3. Solhaven – Denmark

A few miles south of here – a life journey for those who are sent there – the hamlet known as Farsoe is located.

It is a name feared by teenagers all over Denmark because there you learn to fear the word “coffee”. When a staff member calls for coffee it is a codeword for them to call musclemen so huge that they are not even seen in professional wrestling and then you experience a beating you will remember for life.

We are talking of Solhaven the most well-known behavior modification program in Denmark. Here are people employed who are happy with their work if they can jump a troubled teenager.

In my town – Aalborg – we have safe houses run by ordinary citizens and priests where runaways are kept out of sight until they become legally adults. Some of the therapists have been jumped by angry citizens when they came for teenagers after home visits. The police has been involved in high speed chases which occur when some of the teenagers try to escape by car.

The latest news is that they have finally fired their director. Maybe something good is in store for the teenagers who are sent there.

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Update 2018

The group home system controlled by the owner closed down. The employees got off from the trial due to a technicality. Years later the media felt kind of sorry for the loss of jobs. However the trial was necessary because the laws in Denmark were changed for the better as result of this case. Some employees were unable to work again after the ordeal of the trial and ended up on disability. However they were not supposed to work in that line of work from the very start so only the management of the group home is responsible for hiring them into such difficult situation. The media had no responsability to take. They had the responsability to report what they heard or were told.

It is weird almost bizarre that the media shows regret. They stopped a sick system. The social services in Denmark invoice parents if the social services believe that an mental illness or criminal behavior is caused by the child’s social heritage. A depression at a child can set back a family 164,000 DKK despite Denmark having one of the highest tax-rates in the world. Then the treatment of the child should be equal a stay at a 5-star hotel with all services included. A Solhaven the children complained of violence. Still the former manager say that it was fake news.

If it was fake news, the police would not have seen any reason to ask for prosecution. They did and while the juridical system is complicated, the police should not stop short of an investigation just because it looks like it would be complicated. Solhaven closed and it is safe to say that the children who were sent there did not see it as a fun place to be.

Sources:

• Tdiligere ansat på Solhaven: ‘Sådan fik børnene tæsk’ (BT – in Danish language)
• Giver ikke meget for DR-chefs undskyldning med flere års forsinkelse: Tre familier ødelagt efter Solhaven-sagen (BT – in Danish language)
• Reagerede ikke på Solhaven-vold – nu er han tilsynsførende (BT – in Danish language)
• Solhaven-ansat: – Chefen var ligeglad (Ekstra-Bladet – in Danish language)
• Otte pædagoger skal passe én pige (Nordjyske – in Danish language)
• Viceforstander i Solhaven-sag så blodplettet T-shirt (Randers Amtsavis – in Danish language)
• Farsø hårdt ramt af Solhavens fald (TV2 Nord – in Danish language)

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Update 2022

A well-known Danish author and former candidate for the Danish parliament Yahya Hassan who now has passed away attended the facility while he was a teenager. At the facility he engaged in a sexual relationship with one of the employees.

Sources:

• Lærerinde risikerer fængsel for sex med Yahya Hassan (Berlingske Tidende – in Danish language)
• Yahya Hassans kontaktperson dømt (TV2 Nyhederne – in Danish language)