare for our Child ‘s return home.  Learning how to communicate more as parents learning ways to understand our Child’s needs/difficulties.  Parent coaching and challenging us to make necessary changes for our Child ‘s success.

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This has been a growth experience that came out of the biggest crisis in our lives. The staff were attentive, involved, practical and empathetic. Thank you so much for helping our son grow.

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It’s unbelievable how far our child has come, thank you to Venture Academy for all you have done for our family.  

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My son is back to being the caring person he was. It was well worth spending 9 months apart. He improved academically, physically and emotionally to be a mature individual who now will make it in this difficult world we live in. All staff were excellent, we received great learning strategies and coping skills everyone was very compassionate at all times.

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Its hard to say all the positive feelings I have for the program. It’s well organized. professional and grounded in solid philosophy. But more than this, the care and trust The Executive Director, The Receptionist, and the rest of the staff and host parents instill is amazing, their patience with us as a family, and our daughter’s journey (and that of the family) is incredible. I’m so glad we found you!

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the staff are extremely patient caring and kind.  our child struggled significantly and was very destructive.  However, he did detox and distance was created from substance use.  As a family we learned better communication and connection like we haven’t before.

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Venture Academy has given us hope!  This gave us time to access what our household will look like.  Renewed faith for our family.  We hope our child continues with her self-care, listening, respect and being a part of the family.  We hope she can continue to increase her self-esteem and be strong when needed to be.  We could feel a difference with each call we had with her. We are excited for the future.

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Supportive, explaining and taking the time.  Positive reinforcement, information given was helpful, great staff.

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They were able to get my daughter in immediately when my family was in crisis.  Venture taught my daughter some coping strategies that work well for her.  She is still using them here at home.  We also found a learning disability through psychological assessment that explains some of the negative behaviour we were dealing with and now she has supports in place at school to make her life there easier. our hopes moving forward are that she continues to make healthier choices for herself. Continues to use the strategies she learnt at venture and also continues seeing a psychologist and working on things.  Before going to venture my daughter didn’t see her part in what got her there.  She now recognizes that she has things she needs to work on.

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Great staff that care and want to help and see change in the kids.

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The Executive Director is absolutely wonderful, and we look forward to continue working with her.  We hope to keep moving in a positive direction. We enjoyed speaking with The Executive Director and learning new parenting techniques.

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It’s a very thorough program and communicates well.  We have managed to reconstruct our life in the break we’ve had.  His father and I have had a chance to understand our triggers and learn more about how to handle his.

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Nice to have comments done to be better know my daughter. Moving forward I’d love to see our daughter use her coping skills to manger her feelings better. *Ability to have conversations with our daughter * the letters were so meaningful touch for both her and I.

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Great work with our child. Psychological Assessment & counselling were very beneficial.

The team is very helpful, thoughtful & organized.  It was a relief having the program following Pchad. Having 40 days (30 w Venture) away from our child made us realize how bad things got.  We have learned along the way.  As a family we are going to have firm rules, expectations.  I will not walk on eggshells in my own home ever again! My hopes are our child will move away from drugs and work on himself sort out the anger issues.  Thank you!

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Very supportive of family involvement. They were eager to answer all of my questions.  Hope to remain successful moving forward. Highly recommend!

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Good option to consider when dealing with youth that have diverse sets of issues.  Learned new tools to use as a family, communication of feelings seems easier, that Ashley has ability to trust in who she is & has tools & opportunities to profess forward in a positive way.  Live that we have ability to check back in & get help moving forward.

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I am glad that this program exists.  I hope she is able to use the skills to help move forward.

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People at Venture care about what they do.  Venture was our last hope that we had.  We felt like Venture supported our child.  There is a reset for our child and us as his parents.  It gave us some room to think and to clarify on what we needed to do to move forward.  We also reflected and learned to look inward on how to improve our parenting and involvements for our family.

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Venture is the great restart button many kids and families need.  Our child has matured, learned strategies to cope with anxiety, and realized what hard work can do for her future and self-esteem. She is more open, cheerful, and has begun the journey to really asking for what she wants and be her authentic self.

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Thank you for everything you have done for our child.  It is such a good feeling seeing my son smile all the time.  Thank you for helping him find himself.  This experience has brought us as a family together.  Thank you, words can’t express the joy and happiness, we all have.

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Venture Academy was a safe environment (structures/routines) that allowed our son to reflect /learn/plan both on campus and with his host parents.   Our son’s self-confidence increased a lot while at Venture Academy. He benefited from non-judgmental staff and supportive host parents.  We had time to reflect, learn and plan to transition  our son home.  Both books were relevant and useful.  When we drove away from Venture Academy we knew  our son was at the right place to develop a stronger, positive mindset.  We hope  our son continues his new mindset and develops a healthy relationship with success.

