Non-profit group seeks help for ousted FLDS boys
 
Southern Utah News
 
More than 400 boys from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS) communities in Utah have been expelled from their homes. Most were evicted by their polygamous fathers at the direction of FLDS leadership for what many would consider to be normal teen behavior: watching movies, fraternizing with kids of other faiths, wearing short sleeved shirts or even just talking to girls.

Some of the boys were as young as 13 years of age when they were forced to leave and have been told they are unworthy to return and are going to Hell. Some boys have spiraled into drugs, depression and suicide. With little education, no money, no parental support and few social skills, the boys’ prospects remain bleak, and they will easily become a burden to society unless people lend a hand.

A non-profit organization has pledged to help provide for the boys, most of whom have been cut off from all family support. The group seeks to provide mentors, financial support, housing, counseling, schooling and loving care for the more than 400 boys whose own families have turned their backs on them.

"Most of these boys haven’t done anything wrong, yet they’ve been thrown in the trash by their parents," says Dr. Dan Fischer, founder and chairman of the non-profit foundation, Diversity. "They’re just regular kids who are going to miss out on being regular if we don’t intervene. All these kids need is what any American kid deserves: a safe home, loving support, and the opportunity to go to school."

Donations and mentors are being actively sought by Fischer’s group. Mentors are invited to pledge support for a teen’s housing, school costs, counseling and other expenses that are normally met by parents. "These boys have been abused and abandoned by their families," says Fischer. "I’m hoping that people who were lucky enough to grow up with loving, supportive parents will be inspired to give back by helping these kids."

"What these boys have been through will break your heart," says Shem Fischer, an adult serving as a mentor and providing support to the boys. Fischer and his brother, Dr. Dan Fischer, are products of a polygamous family, but left the lifestyle behind long ago. Now they’re raising financial support and soliciting mentors to help the boys learn how to exist and excel in American society. "our quarrel isn’t with polygamy per se," says Shem Fischer. "It’s very definitely with people who would expel and ostracize their own children just for trying to be regular kids. Sending your child off to live in a tool shed forever – that’s not okay."

An estimated one hundred boys attended a media conference on the Utah State Capitol steps on Saturday, July 31. Designed to create awareness of the boys’ plight and raise funds for their support, the media conference featured Dr. Dan Fischer along with Jon Krakauer, author of Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith, and Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. The men have all pledged to serve as mentors to these outcast boys.

Many more caring adults are needed. A toll-free number has been set up and beginning Saturday, July 31, tax-deductible donations and pledges of mentoring will be accepted at 877-GET-A-DAD.

For more information about the FLDS boys and how to help them, call Barb Rohrer, 801-867-2489 or Lynette Phillips, director of Diversity (d.b.a. Smiles For Diversity), at 801-597-6080.

About the FLDS Church

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is believed to be America’s largest polygamous group. The sect separated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when the latter renounced plural marriage in 1890. Based in Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale Utah, the sect’s estimated 10,000 residents continue to practice polygamy. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has renounced the group and their teachings.

About Dr. Fischer

Dr. Dan Fischer, chairman of Smiles for Diversity, renounced the FLDS church and its beliefs more than twelve years ago. He is now seeking help and support for hundreds of teen boys who have been banished by their parents.
 
sunews.net
Originally published August 11, 2004
 
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