A few days ago, I was mindlessly scrolling through Tik Tok when I ran upon an a video of a girl talking about the abuse she'd seen and endured while attending a boarding school. I was immediately intrigue, and horrified, and went to her page to watch the rest of her videos. As I watched the videos, and did some research of my own, I became more and more sick at what I was finding out.
To see the videos made, search @matisonhimes on Tik Tok.
Circle of Hope's Website
If you were considering placing your daughter in the Circle of Hope boarding school, and you stumbled upon their website, it would be easy to be tricked into thinking it was a good, safe place to take your child. Their mission statement alone is very promising to any Christian family who is struggling with a troubled child. They claim to "Bring hope to young ladies and their families through Jesus Christ."
Along with this mission statement, they've added "testimonies" from former students and parents of the school, which I can only assume are fake, because any review you find apart from their website tells about the abuse the girls actually go through, while the "testimonies" on their website rave about how helpful the school was and how loving the faculty are.
Circle of Hope claims to be a Christ-centered establishment, when in reality I believe they have made themselves into a religious cult, and in no way, shape, or form do they represent true Christianity.
The Abuse
Matison Himes shares a lot of different stories on her Tik Tok page that revolve around the abuse she and the other girls faced while attending the boarding school. She tells about how the girls weren't aloud to talk to each other at all, how they were almost never taken to the doctor, dentist, or optologist, and about the severe punishments that were enforced as results of "bad behavior." Matison also tells about how the "overweight" girls are given less food and the the "underweight" girls are given double portions, and they are forced to eat everything, and only, what they are given.
She goes over multiple cases of physical and emotional abuse that should never be enforced on any child, especially at the hand of people who are supposed to be their teachers and caregivers.
How Are They Getting Away With It?
No parent would keep their child in a place like Circle of Hope if they figured out what was going on, and the government would surely shut them down if they knew what was taking place, but the staff members have made it to where no one would really be able to find out. All letters, phone calls, and family visits are monitored by the staff. If a letter contains any information that the staff doesn't want let out, the student has to rewrite it, and it won't be sent until it meets the approval of the staff members and the leader of the "school," Brother House.
Along with this, the girls "take injuries" every night. All girls have to report any injuries they have and the reason they have them. The injury reports have to be signed by Brother House, and are not signed unless an unsuspicious cause of injury is written on the report. This is enforced so that, in the case that Child Protective Services did show up, all injuries of any students could be accounted for in an inconspicuous manner.
What bothered me most about this entire situation is that it was happening just a couple hours away from my hometown, in Humansville, Missouri, and that they take the students to church in Springfield, Missouri, where I will be attending school in the fall, and I had no idea. I have never heard about this place before, and I probably never would have unless I had been scrolling through Tik Tok. There are so many people who are unaware about what's going on around them, and they need to be informed so that the girls in the school can be rescued and they can be shut down.
To receive more information about Circle of Hope Girls Ranch and Boarding School, please google them and find @matisonhimes page on Tik Tok. Let's spread awareness to help the girls who are still stuck in the establishment.