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We are thankful for the program & the people involved when we felt we were out of options with our daughter.  We feel like we have an opportunity to have our family back.  We are incredibly grateful for the sessions with The Therapist &  Clinical Therapist.  We Loved hearing about our daughter’s life with the host parent and her grandkids.  The garage sales & adventures they went on.  We are so hopeful of moving forward with an incredible life & future with our daughter 

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Venture was an amazing experience for my son and myself. The compassion and kindness shown to my family was incredible and for my son who is sensitive, this helped him to have a connection while away from the home environment. Thank you for taking such good care of him and teaching him how to identify and cope with his emotions. My son and I both learned a lot over the time at Venture including identifying the emotions and struggles, talking through those feelings even when it hurts and determining how to cope with those feelings. We both learned the value of self-care and putting ourselves first to remain healthy and strong emotionally and mentally. Our child’s team and my team worked seamlessly together to ensure we were a unified team working towards the same goal. The support we received was incredible, thank you!

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Thank you for all the work! 🙂  I feel good and hopeful about the future now!  The new skills we have both learned will serve us in life.  Friendships etc.  Hope for a smooth ride, but fully expect some push back (setbacks). Took this time to grow myself too!

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I believe that this is a good program.  I hope he continues all that was taught to him.  I think our son is a work in progress.  I am very much hopeful that this will and did help him see that he has to be responsible for his actions.  I will be carrying on his house rules & being adamant about the rules at our house

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It was nice to have people help and not judge.  I’ll have to think on this for a bit.

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Definitely covered a lot of aspects that were missing. 

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Venture Academy has been the rock through this process. The whole Academy has been such a pleasure to work with, and we will  forever be great full. The whole team has been an absolute god send! In my experience with you, I have been able to take all the knowledge you have given to us and applied it in my everyday. Josh has also become more self-aware and has in my opinion become more secure in who he is. 

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Thank you for saving our daughter.

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Venture made me feel that all of my child’s issues were addressed and that she was given all the opportunities to work on herself.  My family and myself finally have a better understanding of my child’s needs as well as what we can do to keep her on the right path. we would never been able to receive the support required all in one place without Venture.

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We believe the host home/parent is a helpful approach & aligns with developing habits for productive daily living.  The break from social media & teenage drama created space for Addie to focus on herself & her goals.  She’s excited to maintain her new daily habits & has agreed to engage in therapy.  Even though only here for the 30-day program would have liked to have had regular weekly therapy session for our daughter while at Venture Academy.

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Venture is patient and caring.  We needed a reset.  Our daughter was in a very negative space.

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Venture Academy was always attentive and very helpful with our family.  I am thankful for all the help you provided.  I can see the benefits already when I got to pick up our child and I see how his demeanor is different.  Our child reset his emotions, and I got hope back in getting our child into a place of peace of mind and able to work through his emotion regulation.  Thank you, Venture for all the support.

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Venture has been very supportive of all of us during this time.  I would recommend it for anyone struggling with their teenager.  Our family has definitely benefitted from this program at Venture.  Those of us at home now have a new perspective we think will assist us in being more successful w/our child and she with us!  Positive focus we did not have before.  We really appreciated The Executive Director’s straight forward approach & style in dealing with us and The Therapist’s approach & style with our child.  The Receptionist’s incredible efficiency in her management of us and all the appointments was fabulous!  ty, ty, ty, ty for all giving us a new start!

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Their care, support, knowledge, and understanding about children’s development and mental health saved our family. Since our daughter’s return, we have felt like a new family. She has not yelled at us once or been unbearable in any way. She is happy, smiling, enjoying school, making new friends, and has been a delight to be around. This is exactly what we were hoping the outcome would be. Thus far, she has not had an urge to cut herself. She is a new person and we are so grateful.

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Venture Academy was our last hope, and I am so glad we found them when we did!  our family is now back together and whole again.  We have learned a lot regarding what our son needs to be successful.  We are hopeful for the future.

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The staff really care about the well-being and progress of the child. Overall, we are very happy with our child’s involvement with Venture Academy. We don’t think that there is much more that we could ask for from Venture Academy, with a few exceptions. 1) The counselling was great but could have even more hours per week to be dedicated to counselling. 2) Perhaps the host home could see changes to make it a more positive environment for the children. The staff were great- particularly the Clinical Therapist and The Team lead that were a positive influence on our child. 

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Thank you for allowing us to have a “reset” and for facilitating a much stronger relationship with our son. That we continue where Venture has left off. That we are able to put the structure and supports in place that helped our child grow so much, and we as a family.

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a consistent safe place for kids to find themselves.  

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We appreciate all the support and guidance we have been given. 

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Venture Academy has been a true blessing.  Our child has shown great improvement in her care for herself, attitude and interest in things.  She’s much more outgoing and smile a lot which is wonderful to see.  Separation has been difficult but necessary in growth and wellness.  Our child and I are in a much better place and with continued support I’m confident the relationship will be even better.

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Super glad this program exists. As parents and as a family, the parenting and guidance has been a huge benefit in giving us confidence in raising our children. Our daughter has benefitted from having a whole network of people who backed us up as parents and enforced the same expectations and boundaries that we do. The flexibility of therapy that was tailored to her emotional maturity was a huge benefit in the last month. The Therapist’s tough but loving which was perfect for our daughter. Moving forward, we hope our daughter can use the skills and knowledge obtained to keep herself safe and out of serious trouble. 

