The Youth Development Center

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Introducing: Safe to Drink Feb 12, 2026

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Introducing “Safe to Drink:” A New Hampshire town finds out its water has been contaminated by a chemical. The most basic question — whether the water is safe to drink — doesn’t have a clear answer. Nobody seems to know much about this so-called forever chemical, which is weird because… this has all happened before.

From the Document team at New Hampshire Public Radio, "Safe to Drink" is a four-part series about the water contamination story that keeps repeating in town after town — and about the people who fought for answers through a maze of chemistry, regulations, and illnesses.

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Ep. 3 | Sober Algebra Jun 26, 2024

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This flood of roughly 1,300 people who’ve come forward all started with one man. How the widespread abuse at YDC finally came to light and how people are grappling with what justice and accountability even mean in a scandal so large.

Click here to read the companion digital story made in collaboration with The Pudding.

If you have suffered abuse and need someone to talk to, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. If you’re in a mental health crisis, call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8.

To support investigative journalism like The Youth Development Center at NHPR, click here.

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Ep. 2 | If You Let a Dog Bite You Jun 26, 2024

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Karen Lemoine didn’t arrive at YDC looking to start trouble. But the red flags she saw were hard to ignore, especially when it came to one kid in particular. What trying to do the right thing cost both of them – and why, 30 years later, they’re speaking up again.

Click here to read the companion digital story, see archival photos and internal documents, and explore an interactive timeline of the alleged abuse, made in collaboration with The Pudding.

To support investigative journalism like The Youth Development Center at NHPR, click here.

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Ep. 1 | The Black Box Jun 26, 2024

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For three decades, Andy Perkins didn’t talk about what happened to him at a place called YDC – the Youth Development Center. Then, he saw something on the news, and he realized he wasn’t the only person with a story about YDC. Andy gives us a rare glimpse into the black box of the juvenile justice system.

Click here to read the companion digital story made in collaboration with The Pudding.

To hear more stories by Jason Moon and NHPR's Document team, click here. To support investigative journalism like The Youth Development Center at NHPR, click here.

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Introducing: The Youth Development Center Jun 04, 2024

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New Hampshire has sent its most troubled kids to the same juvenile detention center for more than a century. It's a place that was supposed to nurture them, that instead hurt them – in some of the worst ways imaginable. A place that for decades was a black box that people are finally seeing into, and what they’re finding is absolutely shocking. How did this happen? How did it finally come to light?

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