A Catholic-based program for at-risk teen boys, Mount Carmel Youth Ranch has had an impressive track record of offering expert treatment in drug and alcohol addiction for close to 20 years. The staff at Mount Carmel Youth Ranch has adopted a healing process that is centered on core values like empathy, dignity and respect and sprinkled with large doses of adventure.
Mount Carmel Youth Ranch views addiction not as a disease or illness but an uninformed choice that is marked by fear and selfish motives. The Mount Carmel Youth Ranch staff believes in a cohesive Christian treatment philosophy which addresses the mind, body and spirit and balances these components to create a more enriching life. Couple the comprehensive treatment with a western setting of abundant natural beauty that includes a lush mountain landscape, varied wildlife species and action-packed activities and young men find a combination that nourishes the body and soul.
The treatment program at Mount Carmel Youth Ranch is dispensed by a team of expert, committed and compassionate staff coming from a spectrum of disciplines that include substance abuse and addiction counseling. In addition to the counselors, Mount Carmel Youth Ranch has specialized life coaches, devoted mentors and a group of direct care staff. The north Wyoming wilderness of the Mount Carmel Youth Ranch provides the perfect backdrop for discovery of the self through a dedicated therapy program that addresses issues like anger, negative self-perception and destructive behavior.
The Mount Carmel Youth Ranch Substance Abuse Recovery Program also focuses on forging more harmonious and fulfilling peer relationships. The outdoor rugged adventure setting of the Mount Carmel Youth Ranch acts as a powerful catalyst to assist young men in identifying their inner strengths and unique potential. Mount Carmel Youth Ranch has a potent “Reality Therapy” in place that brilliantly combines a unique approach of spiritual and psychological development and celebrates recovery. Concerned parents can expect their sons to be accommodated at the Mount Carmel Youth Ranch within 24-48 hours of application.
About the author
Mount Carmel Youth Ranch is a non-profit organization founded in 1993 that uses real life experiences on a 40,000-acre ranch to impact young men. Those visiting Mount Carmel Youth Ranch may fly into Cody, Wyoming or Billings, Montana. The remote location coupled with the raw beauty of the western United States immediately impacts families who are considering this ranch.
Most young men face a new reality when removed from familiar surroundings and confronted with wilderness, nature and a different perspective of the creation all around them. This wilderness setting provides a faith-based focus that helps mend a young man’s relationships with his family and his world while building a moral conscience. At Mount Carmel Youth Ranch a threefold focus on body, mind and spirit deliver changes that last a life time. Mount Carmel Youth Ranch believes in its process to such an extent that they guarantee the success of their Wilderness Therapy-Frontier and Long Term Programs.
Mount Carmel Youth Ranch serves young men between the ages of 12-17. Mount Carmel Youth Ranch processes applications year round, in as little as three to five days. The programs vary in length from ninety days to eighteen months based on individual needs. Mount Carmel Youth Ranch has confidence that the Wilderness Program and School make a positive impact on the young men attending their programs. Should a young man have a relapse after completing the eighteen month long term and Wilderness program, Mount Carmel Youth Ranch offers the Wilderness Therapy Intervention Program to him free of charge for twenty one days.
Mount Carmel Youth Ranch accepts applicants with addiction, behavioral and life style issues. Mount Carmel Youth Ranch offers to dispense medication in a controlled and secure environment that allows families to have peace of mind. All young men are required to attend regular church services weekly. Mount Carmel Youth Ranch models the Catholic family, however all faiths are accepted and respected.
School attendance may or may not be required based on the term of the program. Mount Carmel Youth Ranch uses the nationally accredited Seton Home Study Program, Christian-based and the Nationally Accepted Our Lady of the Rosary home study program which offers complete teacher services, texts, lesson plans, workbooks, tests, grading and diplomas.
The state of Wyoming Department of Family Services licenses Mount Carmel Youth Ranch as a group home. Mount Carmel Youth Ranch is a non-profit organization with a governing board of directors. All Mount Carmel Youth Ranch fees cover in-house counseling, tutoring, twenty four hour supervision, room and board, and personal hygiene products, as well as horses, saddle and all tack used during the stay at the ranch.
