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Lighthouse of northwest florida (fka VCA )/ Rebekah / Roloff ) / Re: Bethesda Home for Girls
« on: April 29, 2012, 12:47:49 AM »
Hi everyone. My name is vicki lee or at least it was Lee back then i am not sure why I decided to search for this subject tonight. I was at the Bethesda home in 1976-1977. I was there when Beth the girl that lost her leg from a train. I had another friend that was there from my church named Tammy that had a baby. I felt so sorry for her they would not even let her see him. There was Colleen that was a leader and there was a girl named Karen who I was friends with. There was also a Debbie who I knew from back at my church also. There were at least 4 girls that the paster of our church was able to convince their mothers to send them there.
I am glad to hear that others had some of the same experiences as I did. As far as I am concerned it was pure torture. I was beaten, forced to wash my face with comet cleanser, handcuffed to a chair with only a bible and a light in a dark room. In the seventies we were forced to sleep on the floor next to the beds. I remember spending Christmas there in 1977 and my mother sent me cloths and they gave them to the other girls.
I guess I was one of the lucky ones because my grandmother and my aunt started looking for me since I disappeared and my mom wouldn't tell them where I was. It took them 6 months to find me and once they did my family took the home to court and got me out of there. The judge said he had never seen a child as scared as I was in court and the abuse in the home would be put under investigation. This was the first lawsuite brought against the home and the ones that ran it.
I still have nightmares to this place. And my mother and I didn't speak for over 5 years after I left the place. She would not allow me to come back home so I had to go and live with other family members. I would love to hear from anyone who was there when I was. I don't remember many names only faces. My email is [email protected]. It has taken me many years to work through this experience. And have just recently told my children about it. This experience in this place led to several other tragic things happening to me and it has taken me years to forgive my mother for what she did to me.
I am glad to hear that others had some of the same experiences as I did. As far as I am concerned it was pure torture. I was beaten, forced to wash my face with comet cleanser, handcuffed to a chair with only a bible and a light in a dark room. In the seventies we were forced to sleep on the floor next to the beds. I remember spending Christmas there in 1977 and my mother sent me cloths and they gave them to the other girls.
I guess I was one of the lucky ones because my grandmother and my aunt started looking for me since I disappeared and my mom wouldn't tell them where I was. It took them 6 months to find me and once they did my family took the home to court and got me out of there. The judge said he had never seen a child as scared as I was in court and the abuse in the home would be put under investigation. This was the first lawsuite brought against the home and the ones that ran it.
I still have nightmares to this place. And my mother and I didn't speak for over 5 years after I left the place. She would not allow me to come back home so I had to go and live with other family members. I would love to hear from anyone who was there when I was. I don't remember many names only faces. My email is [email protected]. It has taken me many years to work through this experience. And have just recently told my children about it. This experience in this place led to several other tragic things happening to me and it has taken me years to forgive my mother for what she did to me.