The UnBoxing Project: How you can help (Eleanor’s thoughts)

When we started helping people move out, we learned that getting out and finding freedom is messy, and everyone’s situation is different. When someone contacted us for help, we said that they went “active.” It’s like being on call for an emergency move 24/7. They’ll tell us the situation is deteriorating, but we don’t know it’s goingContinueContinue reading “The UnBoxing Project: How you can help (Eleanor’s thoughts)”

The UnBoxing Project: How you can help (Cynthia’s thoughts)

Here are Cynthia’s concluding thoughts. (Cynthia is now known as Artemis Stardust.) Rescuing people from cults is not an item to check off of a to-do list. It’s a process. While we worked together on the UnBoxing Project, we learned this through our own exhausted time and money. We didn’t just need to free peopleContinueContinue reading “The UnBoxing Project: How you can help (Cynthia’s thoughts)”

The UnBoxing Project: Gissel’s story

Gissel dyed her hair red for the first time during the week after she left home. | Photo: Ashley Kavanaugh In July 2014, Ashley came over to my apartment to visit one Saturday morning. While we were talking, Ashley got a text message from Gissel, one of her friends from the First United Pentecostal ChurchContinueContinue reading “The UnBoxing Project: Gissel’s story”

The UnBoxing Project: Defecting from a cult

Liz was part of our network that helped Racquel and Ashley as they left the cult environment of the First United Pentecostal Church of Colorado Springs. Here is her perspective. Photo: Wil C. Fry, creative commons license. Image links to source. Nearly two years ago, I received text messages from Eleanor about a friendship betweenContinueContinue reading “The UnBoxing Project: Defecting from a cult”

The UnBoxing Project: Racquel’s story

Eleanor and Racquel hiking the Incline near Colorado Springs in fall 2013. | Photo: Eleanor Skelton Content note: religious manipulation, forced starvation Racquel grew up attending the First United Pentecostal Church of Colorado Springs, now known as Heritage Pentecostal Church. This is Racquel’s story, in her own words.  Somehow I never imagined that the innerContinueContinue reading “The UnBoxing Project: Racquel’s story”