Survivors of Victory Christian Academy, an unlicensed girls home that
operated in Ramona, California, until it was closed because of abusive
practices in 1992, held a reunion on school property on August 21,
2010.
Video of the reunion premiered last week on YouTube and
received praise from JESUS LAND author, Julia Scheeres. Scheeres,
whose memoir chronicled her time at a teen behavioral modification
center in the Dominican Republic, wrote, on her facebook profile, "I
would like to revisit my reform school behind the controls of a monster
bulldozer."
Survivors of New Bethany and Hephzibah House also expressed solidarity
with the VCA women and are planning their reunions as well.
HR911, which was due to be discussed in the Senate this year but
appears dead, would regulate homes like Victory Christian Academy,
Hephzibah House, and New Bethany.
Jodi Hobbs, the woman responsible for organizing the reunion, has
formed the non profit organization, Survivors of Institutional Abuse,
which aims to unite victims of the different homes for healing and
empowerment.
Carey Dunn, a fifteen year old girl, was killed on VCA property in
1998. Heather Tierney, who was locked in a small closet called 'the
Get Right Room', recalls hearing helicopters on the day Carey was
crushed by a stack of plywood while doing construction on the home.
"I thought they were hear to rescue me." she remembers.
The women planted a tree in memory of Carey Dunn, and others who
suffered abuse, or death, at homes like Victory Christian Academy.
View 'They Didn't Forget':
Facebook: 'They Didn't Forget' at facebook causes.
YouTube: 'They Didn't Forget' at YouTube.
Survivors of Institutional Abuse: sia-now.org.
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