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Kind and caring staff who were dedicated to getting to the root of our sons behaviour issues.  I think as a family we all benefitted off the start by getting to have a break from each other and we got to step back and see how we were all contributing to the negativity in our home.  From there we all received guidance in how to move forward and learn from our mistakes in a nonjudgmental environment.  We are very happy that our child was able to have such a trusting relationship with his therapist and impressed with some of the personal insights he made during therapy sessions.  Moving forward we hope that our child is strong enough to put what he has learned into practice in his everyday life.

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Great experience for our entire family. The staff are all amazing. Our daughter’s transformation has been truly amazing. She is now sober, confident, happy and excited for the future. Venture has loaded up her toolbox with many skills that she will use for the rest of her life. We are eternally grateful for the last 4 months. 

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Venture Academy has started us on a positive path of change. This has helped us with communication together and to be more open and honest in communication. Helping our child to recognize some of his challenges and understand them better. 

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Venture Academy has been a lifeline for my son and my family. Venture Academy gave my son the opportunity and ability to support himself.  We benefited by just being involved. We have learned how to communicate and listen. Venture Academy allowed my son to develop himself and know himself better than he has in a long time. They have begun to give him the tools he needs to continue this and the confidence to know he can. I hope our sone continues his journey towards independence, to know himself and speak up for what he believes in. I think prior to discharge they should ease back into home a bit better and be allowed to return home for visits to see how they are coping with COVID and all the restrictions. Venture Academy has been a positive experience as well as our child’s treatment was able to continue without interruption. 

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Venture was able to give us respite. Our child was able to fulfill his probation while at Venture and give us a break. We were able to be at peace knowing he was in a safe environment even though our child was not always invested in the program. 

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Venture definitely helped us. The services were very helpful and the progress very positive. So far it is a positive feeling with progress. Our child has made. We are very concerned of how she will fit back at home and how she will continue to make progress. We are trying to get therapy and activities in order for her. We are concerned that while at Venture it has been very positive, it has been a bit of a protective bubble and moving forward in reality will be cause for concern. We know our child has more things that needs to come to the surface and we hope that can safely and effectively accomplish this. Thank you for all you have done!

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Our entire family has learned new skills and we are set up to continue moving forward in a healthy way. She has matured, become more reflective and has faced some of the challenges she was running away from. I am feeling really good about the aftercare program to help reinforce the learnings and deal with the road bumps as they come up in the first few months. I hope that she continues on this journey of health and self-improvement. She’s fortune to learn these skills that many people never do. 

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I like the organized approach, the updates and parent coaching. Overall, Venture was a very positive experience. It helped us out a lot at a very hard time. The Executive Director, The Program Counselor and The Therapist helped a lot. 

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Good, we will miss our weekly chats. Proud of her educational achievements, seen her use the techniques she learned here and applied to life stresses. 

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Venture Academy gave my child a second chance at life.  Venture Academy has given us knowledge in how we can best help our child.  Their perspective in life has changed for the better.  They have hope for the future. They are learning to not be so hard on themself and be kind to themself.  Thank you so much Venture Academy!

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Venture did a great job at making us feel that our child was being very well taken care of.  Their weekly reports were excellent.  We love the Venture staff.  Our child has changed so much!  We see who she really is shing through again!  stopped drug use, admitting/owning up to behaviours, receives help, healthy, physically, she is dreaming about her future again!  has learned healthy coping skills.  Hope that she can weather the ups and downs of life by applying what she has learned consistently.

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I think Venture has provided our family with the stability and grounding to move forward with a positive foundation.  I also appreciated the time spent with Parent Coaching as well to guide through the process.  We were able to get our child stabilized to a point where he was open to talk and be honest.  Moving forward we are hoping to be connected with our child and improve the strength of our entire family.  We want our child to be a member of our family.  As a parent I was freaked out about dropping our child off and knowing he was safe and protected.  At the first visit, we had the chance to meet HPs and become assured that he was okay.  Family sessions were needed.  Always left a sense of growth and improvement after a family session.

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Very good at teaching what they preach. Caring. Our daughter has shown a lot of maturity. She tries to use her therapy lessons. She is more polite. 

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The staff is fantastic.

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Venture demonstrates professional skills and patience to be admired.  Venture brought our child to a place of vulnerability and sharing of feelings that has not happened previously.  Unfortunately, our child made the decision to emancipate from me (mother) of which I have no control and our social services support.  I am grateful for the consistent support our child received and that I received.

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Venture Academy gives parents a new perspective on their child’s potential and the chances for a better family life.  Venture has certainly changed my life as a mother.  It’s been a real challenge with our child since he’s been a young boy.  Venture has given us hope, an optimistic view of our son’s future.  It has absolutely changed as parents, our role, the impact of our parenting skills, our limits and strengths.  Venture has allowed our child to develop competencies that he couldn’t use where challenged.  Overall, he has deepened his abilities to self-regulate, reflect more on his behaviours.

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All of the staff seem to be very helpful, supportive and caring!  I can really see how happy and settled our son has been during his stay.  So far, I think it has given us all hope and a sense of direction for a happier future together as a family.  I am very pleased to hear that there is ongoing support available to help us through any challenges that come up.

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I looked forward to each update and phone call with our child as she sounded better each time. We are hoping for our child to be more involved with us as a family and enjoy spending time with her siblings. We hope she is able to continue benefiting from her therapy and exercise. And is able to keep building her self-confidence. 

