A testimony about Provo Canyon School

Here are another testimony from the early days of in the existence of Provo Canyon School. All rights goes to the unnamed author

I was a "student" there too.

It was indeed horrible. There is no way to describe it but the truth needs to be told so I will do my best. They use girls as examples of how not to misbehave, for instance: one staff member didnt like what one girl said so for two weeks she was forbid to speak only write it down on a note book for others to read. Their distored reasoning was to have her think about what she was saying but every time she made a mistake and spoke by accident she recieved an infration and would have to sit for hours in "chair structer" and if u made a mistake there it would continue to increase the time u spent in the torture room.

Sometimes girls were on that unit the whole time I was there I never knew them or their names for months and months they would sleep on cotts in the hall way with lights in their faces. Where pink sweats. Never ever go outside. I heard they fed them worse food than the others were offered which was horrible in nutional value. That was a BIG deal, we were lucky and it was a major privlidge if you recieved: Edible Food, Clothes, Going out door (for a short period of time), a Bed, contact with ne one at all (including in faculty) but especially ur family, this was highly detoured.

I recall my family planning a trip from Colorado to come visit me and I was walking on eggshells making sure to be "perfect" so I would recieve the visit because that was always held over your head. I have no recolection of why I got into so much trouble but it was a huge deal and instead of going to go out of the place with my family they granted me with sitting in a different room in the front lobby for two days with them, crying about how horrible it was and how depressed they made me, but they manipulated my parents into thinking that I was over reacting because of the meds i was on. They for sure brainwashed me and caused me way more issues than when i went in and i stilll suffer from severe anxioty, i also beleve i have post tormatic stress disorder but have nerver been diognosed.

This was 12 years ago and I still havent let my anger and frustration go toward what this school did to me. It was of no help what so ever to me and I pleed with ne on sending their child here to choose a different program that allows family envolvement, be suspecious if they dont allow u to freely contact ur child.

While it is unclear how damaging the long-term effects of a stay in such a facility can turn out to be, it must be clear that none can walk away without damage. A classic example is the case of manslaughter of a person convicted of criminal sexual contact of a minor. The 21 year old women who took his life as an act of defense was a former "student" of Provo Canyon School, who after her release from the facility became an easy prey for an older man who at the time of his murder was the center of a police investigation tied to drug abuse. The family had used a lot of money on the useless treatment at Provo Canyon School so there was no left for a high priced lawyer who would have got her cleared of the charges.

In year 2000 Charter Behavioral Health Systems sold Provo Canyon School to Universal Health Services, Inc.

Sources:

• The original testimony found on a archived website (The Internet Way Back machine)
• Factsheet about the facility (Fornits Wiki)
• Blair guilty of voluntary manslaughter (Topix)

New film-project: A basement in Queens

From the fundraiser website:

When friends hear the bizarre stories of what happened to me in the program, they are shocked and often tear up. No one can believe that any parent could leave their child in a full-on drug rehab for three or more years, with hard-core drug addicts and criminals.

I survived three years in Aurora Concept Inc., one of the first troubled teen programs in the country. Officially a drug rehabilitation center or therapeutic community ("TC"), it was actually more like an abusive cult. For years I felt that I was part of an underground survivors society.
Originally created for adult heroin addicts in 1972, Aurora Concept Inc. started bringing in kids as young as 12. In 1982, I had just turned 14, was smoking a little pot, missed a lot of school and had emotional problems. I needed help. A psychologist suggested Aurora to my parents. He heard it was a great place for teens. It wasn't. Even the neighbors didn't have a clue what was going on “In that Basement”.

Aurora used a mixture of shame, humiliation, military-type structure and thought reform (brainwashing). This "treatment" was adapted from the methods of a cultish group called Synanon (1958-1991), which pioneered the model that went on to influence the modern “Troubled Teen Industry”. Its leaders were high school dropouts whose sole qualification was having themselves been addicts. Like Synanon, Aurora was also led by high school dropouts and former addicts; Jerry Lucci, Sandi Lucci and Louie Cino. They shaved heads, forced clients to wear bizarre costumes and degrading signs, and used extreme techniques like sleep deprivation, primal screaming, and constant guilt confessionals to tear people down to nothing.

I was forbidden from telling my parents, family or friends about the bizarre treatment I was subjected to in Aurora.

The average stay was three years. Either you "graduated" from Aurora, or you were garbage. I wanted out so I "split" many, many times and was eventually kicked out, never graduating.

Through interviews over the last decade, I have come to understand that this treatment can and has worked for the hard-core, adult drug addict. Many feel that they would be dead today if not for Aurora. I am glad for them and truly mean it, but this story focuses mainly on the adolescent experience.

The difference is that these extreme measures often wreak permanent damage on the adolescent brain and ego. Damage I am still trying to repair. 30+ years later, many adolescents like me have recurring nightmares, traumatic memories and PTSD.

Jerry Lucci, Sandi Lucci and Louie Cino were taken down by NY Attorney General, Elliot Spitzer in 1999.

