Petition to Shut Down Provo Canyon School

I went through this school around 1998. That's 16 years ago now, and the memories still haunt me. I went in for drug issues and depression. It only made everything worse.

They basically subject you to a humiliating and torturous environment. It is much like being a prisoner, and much like being the subject of a laboratory experiment.

Physical beatings are common. If you say the wrong thing you could get slammed against a wall or tackled. They especially like to use arm bars and moves in which they twist your hands. They can get away with it anytime without getting in trouble. And they do it when it is unnecessary. They do it as a display of power to intimidate the entire unit of kids.

The kids are left alone to beat the crap out of each other often too. You could be sitting there studying math at your desk. Then suddenly there's another kid with no shirt on rushing in to attack you. I got into hundreds of scuffles and became a good fighter in there. It puts you into a state of constant tension. This creates psychological disorders in people like PTSD, anxiety, anger, etc.

Then they shove drugs down your throat. They just pic a mental disorder that matches you best and give you a corresponding drug cocktail. They had me on up to 3 drugs at a time. Almost everyone in there was on 3-5 heavily psychotropic pharmacueticals. How fucked up is that! Many of those kids don't even have true mental disorders and the vast majority of the drugs were not necessary.

Sometimes they would "try out" a new drug on you. And they would give you a heavy stimulant or anti-psychotic. We were used as human lab rats. Period.

Many of the staff are incompetent. There are idiotic ex-security guards on steroids in charge of you with 100% authority. Telling you what to do. These guys are hired for physical power, not mental capability. Most of them are unqualified and dangerous to the kids.

Some of them were obviously gay and/or pedophiles. I won't name and names right now. But I know of 3 staff members there who were predators of the children. Many of them would look at me inappropriately and they loved to walk around us late at night when we were in out pajamas, staring at our bodies with no shame.

And yes indeed, there was molestation going on. It was rare, but it was happening with a small number of people. Staff members would disappear with kids for "private talks" and it was obvious what was happening. I know about a 14 year old kid who was getting sexually abused by a staff member.

If any of you have any questions. Or if any of you went to PCS, please email me longfortheflowers@gmail.com