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It is a very well-organized campus.  I was kept informed by phone calls by a variety of staff that helps with different problems.  Just from letters home I can tell my son had a wakeup call.  My family has done work sheets and read books and are fully committed to a safe & successful return home plan.  Venture not only helped my son but helped myself & my family be better parents and role models.

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Very impressed with the program.  Venture Academy was very involved with our child’s mental health.

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staff are very dedicated and persistent in helping kids succeed.  He is now reading and has a renewed belief in his academic ability.  His healthy eating habits have also been honed, and his athletic endurance has improved.  As a family we are communicating with one another on a more frequent basis by sharing our experiences Venture Academy has helped our family communication.

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staff were very supportive and provided a safe structured environment for our child.  Helped us all get on a path for our child’s success in life.

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The staff get to know each student and care for their overall wellbeing. They are supportive and encouraging.  our son has benefited so much from his 1 to 1 counselling sessions. What a tremendous gift for him to open up and acknowledge so very feelings and emotions. Continually impressed with the depth of compassion and understanding for our son and his struggles. The staff has continued to support our son and encourage his growth. I will be forever grateful for the ways in which they have helped our son. This will be life altering for our son. 

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Thank you. Venture helped my son and family when there was no one. Hopes that our child continues on positive path he is on now and becomes well. Our child seems to be reasoning really well and a better understanding. There was a lot of improvement, although he needs a lot more. The Executive Director was so patient with me and my inability to decide and putting up with my emotions. 

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Trust the Process. Emotional regulation. Our child is doing better overall.  Our child has done a lot of growing up.  The Therapist contributed to our child growth.  We would not be in the place of positive behaviour without The Therapist

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This was a very well designed, comprehensive program.  We are very pleased with the level of dedication from the staff.  We wish she could stay longer.  This program allowed our child to step back from her life and evaluate the choices she was making.  It provided her with the validation she needed that she is not alone in her struggles with mental health as well as a comprehensive diagnosis which allows us as parents a much clearer picture of how to support her.  We deeply appreciate all of the self-identifying discoveries she has made regarding the choices she was making and the dangerous harmful consequences she was unable to see.  We were pleasantly surprised by her initial willingness to attend the program and admitting the desire to do better but no knowing how.  That statement along I have hope for the future for a brighter tomorrow.  We can only hope this was truly eye opening and she has built the confidence in herself in her ability to see how great she can be.

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Everyone at Venture Academy was extremely helpful both to my daughter and also to us as parents. Venture has helped us as a family to communicate better and have a calm dialogue during confrontational topics. Everyone at Venture kept us up to date with our child’s progress and worked closely with my daughter daily. We have learnt a lot about ourselves through the Venture process and are able to reflect on things that we as individuals can work on. 

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Venture provided a safe environment where our child was pushed to address her issues. our child has had the opportunity to dig into many issues arising from early life trauma prior to adoption. She has gained a language to talk about this and now understands more about the root cause of her poor behaviour choices. The years of experience and guided coaching that we experienced as parents was also reassuring and helpful. It has helped us to understand where our child was at and how to challenge her in the right direction. We think she has made enough progress for us to continue the work in a home setting and we now believe that we can keep her safe. 

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Staff is very caring and supporting and have everyone’s best interest at heart. Benefits: Relationship connection and understanding. Highlights: The connection and positive role models he has been exposed to. 

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Help our child get back on track and provide the supports needed to her to learn positive skills to do well. The assessment was really helpful in helping us understand our child better and the supports she needed. our child’s self-talk and self-esteem has really improved. Things are not perfect but we are getting there. 

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1st and foremost we have come to our wits end with how to deal with our son properly. There was certainly a transition period to develop trust in the system & process. As soon as we established that, we learned how to work as a team.

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We have “hope” for future and improved communication for our family. Our family trip to Africa was positive for us all and to have our son join us and be a kid again was a relief. We will continue to work on communication structure and look forward to being a family again, all on the same team.

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Life changing for our child and family. We have forever changed as a family because of Venture Academy. We have benefited with better parenting skills, a renewed openness and trust with our child and hope for the future. Our daughter has life skills to navigate relationships, school and mental health issues. She has a much better, clearer vision for her future. The Executive Director has been an amazing support. She has a real gift of communicating honestly, openly and directly. Her coaching has been a valuable life-changing force in the last year an we look forward to her support in the coming week. 

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Consistent daily program will assist with transition home. Special thanks to The Receptionist for all the updates, Admin Assistant for all the academic support, and The Executive Director for the ongoing guidance and support. Benefits: Brought deep emotions out so we can address as a family. Open lines of communication. Ability to develop and utilize tools to resolve issues within the home and with society. Our child seems to have happier moments, possibility to share love with her parents and potentially with others.

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 More respect for her body, the things that were leading to problems with drugs, poor friend choices, stealing, and admitting wrong. Violence toward her parents and lack of remorse for actions hopefully can be more reflective why there were poor decisions. To learn and grow from this experience. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. 

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” No doubt in my mind, take them to Red Deer”. More positive than negative. It’s changed our lives. It comes down to trust. Needs to be a bond between Director and Parents. Benefits: Its changed our lives. Highlights: our child has built relationships. 

