I was sent to Sunset Bay Academy after a failed suicide attempt at 15 years old. I was originally sent to Holy Highway in Texas but was kicked out after a month. They told my parents my depression was too severe and recommended I be sent to a long-term psych hospital to deal with my mental illness. Instead, my parents sent me to SBA. I was there for about a year and a half. During that time I had 4 suicide attempts, I was raped by the program director, and I was groomed into a relationship with my female school teacher. I was a victim of physical and sexual abuse, as well as being starved, dehydrated, and in-humanized. I was treated like an animal. Left in a hot garage in the middle of the Mexican summer with no AC for 16 hours a day. I was forced to face a wall, stand for 45 minutes when my knee was dislocated, and then sit for 15 minutes. This was repeated for 16 hours a day for almost 4 months. I was given lettuce and water twice a day as well as had two 5 minute bathroom breaks daily. I was not allowed to speak to my parents for almost six months because they were scared I would tell my parents the truth. Staff would expect sexual favors for food, candy, drugs, razors, or vote-up votes. SBA is a 6 level program, to “vote-up” you need the votes of staff. Some staff would deny you votes if you did not allow them to perform sexual acts with you. And if you didn’t vote out of the program, you were stuck there until you were 18. I was denied my meds and then punished for being depressed. I was put on “hygiene probation’ for 3 months. I was not allowed to shower, have shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, or a hairbrush. During hygiene probation, I was given a piece of bread and cheese 3 times a day, they took my mattress, blanket, and pillow. I was forced to sleep on the tile floor in shorts and a shirt by the front door. I was forced to do hard labor with a dislocated knee. We were pepper-sprayed and thrown to the floor if we looked at the opposite sex. Male staff strip-searched me daily while I was on suicide watch, and the male staff had to be in the bathroom with me while I used the bathroom or showered. There is a lot more that happened in that hell hole. But after I left, I was threatened with murder if I ever spoke out. I finally moved across the country and I refuse to be silenced anymore. My mother (who is a therapist) helps other parents send their kids to SBA to this day. Nothing was ever done to my rapist or my abusers.
