SUNDAY, MAY 23rd – This past week, a young girl took her own life while under the care of the Grove School, a therapeutic boarding school in Madison, CT. Full details have yet to be released; however, a current student at the school confirmed the incident on social media.
“We are still trying to process it,” the classmate said. “She was a friend and one of the nicest people I have ever gotten to know.”
This is the second suicide in the last few years, the first resulting in a lawsuit recently filed against Grove School. The suit brought action against the school for wrongful death as a result of their alleged negligence and poorly trained/unqualified staff.
The Grove School has made headlines in the past for various lawsuits, a coronavirus outbreak, and two students who went missing. The most recent lawsuit involved a teacher who was fired for posing semi-nude to support President Donald Trump. The Grove School was also hit with a lawsuit after a student was allegedly sexually assaulted.
In another suit, a student claimed that the Grove School used improper restraint procedures. According to the lawsuit, the child had threatened to kill himself while under the school’s care. Andrew Pullak, one of the three defendants named in the suit, is still listed on the Grove School’s website as an active staff member and therapist. The student’s attorney said Pullak punched the young man in the eye while restraining him.
As many facilities within the “Troubled Teen Industry” do, the Grove School promotes itself online as a therapeutic boarding school, accepting “bright but struggling adolescents.” Grove School holds enough space for 160 students with an average length of stay of 2 years. When contacted for comment, Kevin Davis, residential administrator at the Grove School, refused to answer our questions about the girl’s suicide. “We are not making any statements on that,” he said.
Breaking Code Silence is a recently formed, survivor-run nonprofit organization aimed at tackling the “Troubled Teen Industry.” Through advocacy, awareness, research, and legislation, Breaking Code Silence is building a network of survivor resources and funds to begin taking on these facilities and those at the helm of the abuse.
To find out how you can get involved, click here.
