
Whetstone Boys Ranch for Troubled Youth
Whetstone Boys Ranch is a therapeutic Christian school that serves struggling boys and their families through an outdoor atmosphere on a ranch for troubled youth. Here boys ages 12-16 live, learn, work and grow as they experience essential individual, group and family therapy, excellent academics, exciting outdoor adventures, and useful hands-on tasks. We believe in sharpening young men to become true servant-leaders in their families and communities.
Since 2011, Whetstone’s purpose centers on the reconciliation of boys and their families. We treat struggles such as anger, depression, low self-esteem and trauma with a loving, systems-based approach. And this comprehensive method of treatment and restoration sets us apart. We focus on issues young boys struggle with, including introductory misbehavior (vaping, negative video game-technology/pornography), anger, depression, low self-esteem, and trauma related issues. Whetstone is an opportunity to intervene now, before these issues grow deeper.
Life on the Boys Ranch
Boys are put to work for a minimum of six hours of service each week. These experiences include:
Building fences · Putting up hay · Sorting, branding, and doctoring cattle · Processing chickens and pigs · Laying tile · Installing hardwood flooring · Painting · Demolition · Serving food to needy families · Taking soil samples · Extracting Honey · Gardening · Landscaping · Tree planting · River clean-up · Highway clean up · Cooking · Animal Care
Boys receive therapy based on their needs, after going through a screening process. Therapy and counseling includes individual 1 hour sessions, once a week, led by a LPC therapist. Individual treatment includes EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) – originally designed to alleviate distress associated with traumatic memories. It is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences…and helps activate their natural healing processes. (EMDR.com)
Behavioral Needs
Whetstone Boys Ranch for troubled youth serves troubled boys ages 12-16 with these behavioral issues:
Boys who suffer from not being able to form healthy emotional relationships, including RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder)
Boys who are unable to remain focused, ADHD, (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
Boys who display signs of early rebellion, refuses to obey, shows argumentative behavior, ODD (Oppositional Defiance Disorder)
Boys who simply need a change of environment, separated from the negative impact of internet obsessions, and harmful relationships with us in guiding struggling boys back to the path that God has laid out for them.
Whetstone Boys Ranch also serves families with boys struggling with anger, apathy, depression, relationship, trauma, truancy and/or self-esteem, among a variety of other things. Many of the boys we serve have also been diagnosed with attention deficit, hyperactivity, oppositional defiance and attachment struggles.
At a minimum, it takes six months to complete Whetstone’s program, so we recommend planning for 6-12 months. In this time, boys will work through a level system and earn the equivalent of at least one semester of academic credit in our boarding school. Parents must also make arrangement for two separate week-long family visitations. We feel that these times are necessary to facilitate a successful return home upon graduation, and for our staff to conduct training and campus improvements.
Call us today to help your son at our boys ranch for troubled youth.