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The staff genuinely care about the well-being of the youth. Their competence and their depth of experience gave us hope and confidence in a positive outcome.   Our son has grown and matured immensely and has learned skills that will help him cope with life challenges in a healthy and sustainable way. As parents we have also gained new insights that has contributed to the development of better relationships with our children and greater awareness of the changes in our parenting required to strengthen and maintain our connection. The biggest highlight occurred during a parent visit, where our child came to us and thanked us for sending him to Venture Academy. Our hope is to build on the foundation he’s been given at Venture Academy and recognize the potential he has within himself and to strive to live up to his potential in all facets of life. Moving forward we hope that the self-awareness , esteem, and inner strength that our child has gained through this experience at Venture Academy will help him lead a productive and fulfilling life and chooses to focus on developing healthy relationships that contribute to his growth, contentment, and well-being. 

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The team approach was key to the success of the program. Because, in particular, was most supportive, insightful and wisely directive. Venture has been a game changer. It has transformed our child’s life and enriched his life. The trajectory has changed directions, thanks to the goals set out and the goals maintained throughout the program. The highlights were the restoration of the person our child, the establishment of skills and going back to the family. our child has had resounding success because of the program in his outlook to life. Hope moving forward and the progress further in life and discipline, giving back to the community. 

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Venture was our only hope when our child went off the deep end. There was nothing comparable in the public system and we decided that we had no option but to find money and get her there somehow. The team were very supportive when our daughter arrived and helped to lift a huge burden off our shoulders. Our child’s health began to improve, and the best thing was to get her off the devices, including her phone. The rules and routine as well as the therapy have given our child a new set of tools with which to use to cope in her life. Now that she has returned, we can see that she is no means completely there yet, but we have seen significant improvement. She is taking care of her personal hygiene, exercising on her own, and is seeing value in education. We still have our work cut out for her. Being at Venture is a challenge for her and her parents. The hard reset however has given us all the opportunity to move forward. 

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Venture saved our daughter’s life. The need for intervention was extreme and the social/healthcare environment in Ontario did not support our specific needs. We were desperate and there was no one left to turn to, having exhausted school, health and social services. Venture was our last/best resort. Thank you.

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Difficult as it was to Agree to admit our daughter to the program… there was always the sense that we were not alone going through the process and the staff made sure we felt supported. Short term – provided a fresh start and a new perspective moving forward for our daughter. I think she is more self-aware and has gained perspective on things around her both good and bad. With that, it will allow her to make informed choices and continue moving towards a more positive outlook on life and herself. As a co-parent with a not so collaborative ex-spouse at times… it has allowed us to open up communication lines and given us tools to use that will benefit our daughter in the long term. Kudos to the team. The Parent Coach, The Executive Director and The Clinical Therapist. Valued your inside and help in all of this…helping me be better for my daughter. For that I am eternally grateful!! Cheers.

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It has been an amazing journey. From painful day of dropping him off to picking up the kid from 3 years ago. Involvement: break and space to stop trauma and reflect and reassess. Create an action plan. To find another way to move forward in a more peaceful manner. our child had time to reflect and grow. Highlights: more experience, more wraparound of people and adults who truly cared. our child can feel it. I can feel it. Everyone has the best of intentions. Hopes: Don’t have to come back for services. 

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I feel really good about our daughter going there- She was able to identify and work through some of the things she was going through. 

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Our son was on a dangerous path prior to attending Venture.  His peers were all involved in dangerous activities and drug use.  He was not attending school and we were at the end of the rope.  At Venture he learned that his actions prior were dangerous and he learned a lot about himself and some of his past issues.  One of the highlights is the new relationship he and I now have.  Moving forward I wish our child can complete his Grade 12, remain employed, and not go back to his old ways.  The only other feedback is I would like to see more counselling sessions per week for the kids.  I would guess many here would benefit.

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our family dynamic has improved, specifically our child’s relationship with his mother.  our child has been clean and sober for over a year now and we of course want this to continue.  Our child has become more active through Crossfit and workouts.  He plans to continue this when he comes home.  our child’s diet has improved significantly, and we plan on preparing more varied meals when he is home.  Our child now takes pride in his academics.  We plan on continuing with ILC until the 2nd semester when he will enter a co-op program with academics and work.

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Venture has benefited us in many ways.  They have given us the tools to heal as a family, strategies to continue and strive for success.  They have provided our child with a positive foundation to continue as an active positive member of society.  I am grateful for everything Venture has done for my child and my family.

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He is much calmer, kindhearted, friendly and polite, outgoing, our relationship has improved dramatically, he is excited about living a better life, he has been working steadily /hard with school. I am so proud of our child for completing his full time at Venture Academy.

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The HP situation helped me with the anxiety of having my child away from home.

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Our child has benefitted from the structured and safe environment.  His exposure to daily/weekly counselling is more than we could have exposed him to with provincially mandated/funded mental health care.  Although our child continues to struggle, we hope that he has learned how to effectively participate in a counselling relationship and that the tools that he has been taught to manage his perception of self and treatment of others will help him function more effectively in the future.  We have noticed a significant increase in focus and achievement in his academic performance.  This will allow him to complete a great 12 certificate – a goal which previously seemed unattainable.

