I wish that I could say that when I look back at my teenage years, I am embraced by normal milestones the average teenager experiences. Buying my first prom dress, going on shopping trips with my favorite friends, making plans for the college I would choose to attend. However, my reality did not align with the experiences of most teenagers. I grew up in foster care, in which I bounced around from placement to placement. I can say that I did have hope for my future at one point while transitioning. Because in the back of my mind I knew that if I maintained good grades and focus, college would be my ticket out of an unstable and broken system. It was not until I arrived at Devereux in 2010, based in Malvern PA, was this ounce of hope dissolved into darkness. While I had already experienced the faults of previous residential facilities, my experience at Devereux was the most haunting and it was at that time I first questioned how I was being treated. The only issue was, I was not believed, was treated as a liar, or my complaints were disregarded. Devereux believed that “I was my own barrier”. Meanwhile, I was being verbally and physically assaulted by both staff and residents. I was forced into sexual relationship with another resident and then blamed for it when I tried to seek help. It was found by DHS that Devereux was at least partly to blame for the education instability I endured while in foster care. It was found that while at Devereux I repeated the 12th grade without reason and should have received a diploma the year prior to my discharge from Devereux. Yet, I was made to attend school while residing at Devereux. Devereux had such a negative impact on my life, I tried to commit suicide while residing there and my eating disorder worsened. The lack of staff supervision and care only perpetuated and influenced the horror at Devereux. On my 18th birthday, I signed myself out of Devereux. I noticed as my 18th birthday approached, no transition plans were being made for me. It seems as though I was expected to just sit there as a legal adult. No college plans were made, so it is safe to assume that Devereux had no plans to stick by their motto of “unlocking human potential”. In fact, I was only made aware of the option of signing myself out of Devereux after a resident informed me. Not a staff member, not my therapist, but a resident. The day I signed myself out, my therapist even tried to convinced me to remain at Devereux because I didn’t finish high school yet. Meanwhile, Devereux was withholding a diploma I earned the year prior. I had to advocate for myself in 2019 to receive this diploma. Upon investigation by DHS, it was found that I accrued more than enough credits to graduate high school by 2010. At this time it was also found that Devereux was in contact with my school district of origin and had me on an IEP plan. Yet, Devereux failed to grant my diploma and caused my a decade loss of opportunities.
At Devereux, I was made to believe that I was a problem, that I would never find a foster family, and that I was inappropriate. I was humiliated when I should have been cared for. I was traumatized when I should have been healing from the trauma that landed me in foster care in the first place. I was treated as a criminal with little privileges even though I was a foster youth who had no juvenile delinquency nor truancy issues. My caseworkers abandoned me, leaving me with no one to tell except those who allowed the harm I endured to continue. Devereux’s abuse and neglect spans back at least a decade. I was a resident from [PHONE REDACTED], yet today, there are still horror stories from as recent as 2019. Who will hold Devereux accountable? I was failed. Although I am a student on my way to earning a Bachelor’s degree at age 29, and things are looking up for me, my accomplishments do not take away from the fact that Devereux was in fact one of the hugest barriers I faced as a child. Devereux’s neglect and abuse still impacts me today and I am still recovering from my experience after a decade. I became homeless after my discharge from Devereux and had to fight for stability, an opportunity to be educated, and for my voice to be heard. Devereux can no longer silence me.