Ex-clients and parents continue to ask questions:

• Where is all of our personal information, our psychological files?
• What happened to all the money they made off of us and our parents and medicaid?
• Can we still sue them?
• Why didn't they go to jail?

I am committed to making this film. I have been working on it for more than eight years and much of the work is already done and paid for.
The total budget for this film is $25,000. I have already invested $18,000 in pre-production. My target of $7,500 here on INDIEGOGO is specifically for two purposes:

• Interviewing, filming, and editing clients/survivors, families, and faculty of The Aurora Concept, the related travel expenses and editing costs
• Additional research and interviews on adolescent brain development

I am sharing digital and DVD copies of In a Basement in Queens, as well as opportunities to see a screening of the film before the final cut, dedicate a message in the credits, or even become a producer of the film.

Thank you for making this documentary possible.

Not until Facebook did I realize that there were others out there like me. Lots of others. I finally figured out how to deal with my trauma - I'd tell my story, and maybe even help others.

The Aurora Concept Inc. is closed, but this model of "treatment" for adolescents still exists. I hope that by telling my story, and the stories of other Aurora Concept survivors, we will warn parents on the verge of making the same mistake ours did. Don't send your troubled teen to an institution like this. Stop and seek other options.

Making a balanced and cohesive documentary film is difficult. This is true in this case for several reasons, including the fact that The Aurora Concept is closed, speaking about their experiences is often traumatic for survivors, and much of the documentation of the activities at the Aurora Concept has been destroyed.

I know not everyone is in the position to make a financial contribution today, but there are lots of other ways to help make this film:

• If you or someone you know was involved with the Aurora Concept and has photos, film, or stories to share, please contact me today. Click the pink link next to the video at the top that says "Ask a question", or email me at aofphoto@mac.com.
• Like us on Facebook and share our posts.
• Please use the INDIEGOGO share tools in the menu on the left to spread the word

Thank you for your help today!

-Adam



Sources:

• The project Indiegogo page
• The projects Facebook page

I survived PCS

This testimony was found on a website called "Torture Canyon School". It tells the story about being a patient at Provo Canyon School under the old ownership.

My 1'st night there, I was thrown into obs, (observation) and because it was the Friday, I didn't get any clean clothes, or toiletries until Monday.

There forms of discipline were two extremes: They either treated us like immature children, giving us 'punishments' like, sitting on a chair facing the wall for hours on end, or, they would get extremely physical with us, calling (dial 9's) - restraints, which pretty much meant, that if a girl were to show any signs of emotional distress, all the available staff in the area, were to grab a limb, and slam her against the wall as forcefully as possible, as they drug her to obs. It was like a game to the staff. A competition to see who could leave the most bruises on a patient.

My first night, I got a dial 9, because I was upset about being there, and I was confused, but I wasn't freaking out or anything. Two guys just came out of nowhere and tackled me. The next morning I had bruises everywhere, and I 'got' to see the campus doctor. He recorded them, but just waved them off as 'routine.'

I tried to tell my parents about the form of abuse that was taking place here (it happened daily, constantly. There wasn't a day that went by, that you weren't constantly hearing over the staff radio "DIAL 9!" And the screaming. You could always hear the screaming of the girls from inside obs.) You couldn't contact your parents for the first two weeks, so I wrote them. Telling them what happened. And their reply was "'Thats a lovely story (they obviously thought I was BS-ing them, trying to get them to withdraw me) Perhaps you can write a novel when you get home." Also, since there was so access to a telephone, there was no way to contact the authorities to help the abuse issues.

There also was the food. The same menu every week. Oatmeal for breakfast. Pasta for lunch. Tacos for dinner. And, since there were so many anorexics, they were essentially ''force-feeding'' us. (we had to take everything offered (a ridiculous amount of food) and finish it all.) So, if you weren't suffering from an eating disorder, you would gain weight. Not, to mention that the food offered was ridiculously unhealthy.

I went through two therapists in my duration there. My first therapist and I never talked about anything. He mostly used our sessions to bring up my past and make me feel guilty about every little thing that I've ever done in my life. When he left, I got another one, who wasn't an upgrade. She used our sessions, to gripe about her personal life, and we stared at each other in awckward silence and read Oprah magazines. The website is very misleading. It brags about how great its school system is. But, what it doesn't say, is that it consists of a square hallway, 11 classrooms, and adults that are even barely qualified to teach the subjects they teach. The classes aren't arranged by grade, because there isn't even a system, so while the parents are under the influence their child will stay 'up to date' with their credits, they're really just being thrown into what ever class is availible, i.e a Seinor in basic algebra.

I Still vividly remember that godforsaken place.

The PCS Lingo, that all the girls used, the Staff, my Peers.

I'm haunted by memories of that place. I dream about it...could you even call those dreams?

I just hope that someday enough people will fight hard enough to liberate those that are still trapped in places like that. I don't see why anything hasn't been done yet.

In year 2000 Charter Behavioral Health Systems sold Provo Canyon School to Universal Health Services, Inc.

Sources:

• The original testimony found on a archived website (The Internet Way Back machine)
• Factsheet about the facility (Fornits Wiki)