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gave our family a chance to step away from parenting him, he was able to heal himself before reestablishing the family. our child ‘s opportunities in the Okanagan, the life lessons he has gained through the different HP home.  our child continues to grow the r/s continues to get better, that he confides in his parents.  

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We have learned a great deal about how important loving, but firm leadership is to the success of family living. As individuals we have each developed a heightened awareness of our responsibilities to each other.  Accountability is essential to family life! The highlights of our time working with our daughter during her treatment were: our surprise visit with her after not seeing her for 4 months. our child’s home visit.  watching her do Crossfit at Driven – Wow!!  our hope is that our family will be stronger and that the individuals that make up our family will have the hope, skills, determination, and self-discipline to face each day – and “win the day”! We have really enjoyed working with the team at Venture Academy.  Thanks for your help with getting our girl back!

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excellent communication and involvement of parents. I am very happy with host parent set up.  Good focus on the genuine healing of youth (not just compliance) and the required patience to go along with it.  

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our child has increased his skills and self-confidence in a more intensive therapy environment than what we could provide at home.  He has grown since first coming up and we are proud of his growth.  Hope that our child continues with the skills that he has learned at Venture Academy and moves forward in a positive way.

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I feel like our child has improved in many ways. Although her journey is not over. Our relationship is better, and she is far less aggressive verbally and physically. Our child needs to do the next step in the journey and realize her anger and aggression affects her life. Thank you for what you have done so far. 

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We appreciate all the support and guidance we have been given.  Our child has gotten her zest for life and learning back.

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We are thankful that we found Venture! our child was heading down a dark and dangerous path and from what we can see, she has made tremendous improvements, and we feel we have our child back.  The time that we had away from our child was a benefit to all of us. Our child and I were able to work on our marriage and ourselves. Our child got the constant treatment she needed, and our son got a break from the daily frustrations and struggles of seeing his sister fall apart. our weekly calls with The Executive Director were extremely beneficial as were the books she gave us to read. Before going to Venture, there was a daily argument/disagreement/shouting match which was taking it toll on all of us. The Executive Director, learning, reading and getting our own treatment, we are in a much better place now to help to continue to support our child. We are proud of our child for the work she has put in and we are extremely grateful for all the staff at Venture and the Host Parents. We feel we are all on the same page now and are looking forward to having our child back home! 

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I think Venture has provided our family with the stability and grounding to move forward with a positive foundation.  I also appreciated the time spent with Parent Coaching as well to guide through the process.  We were able to get our child stabilized to a point where he was open to talk and be honest.  Moving forward we are hoping to be connected with our child and improve the strength of our entire family.  We want our child to be a member of our family.  As a parent I was freaked out about dropping our child off and knowing he was safe and protected.  At the first visit, we had the chance to meet HPs and become assured that he was okay.  Family sessions were needed.  Always left a sense of growth and improvement after a family session.

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The staff is fantastic.

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Very impressed with the program.  Venture Academy was very involved with our child’s mental health. In just 3 short months I have noticed a huge difference in our child’s attitude, her confidence has grown.  Her strength is so admirable.

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I think that the intervention aspect of the program will be crucial to him succeeding from here on out.  The ability to turn off the noise will have hopefully given him time to reflect and gain some insight into his own behaviours.  My hopes are that he can stand on his own two feet and know who he is and what his own beliefs and values are.  Not to take on everyone around him.  We are sincerely grateful for everyone at Venture Academy.  It is abundantly clear that all the staff are committed to helping these kids and families in any way possible.

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It is just refreshing to see the old our child back. I think that The Team lead, The Executive Director and The Parent Coach did a great job. Our child’s communication skills have improved (what he needs) and he is swearing less. our child’s time at the gym and his physical fitness. We hope he keeps working on his anger and stays sober. 

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I feel like Venture has successfully got to the rest of our child’s trauma and has taught and implemented the tool to give her the confidence to move forward. Venture has a well-rounded team of experts to fully engage in the positive environment. Our child was in for a 2-month period and the changes have been very positive. The trauma has been addressed and doesn’t define who she is anymore. We are excited to move forward. 

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It is very helpful and so many helpful tools. As parents we appreciated the support, it has been wonderful. Hoping to go forward and progress with how our son has moved forward. The Executive Director has been wonderful. 

Excellent Care. Greatly appreciated Admin Assistant and her work with our daughter to complete math course. Detox-away from drugs. It has given my wife and I a chance to seek help with what we can do to help our daughter be successful in his recovery. Our daughter was able to catch up on her schoolwork. 

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Our family has a better understanding of how children get into this position and parents contribution to that.  So having a chance to hit “reset” to restructure our household so to speak to have a better environment to support our children.  As a mom I feel more confident holding my ground on issues I would have given into in the past.  My son has got himself back on track with schoolwork and is actually reading!!  I’m hoping we will see our son continue to move in positive direction with schoolwork and make better choices with our guidance and support.

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We have been happy overall and would have liked to continue our child’s treatment but simply could not afford to.  We hope that we will be able to implement the treatment plan in other settings as we feel it is appropriate and would help our son. 

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Although we had hoped our son would participate in a more meaningful way, he still had this opportunity provided to him.  He has been clean and there was a reduction in acting out behaviour.  Thank you to HP’s and team.  

