I'd like to thank the Teen Challenge team for the amazing work they do. I've been to the program several times and would highly recommend them to any family struggling with a troubled adolescent. They are dedicated professionals that whole heartedly care about the work they do. I've taken there tour , and have seen the structure they provide. Teen Challenge is truly a family. That's why I would definitely trust them with my child. Thanks again, and continue the life changing work that you do! Best Regards, Manny Rodriguez read more

Treasure Coast Boys Academy is an excellent ministry. It truly saves lives by providing a safe haven for at risk teen boys. The staff is exemplary! Each staff member is rigorously vetted and it shows. The team is professional, committed, attentive, loving, and has high expectations of each young man. From the moment you step on the beautiful campus, you can just feel the love that the staff has for each child. Teen Challenge provides individualized holistic (mental, spiritual, social, emotional, and physical) care for each teen boy. The ministry engages the students in a wide variety of activities that young men enjoy- scuba diving, youth conferences, flag football, basketball, youth group, volunteering, leadership opportunities, and much much more. Many parents have relied on the ministry to provide structure, supervised activities, excellent educational options, substance education, mental health counseling, and Christian guidance. At Teen Challenge, a Christian foundation and principles are integrated into all aspects of the program. Students are taught how to build their lives on the Truth! I personally love seeing relationships built on campus and around the IRC community. Students truly have a unique opportunity to build lifelong friendships. The diverse group environment allows boys to become aware, learn, and even practice skills in a realistic secure living environment and around a thriving beach town. I'm proud to support Teen Challenge with my time and resources. I hope you'll consider supporting the work of this local ministry that's making a real-life difference. Kelly C. Sartain read more

My son just spent 11 month at Treasure Coast Boys Academy (TCBA). He started high school in the honors academy (an internal program) and a starting point guard for the junior varsity team. Over the following three years, I witnessed his steady decline of getting himself removed from the honors academy and getting kicked off the basketball team. He decided that he want to hang out with kids that were up to no good. During his junior year, he hardly attended class, did homework, or responded to my phone communication. He was drinking, smoking marijuana, having sex with multiple girls and coming in and out of the house whenever he wanted. He stole my car twice and his grandma's car countless times. He went joy riding in her car and smoked marijuana in it. He smoked marijuana in his room and was caught numerous times with a girl half naked in his room. He avoided attempts to see a counselor. He had no interest in listening to any guidance and spoke of wanting to be emancipated. Having grown up without the influence of a father myself, I thought I was doing the best I could to hold him accountable by withholding allowance, cutting cellphone service, imposing curfews, etc., but nothing seemed to work. He was determined to do as he pleased and only tried to comfort me by telling me not to worry that when he turned 18 he would be moving on to achieve his goals. Heart wrenching. I cried out to Jesus and began to do web searches for places that might help. I believe I was led to TCBA. Adam, Anna, and their staff are amazingly used of God to minister to families and their troubled teens. They operate with wisdom and love. The structure of the program, which has them work through Christian based books and character study materials, has them do chores, online schooling, youth group trips, leadership opportunities and the mentoring, all work together to get their focus on what life is really about; living for Jesus. No cellphones, no internet, no over PG movies, and a tight disciplinary code are fruitful elements of the program as well. Adam and Anna are sure to maximize their resources to provide the best possible experience for the teens. I just picked up my son 6 days ago and while he's not who he ought to be, he's not who he used to be. It's clear to me (and him for that matter, although he won't admit it, yet), that he learned a great deal. Much more of it, I'm sure, he'll realize as he gets older. I'm grateful for TCBA and wish them nothing but continued blessings on their labor of love. Areas in need of improvement: My son did complain of the school type lunches but hey, he should have appreciated what he had at home. The bathrooms looked like they needed serious repair and upgrading. There has been significant remodeling as of late. Weekly counseling by Christian licensed therapists instead of biweekly by unlicensed ministers. That's not taking anything away from the counselor my son had. I just feel there is a need for more professional intervention. read more

Our son attended this program from November 2019 until March 2020. He didn't complete the program due to outside circumstances but we feel his time there was worth it. He made strong friendships and grew and matured during his stay. He did not cooperate with the program entirely because he has his own religious beliefs, but some of the values stuck with him. The only thing we disagreed with during his stay was using communication with his family as a tier in punishment. We were barely allowed to speak with him and visits were taken away, one thing that helped in making our decision to pull him out. We still are glad for his experience there and do not regret it. Miss Anna is very caring and compassionate and our son was very fond of her. The program did not work in the way it usually does since we did not wait out the fifteen months, but it was enough time for him to realize and change his ways. We are grateful for the changes he made there. read more

