Unsilenced

Season 24, Episode 2, Jul 18, 01:51 AM

In Episode 2, you'll hear from survivor-turned-advocate Meg Applegate, who spent three and a half years in two residential programs during the early 2000s. After confronting the lasting impact of her experiences, Meg transformed her trauma into action, sharing her story in her memoir Becoming UNSILENCED and founding the national nonprofit Unsilenced, a leading voice in the fight for reform. In this episode, Meg opens up about her path from survival to advocacy.

*Content warning: institutional child abuse, childhood abuse, death of a child, suicide, psychological, physical and sexual violence, abduction, kidnapping, disordered eating, stressful themes, disability abuse, ableism, PTSD, medical abuse and neglect.

*Meg Appelgate’s Work:

Meg Appelgate’s website here: https://megappelgate.com/my-story/

Meg Appelgate’s nonprofit, Unsilenced here: https://www.unsilenced.org/

Meg Appelgate’s memoir, Becoming UNSILENCED: Surviving and Fighting the Troubled Teen Industry: https://megappelgate.com/book/

*Free + Confidential Resources + Safety Tips:
somethingwaswrong.com/resources

Please note: Kenny Pannell and Mary Alexine have never publicly responded to allegations against them. They appear to be no longer involved with Chrysalis in Eureka, Montana since its sale to Embark Behavioral Health. Chrysalis opened in 1998; however, the exact year when Kenny and Mary left is not readily available information.

*Sources
Adverse events in children: predictors of adult physical and mental conditions, Pub Med
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25225793/

Breaking Code Silence
https://www.breakingcodesilence.org/

Chrysalis, InnerChange
https://innerchange.com/programs/chrysalis/

Chrysalis School, Unsilenced
https://archive.unsilenced.org/program-archive/us-programs/montana/chrysalis-school/

Consonance Capital Partners Acquires Majority Stake in Youth-Focused Embark Behavioral Health, Behavioral Health Business
https://bhbusiness.com/2023/02/09/consonance-capital-partners-acquires

Highland Park teen's death leads parents to call for change in troubled teen industry, NBC 5 Chicago
https://www.nbcchicago.com/investigations/highland-park-teen

The Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Health and Development in Young Children.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8882933

Intermountain Health
https://intermountainhealthcare.org

Intermountain Hospital, Unsilenced
https://archive.unsilenced.org/program-archive/us-programs/idaho/intermountain-hospital/

Meg’s Testimony – Chrysalis School and Intermountain Hospital, Unsilenced
https://archive.unsilenced.org/megs-story/

Parents say Discovery Ranch Academy’s negligence led to their son’s death in new lawsuit, The Salt Lake Tribune
https://www.sltrib.com/news/health/2025/05/17/parents-sue-utahs-discovery-ranch/

Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, Pub Med
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9635069/

Residential Consonance Capital Partners Acquires Majority Stake in Youth-Focused Embark Behavioral Health, Behavioral Health Business
https://bhbusiness.com/2023/02/09/consonance-capital-partners-acquires

Taylor Goodridge TikTok, Meg Appelgate
https://www.tiktok.com/@megappelgate/video/

A therapeutic boarding school for adolescent and teen girls in Montana, Embark Behavioral Health
https://www.embarkbh.com/locations/montana/chrysalis-residential-treatment-center/

*SWW S23 Theme Song & Artwork:
Glad Rags: https://www.gladragsmusic.com/

The S24 cover art is by the Amazing Sara Stewart

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