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our child is reengaged with us and is a lot more willing to talk. Could see evidence of walls going down. That we as a family can continue he work with him and us with help from others (coaching for The Parent Coach and Therapist).

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Provided a break in cycle allowed both our daughter and us some time to learn from our experience and will hopefully provide foundation for a healthier relationship going forward.

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The Executive Director, and the teachers absolutely saved my daughter’s life and we are forever thankful to them for saving our child. She developed the tools to go out in the world and follow her dreams.  If parents in the are need someone to talk to or have questions about Venture, you can use me as a reference.  We know our child left early but the change we seen in just 60 days is truly amazing.  She is now the daughter I always knew she could be.

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The feed back on her behaviour and root cause was very helpful. We seem to have a better relationship. Help and guidance on issues. The break from each other was good. Got back to a positive relationship and that our child is successful in life. 

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The improvement that my daughter has is that she is willing to communicate with us parents again. I can see our daughters passion on CrossFit and has become more active and confident. She no longer stays in her room and bed, instead she will help to clean and exercise. The way that she has communicates with me has been an improvement. We as parents, learned a lot from The Parent Coach, the way we should engage with our child and have them attach to us. The two positive ways of communicating with each other is something that our child and we work on. I think that The Executive Director and the staff worked with our child on lots of ways and strategies on how to manage her emotions and how to express herself. I can see how she uses these coping skills in the near future.

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our family has benefitted from your involvement by understanding structure and routine are an absolute must.  Minimal electronic use and more family bonding and attachment are of importance.  This program has given our child a diagnosis that the school district in Regina can plan for success in schooling.  A highlight was I was able to rest, breathe and make a stronger plan forward.  our child will welcome home with open heart and open mind and hope for a great transition. (expected with it’s challenges.)

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I believe our child benefited from being here due to the professionalism of all involved.  One of the greatest moments was in the second week when our child had a breakdown and the host parents intervened had that talk with him about “battles won” After that day all the weekly calls was big improvement. I want to give a big thank you to all of you.  The host parents and son, I greatly thank you guys for giving him the opportunity to get to know you guys.  You all are truly blessed.

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It is nice too have help in this big world as parents we are made to believe that we have to do it on our own, to have programs to support and help is amazing. 

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Our Child has shown maturity since coming to Venture Academy.  Her great gran said ” You can see the smile in her eyes.  She is beautiful on the inside and outside”.  She is more considerate of the people around her and how she speaks.  Our daughter also realizes we have to work together to succeed.  She received help with viewing others faults and accepting them.

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HP fantastic – so glad he got to stay with her.  

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our relationship with our child has improved since her attending Venture.  She puts more thought into what she says and is more receptive & open to discussions between us as parents and her.   She’s making more of an effort with her siblings and pets and is accepting our rules even if she doesn’t agree with them. We hope she continues to be open minded and that she realized we aren’t trying to control her life, only guide her towards healthy lifestyle choices.

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By having our child here, it has given us time to refocus and become a stronger family unit.  It was nice having the chance to write to our daughter while she’s been here.  It helped to express how we have been feeling without being tense and negative.  Reading letters and writing them helped expressed feelings that wouldn’t have if in a face to face situation.

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To start we were both able to relax and distress.  Through the process we gained a lot of insight in our parenting and as to why our child was behaving the way she was.  We really enjoyed our parenting calls with The Parent Coach.  We feel our child has been able to take time to reflect on herself and behaviours and has gained some great insights as to how to be a happier and healthier version of herself.

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We realize we still have a lot of work to do with our child but we feel like we have the tools to build our relationship and help support our child to really grow up and mature.  We look forward to our parent calls after bringing her home as well.

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We saw a big difference from the first letter she wrote and the last letter we received yesterday.  We certainly had time to reflect on how important family is and that the family is the core to a fruitful life.  This has made a very positive feeling on her and us.

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our child engaged in physical activity.  He became respectful of house routines and doing chores at house.  He followed a schedule and participated in school activities.  Our child is looking forward to his future and trying to decide on a career path

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Benefitted most from the positive relationships she developed with her host family.  although early on the access to social media may have impeded her somewhat.

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Venture provided a safe harbor and much needed respite for our family in a state of turmoil and trauma.  We hope that our relationship will be more positive and calm moving forward.  When we brought our child to the cottage for a weekend in October In the morning we sat on a rock looking over the bay and talked and drank coffee.  This was the first time that I’d had that type of experience hanging out with my daughter.

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I know my child is too complicated to fit your system but it gave me respite, validation, and more documentation to continue to try to support him in community. I have also been assured I can reach out if I need more materials from the psychologist or team. I thank for this.

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Thank you!  I feel Venture was a great opportunity for our child to reset their attitude and engage in therapeutic self-discovery and open themselves up to help from others and us as parents.  There seems to be an opportunity for us as parents to have a meaningful relationship and allow us to help our child help themself more found to work independence. Also, I hope so much that our child allows their many abilities to shine through & open up possibilities of a fulfilling life.  It is very nice to have meaningful conversation with them to plan how things will look like as we go home (very beneficial)  Hoping that plan for their employment & education continue!!

