Straight Program In Cincinnati Closes

St. Petersburg Times, September 22, 1988

LAKELAND - CINCINNATI - The Straight Inc. teen drug rehabilitation program here has closed. The organization, based in St. Petersburg, is also being sued by Cincinnati-area individuals and corporations for $1.5-million contributed to Straight Inc. in 1982. The class-action suit claims the donations were made with the understanding that Straight would start and maintain a program in the Cincinnati area. Straight spokeswoman Linda Hedden said competing programs and declining enrollment led to the phasing out of the Cincinnati-area operation. Straight's rehabilitative methods, including isolating patients from their families and scrutinizing the friends and associates of family members, have become increasingly controversial.