A few updates on the situation with the John Volken Academy.
Please check the private group if you haven’t already joined.
Informed Consent and Coercive Control: Were We Really "Aware" When Signing Up Given Our State?
There is still a small chance the case can move forward, though the overall viability remains limited. I’ve sent the materials that were submitted to MB. Most people who signed “contracts” or other agreements were not in a clear or stable condition when they did so.
The program talks about everything being “voluntary,” but almost no one understood the full extent of what that would mean.
Many never received meaningful group sessions or therapeutic support for their conditions because they were expected to provide unpaid labor day after day, from sunup to sundown. It operated much like an indentured-servant model that they framed as recovery.
It would be different if people had been given a clear, accurate picture of what they were signing up for.
Many were not.
The advertising language has shifted over the years, and the organization has repeatedly adjusted formalities in its favor after crises became public.
On contracts, consent, and control
Whatever someone signs carries only limited weight when you factor in capacity, informed consent, and coercive control.
In both Canada and the United States, valid consent to treatment or a contractual agreement generally requires that a person understand the nature and consequences of what they are agreeing to, and that the decision is free from undue pressure or exploitation of vulnerability.
Courts and regulators can scrutinize agreements signed while someone is in crisis, under the influence, isolated, or subjected to ongoing control.
In Canada, the federal Protecting Victims Act (Bill C-16) created a new Criminal Code offence for a pattern of coercive or controlling conduct toward an intimate partner (enacted 2026, with the offence scheduled to come into force by June 2028). Elements of coercive and controlling behaviour are also recognized in family law frameworks such as the Divorce Act. In British Columbia, the Ministry of Health’s findings against the Surrey/Langley location under the Community Care and Assisted Living Act already documented serious problems with resident protection, unpaid labor, speaking bans, isolation practices, and other controls.
In the U.S., some states have enacted or are considering coercive control provisions, primarily in domestic violence contexts, and informed consent remains a core requirement in health and treatment settings. These principles do not automatically void every agreement, but they are relevant when evaluating whether consent was truly informed and voluntary. (This is general information, not legal advice. Anyone considering action should consult a qualified lawyer.)
Some people have suggested contacting the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) if you cannot locate documents the legal team needs. You can also submit a Freedom of Information request to the Ministry of Health if you attended the Surrey location. Ross Hayward (formerly with the Ministry) issued key decisions in the B.C. case; his contact information has been shared in the private group.
In the private group I list resources for people who attended the American locations. If you were abused while there, the sooner you act the better. Abuse has been a common thread among many of us, even as the public-facing material continues to feature glowing, staged photos reserved for the “chosen” ones. Unfortunately I cannot organize or lead a U.S. effort myself I attended more than ten years ago and the statute of limitations has expired. Please do not give up. Join the group or share your experience there for support if you’re thinking about coming forward one day soon.
Calls to action
If you haven’t already, please share your experience on the Facebook page or the petition. I know many people want this to fade away, and I’m sorry if this is triggering. The question remains: do we really want to let them get away with taking people’s money, subjecting them to the conditions described, and then moving on?
I’ve set up a GoFundMe (on an older account that has some history) for an idea I’ve been working on: hiring a mural artist.
The idea is simple: a 5×5 (or larger) allocated spot, maybe under a bridge or somewhere abandoned, done in a Banksy-style. It would show a person in work-camp conditions standing in a trough with a shovel, head down holding a sign that demands a living wage and includes a QR code linking to our petition.
Maybe we could also do one for the people who overdosed afterward, just to show the true cause of the addiction and the harm it continues to cause even when doing the responsible thing such as "seeking" help only to realize it wasn't really what you thought it would be, aka, supportive, kind and not full of bullies who take advantage of you at your worst moment.
Funding a Mural for People Impacted by JVA, Continued:
Many people who spent years at JVA, some as early as 2012, left with deep trauma. A number still only feel safe communicating anonymously, through burner phones and accounts. Their experiences have largely stayed hidden. I want to work with a local artist to create a piece of public art in the Vancouver area (and surrounding counties) on abandoned structures where it’s permitted, or on approved sites. The goal is a mural that honors the participants and those who ended their lives far too soon, sadly after being here for months and leaving in a worse-off state. We want to make visible what was kept behind closed doors for so long.
500 barely covers materials or a fraction of an artist’s time. A fair budget for the research, collaboration, materials, and labor this work requires is $5,000. I’ve been speaking with artists and want to do this properly....nothing set in stone yet.
This mural is for the people who were:
✓Forced into humiliating acts as punishment for what were called “symptoms” or “unapproved behaviors”
✓Placed on speaking bans that lasted months
✓Cut off from family and outside communication for over a year
✓Taken off their medication abruptly with no regard for their health
✓Afraid to leave or unable to cross the border home once they realized they were trapped because their ID cards were seized
✓Bullied and isolated when all they wanted was community and support
✓Subjected to sexual assault and inappropriate behavior by staff and people in positions of power
✓Treated as second-class, especially the women
✓Required to do years of unpaid, physically exhausting labor
✓Isolated in locked rooms when sick
✓Promised treatment and therapy but forced to work sunup to sundown with zero pay
✓Discriminated against for personal beliefs and religious needs
✓Hazed
✓Sharing deepest darkest trauma with people presenting themselves as counselors only to realize later they were not
✓Lied To.........
All of this happened to people whose “crime” was having trauma and the addiction-related struggles that often come with it.
This mural is one way to push back and honor what was endured. If you can contribute toward the $5,000 needed to make it real, it would mean a great deal. Every donation brings us closer to creating something lasting for the people who have carried this in silence.
Earlier this year I mentioned interest from podcasts including The John Dehlin Show / Mormon Stories (they offered to have me on last summer; I didn’t want to do it alone and airfare is expensive) and “Was I In A Cult?” I haven’t really heard back from either. In the group I tried to coordinate with others for a brief moment some people were willing to go on a show, then they disappeared, which is common.
Many people who went to this place get very triggered when it’s brought up. I understand that completely. For me, I didn’t even want to admit to myself that I went, let alone process what I experienced, until 2023 when I started digging in and realizing how much the place affected me in such a short time.
I’ve urged people to share, perhaps too much at times, because the goal is an apology and basic restitution including refunds of the entry fees. In many cases it was paying to be abused.
I also made a simple website where you can post a sticky note with your true feelings about JVA and what happened to you, completely anonymously. Feel free to use it.
Thank you.
Follow us on social media at Fake Help Real Harm our private initiative of people who connected after realizing we shared troubling experiences at JVA to warn others and hopefully stop the abuse.
None of this is possible without you.