Building a wall between heart and hand

Religion | Stories of redemption are common at Camp Alandale, where abused children hear and experience one often life-altering message: You are loved | Mark Bergin

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Reynaldo Reyes remembers well the stinging end of his father's extension cord. The Santa Ana, Calif., native would often line up along the wall with his mother and four sisters, taking turns as innocent whipping posts for a man's insatiable fury. "Sometimes he would use a TV cord he'd ripped out," Mr. Reyes recalls of his father. "It was thinner, so it hurt more. And he knew that."

In the late 1980s, Mr. Reyes's beatings suddenly became less frequent. Often his father would send most of the family outside, keeping only one or two daughters with him for extended periods. Just 12 years old at the time, Mr. Reyes thought little of it, his welted flesh welcoming the chance to heal. Far less naïve, however, his mother soon ascertained the reason behind her husband's behavioral shift. "She went to the police," Mr. Reyes recalls, "and that same morning, they showed up with guns drawn, kicked down the bedroom door and arrested my father."