At age 14 I was sent to Academy at Ivy Ridge in Ogdensburg, NY.
I agreed to go to a boarding school for 21 days and was not allowed to know when I was going. On July 4th, 2003 I was awakened by two strangers and was asked to strip down in my bathroom for a cavity check. I was kidnapped, blindfolded, and handcuffed on the way to a behavioral modification lockdown facility for “troubled teens.” They painted a pretty picture for my parents to reel them in. My parents were desperate, they were manipulated to sign away all of their rights. I was taken into the hands of monsters.
My one and a half year stay started. From the moment I went through the intake, all of my rights were taken away. I was not allowed to speak or non-verbally communicate without raising my hand to ask. I could not look out a window, take longer than five minutes using the restroom or shower, and all while being watched by staff–Mind you, the staff were not certified or licensed.
We were subject to extensive psychological, physical, and, for some, sexual abuse. We were silenced and stripped of our human rights. I was restrained various times for not wanting to take the medications they prescribed. Every girl was drugged, we were walking zombies. I was left in Intervention/Isolation for hours/days at a time. Sometimes laying on the floor facing down on my chin for what felt like a lifetime.
They used attack therapy to break us. I could go on and on…
We need to save the children. For all the girls and boys still in these facilities, these places need to be shut down!
To all the girls, including myself, that are currently still battling with trauma, w are not alone, we are survivors.
I am a survivor