What a great academy / ministry. We know of others up in Alabama and had to see this one as we were down. It's a boy's academy (as we only knew of the girl's up in Alabama) and is on a large area of land! The leaders are new to the location but not to the organization and are doing a great job so far renovating the area. We met a few staff who were very friendly and inviting. I always like to say, it's the employees led by the leadership that make the organization flow. They seemed to be flowing! They seem to have a good schedule in place where the boys stay active, outside of school hours of course. They have six horses and it was so awesome to see a few of the boys riding. Overall, a good visit and they are doing a great work. read more

I attended this program from March 2018 to June 2019. There couldn't have been a better place for me. Pastor Adam and all of the direct care staff here are wonderful. They invested time into me and gave me the tools to get me to where I am now. They were there to celebrate the good times and also to support me in my low times. Treasure coast boys academy is truly a one of a kind place to help young people get their lives back on track. This place is really wonderful. read more

Treasure Coast Boys Academy was our last resort to try to restore our connection with our teenage son. We tried everything, nothing worked. And even when we first checked out the Adacemy, we were sceptical, especially because we were non-religious and the fundamentals that the boys are being taught, are embedded in Christianity. But, we went in with an open mind and fully embraced the program, since we wanted to help out our son. And what a transformation it has been in the 15 months! It is a long time, but only going through the full 15 months will show you why it has to be the 15 months full period. It is a true heart change that the boys are going through and all good things take time. And let's face it, how long have you been trying to get your son back on track? I know for us it was way more than 15 months and nothing worked for us. The staff and management are absolutely amazing and knowledgable in dealing with teenage boys. I would recommend the Treasure Coast Boys Academy to everyone who are struggling to help their teenage boys get back on track. And I would definitely recommend to have them enroll in the horse program as well as that is a truly unique experience for young boys to learn to work with horses. It takes patience, determination and character to train a horse and the program provides this opportunity during these 15 months, which has truly enriched our son's life. The heart change you will see happening is amazing and will restore your relationship with your son and will provide a new opportunity for your son to grow into a fine, responsible, read more

Our son was out of control. We had tried everything we could think of to get him on the right track. Nothing worked. He had mentioned time and again that he wanted to go into the military when he graduated...so we enrolled him into a military academy. HUGE mistake. Did far more harm than good. He learned all kinds of new tricks there. It was bad. My husband and I are the age of most grandparents, we ARE grandparents.... and this was a problem we had never come across. We prayed and prayed and had him on every prayer request list we could find. One day we came across Teen Challenge. At first I was a wreck. Where would we come up with that kind of money? We prayed some more knowing that if it were right, God would show us the way. He did. Then came the prayers and worry of "will they take him?". The day the call came in that he was being accepted I was hysterical. We had hope. First couple of months he was calling and complaining about everything under the son. Horrible people, disgusting food. Dropping weight because he wasn't being fed. All utter nonsense. After 6 months or so the calls were different. Things were getting better he said. After 9 months we asked him if he were ready to come home, just to see what he would say and he said no. He wasn't ready. To say we were stunned would be an understatement. A few more months went by and we had asked our boys what was the greatest thing we had ever given them and he said Teen Challenge...because without it, he probably wouldn't be alive right now. The folks at Teen Challenge love those boys. They help them all they can. They pray over them. They show them the right path to take. We thank God every day for His wonderful works in our son and for Him guiding us to Teen Challenge. PA and Anna are wonderful, caring, loving people. The boys are surrounded with Godly, loving people who only want them to succeed. I would recommend this program to anyone. read more

*****UPDATE***I found out today via text message from my ex-husband that he had transported my son to the boarding school. I received no notification from the program of his acceptance or change in status since the last update. I received a pamphlet with multiple programs and various sites, but I do not know where my son is even after providing court documents proven I had the legal right to have the information. This is not a child custody battle. I have continued to do my research and am finding nothing about certified or any on-sight educated or board certified therapists or psychiatrists. I contacted Department of Juvenile Justice for information and they indicated because it was a private institution, there was no information available. I tried finding Department of Health license information with all the names; Treasure Coast Boys Academy; St. Lucia County-nothing. Treasure Coast Boys Academy; Indian River County-nothing. Teen Challenge Southeast Region-nothing. Vero Beach Boys Ranch; Indian River County-nothing. The religious exempt provider provision in the Florida statute is very concerning to me; especially since the program executive director(owner) and her husband did not provide any of the specific information requested and seemed to only cater to the parent who was paying the tuition. This is not at all the actions of the words spoken when they called me to "comfort" and "reassure" their program was a family friendly environment that includes both parents. The nice conversation now appears to have been a facade to have me change my review because that conversation started with; " I just received a call; did you post a bad review on yelp?" I hope to be able to provide another update once I'm able to speak or see my son. read more