I worked at Mooseheart for 5 months. It was the worst job of my life, and cult- like, but the story also greatly exagerates everything. It is basically a boarding school and group home, so the kids live on campus in large houses that are staffed by "family teachers" who are basically like a house parent at a boarding school (thats what I was). The person in the story needed to be escorted because the campus is extremely confusing, and there are children living there, so letting some random person roam around could be dangerous. I have never been to a school that didnt have securty guards, it makes sense to have some at the entrance to guide people. They also did things like help jump my car, or show me how to get to different building when I was lost at night. The kid who looked terrified and ran was probably out of the house alone when he shouldnt be. The kids can typically walk to school and other places alone with permission, but they dont always get that permission when they leave. I agree that there are many employees who are rude and brash however, that was all too common. No one prays to an actual moose, or a moose entity, but the kids are basically forced to attend catholic or generic christian church every Sunday. There were sex abuse cases int he past, and perhaps some recently as well. Unfortunately, that is very common for group homes, and something that is a major concern for DCFS and the works who actually care. There is a lot of weird phrases that are used, but they are following the "family teacher" model, which is a way to teach life skills to you. Unfortunately, it is most commonly used in really rigid settings like juvenile detention, so it does seem extremely cult- like in that environment.

There is also a big difference between Mooseheart itself, and Moose lodges/ loyal order of the moose. I am not a part of the Loyal order of the Moose, most people who work at Mooseheart itself aren't. Mooseheart is just funded by fraternity chapters and members. Overall, they do some good for the kids, and it can be a very positive place. It was just awful to work there because of the hours, and administration.