areaofinfinity at the F.L Chamberlain School

This testimony was found on Reddit. All rights go to the author known as areaofinfinity

I was placed in F.L chamberlain school in Middleboro, MA this summer.

The reason for this was because I was shy, I didn't have a lot of friends and because I told a teacher I was suicidal after I came out the previous night to my dad. He was so angry he beat me, told me that I was a "failure at life" and I was going to "end up on the street doing drugs". My dad is extremely homophobic.

The following week I was told to pack my bags and go to this school. My mom told me it was to "get away from my dad until he calmed down".

What happened in the next 2 1/2 months were so terrible, It hurts me to even talk about it. I was so sick with stress that night, sleeping in this bed with gang marks carved into the bedframe, starvation, being forced to take medication which I have never took before to "fit in". When I woke up and went to this so called school, I entered a classroom with kids twice my age, mostly tough guys and one girl. The classroom was an old historic building, holes and punch marks were EVERYWHERE. I did not belong here. These kids were serious. I was exposed to things that I never wanted to be exposed to. On my first day I learned the Spanish teacher was having an illicit relationship with an underage student and kids were walking out of math class and smoking crystal meth, and the teacher didn't even care.

I begged my parents to take me out. If I even showed the slightest tear or even sounded troubled, it was policy to put you on phone restriction so you couldn't talk to your parents. I prayed to god. 75% of the kids there were hardcore kids who really should of been in Juvi.. The 25% who were innocent, kids who really needed help were shown no mercy, by the staff members or kids.

The only reason I got out was because I was stabbed in the stomach and when I went home for a visit, when I finally got one I went to see my grandparents, and my grandma saw my scar, then my mom saw, then they asked me questions, more and more. I finally cracked. I told them everything. my parents begged them to just let me sleep over at my house. Before I went to sleep I used the bathroom, and I started urinating blood. I passed out in the bathroom and then that was it. I was out. What a coincidence, right? It turns out the medicine they gave me was causing my liver to fail, and I lost consciousness a lot. Of course at the place they didn't care, they would think you were acting out or sleeping. Every time I passed out I was "frozen". I could talk to no one. I trusted no one. I barely spoke. I barely ate. And can you believe, that right now, THIS second they are still doing these things, behind closed doors, not just there but in "programs" around the country? That's not even scratching the surface.

I was lucky I wasn't killed right when I got there because I was openly gay at that point. These scars won't go away. If I can dedicate my life, just to shut these people down then that's what I will do. These kinds of things cause people to go to jail for life, and yet, behind that happy-go-lucky school tour guide, there is pain that will never go away.

The author later wrote an update:

Its been 5 months since I was rescued from the boarding "school" that I spoke about in my post before. Unfortunately, even the name of the "school" triggers my PTSD so if you want to read about what happened, click on my profile, and find my previous post.

I can finally say that I am getting better every day. I think about it less and less. I am in a great place right now. I'm at a real school with real people, freedom and people who are accepting and loving.

5 months ago I never thought that this would happen... Well, I didn't really think at all, I was in survival mode all the time. I weighed under 105 pounds, and I was so sick, I nearly threw up every day. I am so grateful that I was saved. I am so happy I'm safe.

Two months ago my family and another family that was in this "program" decided to take action. We wrote a review on greatschools.org explaining in depth what happened to both of us. Unfortunately, 2 weeks later the review was removed by the "school" after filing a complaint with the website. We learned this as we had an email explaining why our review was deleted.
What happened is sick. This never should of happened. But It did, and I want to dedicate my life to making sure other parents and teens don't make the same mistakes we did... Looking at "programs" to help get better.

To ANYONE suffering from the consequences of long term psychiatric and physical abuse. Anyone who has survived.. It will get better in time. Remember, The best revenge is living a good life.


Sources:

• The original testimony (Reddit)
• The update (Reddit)
• Factsheet about the facility (Fornits Wiki)

Student testimony about the John Dewey Academy

The John Dewey Academy is located in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, housed in Searles Castle. In the media it is mostly known for a student-teacher relationship 10 years ago. All rights to this testimony goes to the original author who has decided to remain unnamed.

I went to JDA and it was the worst experience in my entire life. I ran away half a year ago. I was virtually homeless for four months because my parents were advised by the JDA staff not to let me come home.

The therapy session quoted in this article was mild compared to JDA standards. Therapy was usually much, much worse. It wasn't uncommon to be called "a fucking worthless piece of shit" "a manipulative, dishonest bastard" etc. It was verbal abuse.

After I left I received a letter from Bratter telling me, among other things, that I was friendless, that I'd never had any real friends in my entire life and I never would learn how to make friends. He wrote that the only way I would survive outside of John Dewey was if I resorted to prostitution and the only way I could become a "worthwhile" person was if I came back and completed the program. He wrote that he feared all I would ever become, at best, was "the assistant to the assistant to the assistant manager at a fast food restaurant."

When I first came to the program I was a senior. I'd already applied to several highly selective colleges. Tom Bratter asked me where I wanted to go and I told him my first choice and he told me if I stayed, he would get me in because another student who was graduating that year had applied early and been deferred, but with his insider info and leverage he was confident he could threaten the school into accepting the student. While I was at JDA this particular student was accepted into the school and is now attending it thanks to Bratter.

In his letter he also mentioned acceptance to the school, that if I came back I still had a chance of going there but if I left I'd never get in. I refused to go back, determined to never, ever return to a place where I'd felt so horribly worthless, which was quite a feat for someone who has been severely depressed for almost half her life.

I wasn't like most of the kids sent to JDA. I had never done any drugs, even pot, in my life, I never drank, I'd never engaged in promiscuous behavior, I'd been a straight-A student. I'd never cheated, stolen, or hurt other people. I was just severely depressed, and had attempted suicide several times even after years of therapy. My parents were fed up and didn't want to deal with me anymore, and John Dewey provided a great solution.

It was the worst thing they could have done.

The first time I tried to leave, I announced that I was because of their "open-door" policy. Bratter told me I was welcome to leave, but a student told me he'd call the cops the minute I set foot outside the door.

One day a while after that incident, I just walked out the door and across the street to the general store that sold bus tickets while most students were in classes. I hid in the bushes of the station until the bus arrive and boarded. I had all of $8.34 when I arrived in New York City, where I'd lived, and no phone numbers or means of contacting anyone because when I'd arrived at John Dewey they had taken all of that personal information away.

At John Dewey I suffered verbal abuse and isolation. I had to scrub the toilets my second week there because I'd asked a "Younger Member" a question without a Middle or Older Member listening. I worked through Closed House, which was a school-wide "consequence" where, among other things, we weren't allowed to eat cooked food, or sit down at all during the day, except for designated therapy time. The only place we were allowed to sit during the day was the floor, and only if it was hardwood or marble, no carpet. If we leaned back on our hands we were punished. We were never allowed more than six hours of sleep. All our "privileges" were taken away. We weren't allowed to go outside at all. We couldn't groom ourselves. During the day we had to "Super-GI" the entire castle, which included scrubbing the group in between the tiles on our hands and knees with q-tips. We could have no cooked food, prepared meals, or sweet foods. We could only drink water.

Closed House lasted almost an entire month.

I still have nightmares of John Dewey and it's affected me more than my parents care to understand. They still think they were right in sending me there, but I can't disagree more.


These places are not the answer.



Sources:

• The original testimony (Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora )
• Angel Teachers: Educators Who Care about Troubled Teens (by William L. Fibkins, R&L Education,)
• Factsheet about the school (Fornits Wiki)