About
It is our belief that [Mount Carmel Youth Ranch] found us – rather than the reverse – so call it Divine Intervention or fortuitous timing, but our family was on the brink of an emotional breakdown.
Our son graduated from Mount Carmel Youth Ranch in December. He has a lovely girlfriend, runs seven miles a day, and gets decent grades in his classes, he has his job, plays intramural sports and basically has come so far from that 16 year old confused adolescent. And we owe most of that to Jerry Schneider and Mount Carmel Youth Ranch.
When comparing programs, I liked the fact that Mount Carmel Youth Ranch was a working cattle ranch; that it was small and personal and the boys were treated like family. I thought the religious components to the Mount Carmel Youth Ranch program were an asset. We found the fact that most of the boys had some sort of attention deficits but that most of the boys didn’t have the need for stimulant medication while they were living at Mount Carmel Youth Ranch. The boys developed a sense of ownership about Mount Carmel Youth Ranch and learned that they had to pull their weight to “make their ranch work,” or it would go out of business.
But we soon came to realize that the biggest benefit of Mount Carmel Youth Ranch was the opportunity to be mentored by Jerry Schneider. Jerry is simply goodness personified. His ability to reach all the boys and fill them with self-worth and esteem cannot be minimized, and we are blessed that our son has had the incredible opportunity to share some of his formative years at Mount Carmel Youth Ranch with such a wise and wonderful man.
Our son was a participant in the summer “Cow Camp” program at Mount Carmel Youth Ranch about 5 years ago. He had begun to get into serious trouble at school (which he hated) and had become verbally abusive and defiant at home. My husband and I both realized that no matter what we were doing, it wasn’t working. I began looking online at programs for a Christian based organization and came across the website for Mount Carmel Youth Ranch.
I was intrigued by the fact that this was an entirely different environment and that our son could interact with animals, which was one area that he enjoyed. I made several calls and spoke with the admissions counselor at Mount Carmel Youth Ranch. It was the Christian environment, influence, and leadership that we were looking for. Eventually, after several phone calls, we decided that we would try the Mount Carmel Youth Ranch summer “Cow Camp” to see if a change like this would be beneficial for our son. Looking back, it was the very best thing that could have happened to him. We are extremely proud of the obstacles he has overcome and that he is serving our country [in Iraq]. I believe that he would not have been able to reach his goal of joining the Army if he wouldn’t have spent that summer Mount Carmel Youth Ranch. With the help of Jerry, the counselors, and God, our son turned his life around.
We tried everything to help our son. As we went from program to program and therapist to therapist, nothing ever seemed to get any better. We started looking into boot camps, military schools and behavior programs for troubled boys. Mount Carmel Youth Ranch’s program seemed to encompass everything I was searching for – the mountain environment, the horse therapy and the fact that this place seemed as though they would not take any gruff from my son. I knew Mount Carmel Youth Ranch was the right place when Luke Schneider told me, “Our program is based around the relationship Christ had with His mother. We teach the boys here first and foremost to respect their mothers.”
Our son has been at Mount Carmel Youth Ranch 10 months now. Huge transformations are taking place in him. I never once looked at his stay at Mount Carmel Youth Ranch as a punishment or our getting rid of him. Rather, I looked at his placement at Mount Carmel Youth Ranch as his time to heal, to find himself and to learn to love himself. I looked at his stay at Mount Carmel Youth Ranch as a Vision Quest.
Yes, the program is quite an investment. Don’t wait until it is too late. If you keep thinking, “Oh, it will get better. He will outgrow this”, that may not happen. The staff at Mount Carmel Youth Ranch is truly dedicated to helping these boys turn their lives around. The program at Mount Carmel Youth Ranch is unique and special.
When our son arrived at Mount Carmel Youth Ranch, he was at an all time low. After nine months at Mount Carmel Youth Ranch we finally have him back almost all the way. Mount Carmel Youth Ranch program might not work for every boy, but it has worked for our son.
Are there areas at Mount Carmel Youth Ranch which need improvement? Surely, Mount Carmel Youth Ranch would agree. But, from first hand experience we can say: It’s pretty easy to find a program a lot worse than Mount Carmel Youth Ranch, but it’s pretty hard to find one a lot better.