Survivors Breaking Code Silence2022-03-14T17:51:24-07:00

SURVIVORS BREAKING CODE SILENCE

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Victoria’s Story

My name is Victoria. When I was seventeen, a “friend” outed me as bisexual to my conservative Christian parents. From the very start, my personhood was violated. My so-called friend had saved very private text messages about my relationship with my best friend, which had progressed into more than friendship one summer when we were together. She sent them to my parents who then interrogated me. Under threat of my best friend getting sent to ...

Valan’s Story

"This Is Paris" convinced me to share the story of my time at Spring Creek Lodge Academy (SCLA) in Montana from 2008-2009. It hit me hard when Paris talked about her insomnia and being afraid to close her eyes. I was seventeen when I was abducted in the middle of the night and I lived there for 14 months. I woke up to seven cops, two large "transporters," and my mom charging inside to take ...

Cat’s Story

My name is Cat and I am on the autism spectrum. After wilderness, I was sent to Eva Carlston for depression and trauma therapy. Ironic that this place gave me PTSD. I was sent here against my will. I am very intelligent, and the staff knew that. However, I was punished for not being able to make eye contact, not understanding social cues, and not being able to function with the bright lights and loud ...

Katie’s Story

I was 13 years old when sent to a program for problem children. I had never tried drugs, alcohol, partied, or has sex. I was young and sheltered. My problem? Mental health. I was taken out to the mountain area of my home state. After being strip-searched, my belongings were searched and I headed towards the general population. The first weeks were a blur in my mind. I met with the “psychiatrist” contracted to come ...

Sara’s Story

Sorry for the Intrusion - By Sara My name is Sara. I was 15 years old when my mother woke me up around 3 am. It was February 1996. My mother was crying. She said I had to get up. There were 2 people in my room. They said I had a choice to do this the easy way or hard way and showed me handcuffs. I had no idea what was happening. In silence, ...

Sarah’s Story

I was seventeen when the escorts barged into my bedroom, which is older than most kids are when that happens. It was the second day of February in the year two thousand. Most kids that are greeted by two strangers sporting handcuffs in their bedroom are pretty traumatized by the event, but honestly, in that moment, I was relieved. My brother had been sent away like this years earlier and graduated from his program. I ...

Rachel’s Story

I attended the Hyde School - Woodstock campus (which is now shut down) but their other campuses are still functioning and furthering the abuse. While I was at Hyde, we were deprived of food and sleep. We were put in rooms with the windows locked at full capacity with the heating turned up as interrogation tactics at times. I have been made to do army crawls and other physical drills as a means of punishment ...

Ollie’s Story

My name is Ollie and this is my story. When I was 13, I went into treatment. While I was there, I had a lot of negative experiences. Most of this took place at Elevations RTC. Elevations was a very abusive place - not physically, but mentally. A lot of the staff would abuse their power and allow bullying to happen. I was bullied and sexually assaulted during my time there. When I told the ...

Megan’s Story

I was not a stereotypical “troubled teen.” I was a straight-A student, involved in extracurriculars, and had an after-school job. I did not drink, smoke, or do drugs. However, I grew up in a dysfunctional home. My father was a narcissist and emotionally abusive, my brother was an unmedicated schizophrenic who self-medicated with drugs and alcohol, and my mom was just trying to survive and “keep it all together.” At 16, I struggled with bulimia ...

Mandi’s Story

On May 4th 2009, I was woken up to three strangers standing above me, telling me to undress in front of them and that they were taking me to a school in Utah. I will never forget being absolutely terrified and having no idea what was going on. My mom stood in the hallway and didn't say a word. They drove me 13 hours to another state and city I had never been to. I ...

Lisa’s Story

In 2005, at the age of 17, I was locked up in a facility that advertised itself as a "therapeutic boarding school for troubled teen girls" without committing a crime, without a trial, and without a definite sentence. Officially, I was there for being sexually abused by my dad and stepmom. I was denied all access to the outside world. I was allowed mail from my mother, which was read. If I said anything bad ...

Kyra’s Story

Four days after New Year 2014 which was the winter of my freshman year of high school, my parents made the difficult and desperate decision to send me to a wilderness therapy program in Utah. I’d been struggling for years with trauma, behavioral and relationship difficulties – both internally and interpersonally – and over time I found myself in several situations that had put my life at risk. When I first arrived at Second Nature, ...

Kathryn’s Story

I was sixteen years old when I was sent to Evangelhouse Christian Academy. I had been in and out of hospitals and treatment centers for the prior 3 years. A month before I was sent away, I had been raped by my girlfriend, attempted suicide, and relapsed hard with my anorexia. A doctor gave me a choice: go back to the inpatient eating disorder clinic for the third time or find a long-term residential facility. ...

Julia’s Story

By the age of 15, I had already experienced my fair share of trauma. My parents had tried everything: therapy, medications, and outpatient rehabs. Eventually, they went to a consultant specializing in institutions for troubled teens. My parents explained to me that I would be going to a boarding school in Dahlonega, Georgia called Hidden Lake Academy. I remember not being too happy about it but my mom made it seem like a nice and ...

Julia’s Story

I was 13 when I was sexually assaulted by a man in his 40s after he groomed me on the internet and got my address. I was interviewed by police several times, rape tested, and forced into therapy sessions that I did not want. I went mute with both my parents and therapist and became depressed. My parents realized I was anorexic and did not know how to help. After getting suspended from middle school ...

Jade’s Story

When I was 12 years old, I was taken by strangers to Spring Creek Lodge Academy in Thompson Falls, MT. Upon arrival, I was stripped of all of my belongings, including what I was wearing. I was stripped of my dignity and civil rights. I was taken to a cabin where I'd be staying. I'm told that the other girls inside are my new "family." Our family name was Innocence - I was stripped of ...

Isabella’s Story

I was born in Russia and was adopted by a single mother who became sick with stage 3 ovarian cancer when I was 4 years old. She passed away when I was 12. After she died, I because extremely depressed and was self-harming intensely. I went to 4 different psych hospitals in California approximately 12 times in a single year. eventually, I became so unsafe that I could not go to school so my school ...

Isabella’s Story

Hello, my name is Isabelle and I was contained at Clearview Horizon therapeutic boarding school for girls from 2017 to 2018. I struggled with severe depression and anxiety my whole life and by high school. I had attempted suicide several times. After I was told to leave school for these issues, my parents decided to send me to a boarding school in Montana for “three months.” They gave me three days notice before I was ...

Diana’s Story

There is an art to remembering. I remember everything about Academy at Ivy Ridge from late 2003 to late 2005. I trained my brain to do it. I remember the way the dormitories smelled of rot. I remember how each girl’s strand of hair crossed in a braid as we stared ahead in line structure. I remember the noise of students' flip-flops rushing against the locker room floor, sometimes dragging if they had broken. In ...

Daniel’s Story

Cherry Gulch - Oh god, where do I start?   I'll just do every season since there are so many atrocities to talk about. __________________________________________________________________ In Spring,  I had just arrived and I had some fun for 5 weeks. I met my roommate who was an absolute bully, my therapist - the one person I liked there, and had Super Bowl Sunday. It wasn't too bad as I was on my "honeymoon stage" so there is ...

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