ABUSED CHILDREN BEWARE OF TAKE ROOT. ORG!

“Were YOU abducted as a child?  You may be eligible to join Take Root!”*
*DISCLAIMER -  ONLY IF YOU HATE YOUR ABDUCTING PARENT!
I have no doubt that this organization does good work for high publicity stranger abduction cases, but it is not supportive of children who went missing with a protective parent. I had personal contact with this organization in 2008 and I found them and their affiliates to be terrifying. I was threatened with kidnapping and forced deprograming even though I was an adult and made it clear that I was safe and where I wanted to be. They said it didn’t matter that my father was physically abusive to me and my brother. I was told that he deserved a second chance and they were going to force a reunion on me and my brother but it was for our “own good.” We contacted the Police, Dutch Ministries and even the FBI. That is how frightening they were. I don’t know if the same people are still affiliated with this organization, but I think everyone should be aware of what kind of people you may be dealing with. In the end we were denied all support and membership to their organization. I guess you have to hate your protective parent and to qualify for membership.
“Take Root partners with and enhances the work of many of the Association of Missing & Exploited Children’s Organization’s member organizations.
SUPPORT BRANCH – FOR FORMER MISSING CHILDREN Cultivating the Wisdom of Former Missing-Children  The first and only ongoing aftercare support program available to victims of child abduction when they are no longer missing.  This includes victims of both family and non-family abduction. Participants gain healing from joining a clinically moderated peer community of others with similar experiences, and from being empowered as issue advocates through Take Root…
KID GLOVES – RECOVERING AFTER ABDUCTION  Harvesting the Wisdom of Former Missing-Children  A new philosophy for recovering children from long-term abductions, based in the collective experiences of hundreds of former missing-children. The Kid Gloves approach strives to minimize trauma and maximize healing from the moment of first contact….
IN YOUR HANDS -  FAMILY ABDUCTION PREVENTION + EDUCATION  Sowing the Wisdom of Former Missing-Children  Tools to lower the incidence rate of the most common and most misunderstood form of child abduction in North America: family abduction. We use the most powerful voice there is to educate about its devastating impact…
THE MISSING SIDE – FIRST HAND ACCOUNTS OF BEING ABDUCTED  Sharing the Voices of Former Missing-Children   Read, hear, and view literary and artistic expressions of their abduction experiences created by Take Root’s membership of former missing children…
Take Root’s findings, training, and materials have been used by key missing child agencies including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the Department of State’s Office of Children’s Issues, The National Judicial College, the Polly Klaas Foundation, and many more.Take Root was founded in 2002 with assistance from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and a grant from the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention, and is the brain-child of Executive Director and Fulbright Scholar Melissa “Liss” Haviv, who was once an abducted child and is today considered a leading expert in the victimology of child abduction.
Thank you to our special CULTIVATOR partners: The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and The Polly Klaas Foundation. The opinions expressed by Take Root' and its membership of former abducted children should not be used as a substitute for qualified mental health care. Opinions expressed by individual members express the views of the author and not necessarily those of Take Root. Take Root also appreciates the in-kind support provided by web genius Jamie Poitra; CPA firm DeFransisco, Lampitt and Brado; and Vanguard Software's incredibly awesome Vista survey program.”
Again this is my opinion based on my experience I had with them years ago. I am not even sure if I ever had contact with Melissa Haviv. The two people who threatened to kidnap me and my brother were older men.   Who knows… maybe they have straightened out since then and can be a useful resource for the victim of abusive parental abductions.
The one thing they definitely have wrong is that they are NOT the “only ongoing aftercare support program available to victims of child abduction.”  As the executive director of the Courageous Kids Network I want to make it clear that we support all children of parental abductions regardless of the parent’s gender and child’s endorsement of abducting parent. Parental kidnapping is traumatic regardless of the reason and every abused child deserves support, not just those who fit the agenda of some organization.
You don’t have to “apply” to belong to the Courageous Kids Network! 
You have already paid your dues! 
~ Jennifer Collins
Executive Director
Courageous Kids Network
 
 
 

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