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Very professional program that knows what they are doing.  It has been an opportunity to have a “reset” for our child and the rest of the family and an intense review of our parenting.  Receiving the handwritten letters from our child were a highlight.  A basic but vital form of communication – the letter exchange.  We hope that our child’s behaviour improves, and he can continue his education and learn to self-regulate.  The time we have had with venture staff has been limited-we understand that this was the 30-day assessment but felt communication was restricted.

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The staff are great! 

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I’m glad it exists – I wish there was a location close to home.

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Appreciate that is was mental health approach, was scared that it would focus on behaviour.

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The staff showed a deep commitment to building a relationship with my daughter. They were always professional, caring and treated her with dignity. 

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The program has good fucus on routine and discipline which helped stabilize the children
We had a new diagnosis that was not previously identified which will enable us to have a different approach with more potential success. It also help improve out communication between us. 

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We are happy that you exist! We have learned a lot about scheduling, recreation, rules. It was also just helpful to have our daughter leave our home and learn from a new environment. While she has been away, we have come up with a home plan that includes a better schedule, rules and guidelines for our home including planning family time. 

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Our child was able to start working on his grief sustaining the death of his mother and how this might have impacted our relationship. 

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our child is now out of his room and doing things with me. His attitude has changed and he is now willing to solve problems together. He has actually stopped and reminded himself not to keep requesting something when he was told to wait. I am hoping that he will continue to follow the household expectations and that he will attend school daily and actually get his schoolwork done. 

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The staff have been incredible and supportive. Would highly recommend! It was helpful for me as a parent as well as for our child. 

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There has been an increase in empathy in our child. He is working on himself and is more in want of relationship with parents. Relationship focus and communication advice was helpful to parents. 

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Felt secure that my child was being supported throughout his time and that his safety and wellbeing a daily priority.

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With combined diagnosis, he is a very challenging child and recognized staff efforts to have him achieve small steps towards the goal of helping him begin to heal. With this complex child, I won’t know what or how him and our family has benefited until he is home and has transition back into our lives. 

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Although my child has not made the progress we had hoped for, the staff at Venture made effort to try different things to accommodate our situation. The Parent Coach helped us navigate some very difficult subjects between my husband and I in regards to trying to co-parent a difficult child. And to attempt to rebuild relationships between all the members of the family. 

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I think you are a great team.  Communication was so good.  I appreciate your support, prayers and listening.

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As parents we have gained a bunch of tools for us to be able to better support our child.    For us The Parent Coach was a useful tool on our calls helping us understand things and learn more to help our son.

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The therapeutic aspect of Venture Academy was great.  Our child is doing much better.  The admin girls in the Kelowna office were great.  

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best assessment they’ve had – wow! Benefit – understanding our child’s meds and her distractions. Learning about relationship, collect before direct. Taking a step back ,every family different but all have expectations. 

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We feel there has been some benefits thus far.  We really enjoyed our parent sessions with The Parent Coach in Kelowna as well as our assessment process with the psychologist.  We believe the report we now have will be great to have for future reference within his schools and helpful for the teachers involved with our child.  Our hopes moving forward is to help our child transition back to home and school life back home and have him start in some kind of anger management program.  We look forward to seeing our child’s progress and using some of his gained knowledge to put to good use in stressful situations.  Looking forward to keeping in touch with Venture.

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We feel so good about our decision to enroll our daughter.  The Admissions Counselor was so helpful and supportive during the admission process.  We slept well last night knowing we are moving forward and she is safe.

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My daughter has improved in communication and being more aware of herself.  It has been a long time since our child could behave herself for a month. 

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Our child said she missed Venture and that her experience there had both ups and downs but overall has been so helpful to her.  She extremely thankful for her journey here and for the people she met along the way.  She feels she has definitely benefitted, she is a happier person, She is healthier, she has healthy coping skills, and  finally She has a fantastic relationship with her family.

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So great to hear my daughter has settled in her first week.  I am encouraged to hear she is sharing her struggles and poor lifestyle choices prior to coming to Venture Academy already.

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To date our child has been off of all substances.  It is so great that she is no longer smoking and / or using any substances!  I think that the time away from her peers and other stressors has given her not only the opportunity to rest and set her sleep schedule straightened out but also ample time to realize the choices that she made were leading her in a direction that would wreck her life and her potential that she has!  

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As you know there is no template for when your loved one goes off the rails. For us, it was a 3-year spiral to get to the point where we knew we needed a drastic solution if we ever had any hope of saving her life. Throughout the process of our daughter’s journey I was amazed at the lack of options available to families dealing with troubled teens.

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I believe that VA is the only program in Canada that offers the level of care and intervention in a safe environment you have created.

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From the beginning, when we dropped our daughter off, The Executive Director and the staff were there supporting us and making the best of an incredibly difficult process.

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The Executive Director was instrumental in guiding us along, at times encouraging us and at other times it felt like tough love, 😊 telling us the truth, not being what we wanted to hear but what we needed to hear.

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We knew that our daughter was in the right environment and I know the staff played an instrumental role in our daughter’s health. We are grateful to have been treated so well by everyone involved, the reporting and assessments were thorough each week and we were never short of time to discuss our concerns or observations from afar.

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Thank-you to you and your entire staff for helping us navigate thru rough waters as a family, and thank you for saving our daughter… and giving us back our daughter, healthy, happy and full of hope for the future.

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