I was sent to SBA (previously known as California Leadership Academy and Bayside Academy)in May 2016 after a failed suicide attempt. While I was there I was raped by the program director Dr. Hugo Wright. I was sexually abused by a staff member named Carlos, I was groomed into a romantic relationship with a female teacher, I was physically abused my family rep. The psychiatrist put me on so many meds that I was practically a vegetable. And because of that I was put on hygiene probation for months. Hygiene probation consisted of no showering, no shampoo or conditioner, no tooth brush or toothpaste, no deodorant, soap, or lotion. I was given a piece of bread w a slice of cheese twice a day for the 4 months I was on hygiene probation. I wasn’t allowed to shower, brush my teeth, or wash my clothes for 120 days. I had 3 failed suicide attempts while SBA. After every attempt I was taken to the garage where they would make me stand for 45 minutes and sit for 15 minutes for 16 hours a day. I was given a plate of lettuce with a scoop of rotten tuna on it twice a day (even though Im allergic to tuna) and I would get water twice a day and a bathroom break twice a day. Male staff frequently strip searched me, and would touch me in front of the cameras. I was not allowed to send my parents a letter or talk to them on the phone for 8 months straight. They gave me a “shadow” (a grown adult) that would watch me use the bathroom and shower because I was able to get on Facebook and tell some of my friends about the abuse I was subjected to. I have been going to therapy twice a week to deal with everything that happened to me at SBA and to this day I have severe C-PTSD, Sever Depression Disorder, and a handful of anxiety disorders. For years my parents used fear tactics to keep me silenced and after I turned 18 SBA reached out to me and threatened to send someone to kill me if I spoke out. It caused me to leave everyone I loved behind and move across the country on my own with no family or friends knowing where I am. There is a lot more that happened to me while I was in SBA, and as scared as I am to speak out, I refuse to be a silenced faceless victim if my story has to power to save other children from this abuse.
