Hi. I'm a Three Springs Survivor, and I'm new here.
Questionnaire For Three Springs Veterans
1) When and what facility did you attend in the Three Springs system?
I attended Three Springs New Beginnings (locked) and Three Springs Turning Point (group home) from May of 1997 until the late spring, 1998. Both programs are near Huntsville, Alabama.
2) Was your mail or phone calls monitored by staff? If yes, please explain how.
All mail had to be read and approved by an administrator before it was permitted to be sent. (Of course, no abuse reports would go through.) All phone calls, limited to 8 minutes, were listened in on at all times by a staff member who would immediately disconnect the phone if the abuse was mentioned.
3) How were you transported to Three Springs(Parents, Escort Service?) and were you deceived as to the nature of the destination or the type of program you‘d be in? (Parents, Escort Service?)
I was transported to Three Springs by my social worker, who didn't have any contact with me until picking me up again. I wasn't deceived, but I was totally uninformed.
4) Upon arrival at Three Springs what was your first impression of the program and the staff?
At Three Springs, there is an office that connects with the outside which all "tours" are shown. The office included a psychiatrist's office, a therapist's office, etc. and were mostly for show. The kids are locked behind alarmed doors, and if anyone on a tour was permitted to interact with a child, that child was threatened with loss of level/status if they said anything negative about the facility.
So, my first impression was that I was in a safe place. That changed quite quickly.
5) What is your best recollection of Three Springs?
On one of the times that we ran out of food at the group home, since we were fed inadequately, the therapist came and made us hamburgers that she bought with her own money. It was incredibly sweet.
6) What is your worst recollection of Three Springs?
Hearing kids being beaten, getting beaten myself for documenting the abuse I witnessed. The Riot.
7) Did you see anyone abused in a physical manner by Three Springs staff? By this I mean having food or medical care being with-held or even denied. Someone being restrained improperly or repeatedly for reasons other than safety of themselves or others being at risk. Someone being restrained with force greater than necessary or being hit or kicked by staff or peers with no resolution of the incident to prevent future occurrences. If yes, please explain how and what was the end result of the incident:
This happened regularly at the locked facility. Food was often denied at the group home. I loosened the restraints on a girl who was choking in them during the riot. The kids who got restrained were restrained over and over.
8: Do you feel the program manipulated your parents at all? If yes please describe how.
I didn't have very much contact with my parents. I think they would say yes, but we don't talk much about this.
9) Do you feel that Three Springs provided adequate food, shelter, and medical care?
No. My teeth are bad because of a lack of dental care. I am in touch with another survivor who was diagnosed with precancerous cells while at Three Springs that were never treated.
10) Do you recall anything else of importance that you wish to discuss?
Not at this time.
I'm glad this site is here. My parents were legally misinformed after I was removed from Three Springs, so I was not able to take legal action before the statute of limitations was up. I'm thankful that websites like this exist. Maybe we can do some good, maybe we can help other kids to avoid being in the circumstances we were subjected to. But mostly I'm thankful to know that there are people here who understand.
Thanks for reading.
