About This Archive

Straight Springfield is a survivor-run archive of Straight, Inc., the teen "drug rehabilitation" program that operated at 5515 Backlick Road in Springfield, Virginia from 1982 until 1991. The archive gathers in one place what is otherwise scattered across family boxes, courthouse files and hard drives: the program's own paperwork — client and parent rules, phase handouts, board letters and brochures — broadcast and documentary coverage of the program, and first-person testimony from the people who were inside it.

What it does. Each section documents one part of how the program worked: how teenagers were brought in, what the phases and host homes required, how confrontation and restraint operated as methods rather than accidents, and how the Springfield center's parent network and 1985 White House visit helped make it look respectable. Documents are shown as they were written, with context, and the hardest material sits behind a content advisory instead of being hidden away.

Who it is for. Survivors of Straight, Inc. and their families first: people who have spent decades trying to explain what happened to them, and people who lost a sibling, a child or a friend to the program and its aftermath. It is also for journalists, researchers, attorneys and clinicians who need the record in one place, and for anyone who has heard the name Straight, Inc. and wants to understand what it stood for. The site is written to be read on a phone, in plain language, without jargon.

Who builds it. The archive is built and maintained by a small, independent group of former clients and family members. It is not affiliated with Straight, Inc., its successors, or the treatment industry that grew out of the same ideas; the people behind it are listed on Springfield Voices. Nothing is published without review: every submitted story is read by an administrator before it appears, and contributors may stay anonymous.

Take part. If you were in the program, you can share your story. If you have a document, a photograph, a correction, or a press or research enquiry, contact the archive. You can also read the original documents for yourself.