Rosemont Treatment Center
The Oregonian, August 27, 2014
A Southeast Portland school that has housed and taught troubled teenage girls since 1902 has closed its doors.
Rosemont Treatment Center, a 27-bed facility that provides mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment and schooling is terminating its contract with Oregon Youth Authority and the Department of Human Services due to a chronic lack of funding.
Girls in the program have been sent to foster care, the custody of family members or other treatment facilities….Continue reading at OregonLive.com
Help? No. This place wanted us to be compliant, unquestioning followers, and placed us in the “time out rooms” or in an isolation room if we persisted in any undesirable behavior. There was a “6 inch rule,” meaning no one was allowed to come within 6 inches of anyone else, which meant the only way to get any human contact was to act up to a point where you had to be physically restrained. Hurting girls locked up with no hugs ever ever ever. Nobody was interested in helping me, no matter how much I begged and talked and pleaded. My therapist wanted me to, uh, consider the fact that I didn’t speak up about my father’s abuse earlier… And tried to tell me I was being brainwashed by my mother because I didn’t completely hate either of my parents. My request to work with a different therapist were not even considered, I was consistently told every problem I was having with the institution was my own fault. They only wanted us all to follow all the rules. Finding out Rosemont closed is one of the happiest pieces of news in my entire life.
I was placed in Rosemont as a young rebelious girl. I lived there in like 1983. I still remember this place.
I was placed here in 2011 and I can most definitely say that it was not “helpful”. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that it was actually quite a traumatizing experience.
First of all, the bars on the windows didn’t exactly scream “home”. I was not allowed outside for the first 4 months of living there. I don’t mean outside the facility, I mean outside as in actually outside.
The isolation rooms were plywood screwed to the wall to make a small make-shift room, which was fine if you wanted to be alone. But being sent to seclusion is entirely different.
Seclusion is a punishment where you are thrown into a concrete room with a bright LED light. The only openings being a think steel door that locks and a small 6 square inch window with chicken wire covered with a curtain through which they observe you. While placing you in seclusion, they remove your sweater and belt, leaving you to freeze against the concrete with no source of warmth other than yourself.
I remember watching as a thirteen year old girl tried to walk away from an activity. The staff told her she had to stay. She was having a panic attack and rather than support her need to feel safe, they dragged her (and yes, I mean that quite literally) to seclusion while she begged to not be placed in that rook and said she was sorry repeatedly, only for the staff to put her in seclusion anyway.
Making any sort of close friendship with the other residents automatically leads them to believe that the two individuals should be separated and restricted from seeing each other at all.
No aspect of your life is private. Not even letters or phone calls.
The showers were stained from mold and rarely cleaned.
The therapists were less than therapeutic. Mine told me that it was my fault that I was sexually abused, that I should have taken precautions to protect myself and said no to my abuser (I was 12). My request to change therapists was denied.
Don’t make Rosemont seem like it was more than what it really was: another place that not just failed to better our lives, but somewhere that left us scarred for life.
I was the girl who apparently started the riot.That made them move from north east portland and I can tell you that this place was screwed up from the Beginning, this is like aprison.Sexual and abuse verbal and physical were all around Has had a heart on for me ever since .. should have stared a class action suit
There were three “tiers”: one for girls with drug and alcohol problems, one for girls with emotional and sexual abuse issues, and one for girls with mental health problems. I was a resident from approximately 1986 until I aged out in June 1988. I had a lot of issues stemming from the sexual abuse I suffered at the hands of my stepfather. Although it was difficult, especially at first, my experience wasn’t entirely negative. We attended school every day, and my grades immediately improved. I made friends, and despite the locked doors, I felt relatively comfortable. We participated in various outings, activities, and behavioral group therapy sessions. We all shared a large dorm with our own beds, desks, and drawer areas. I was not subjected to any physical, sexual, or emotional abuse during my time there.
After graduating from the tiered program, I transitioned to the STARS program on the other side of the building. There, I attended school outside at the Private Industry Council every day. This life skills and job-based school was incredibly beneficial, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The STARS program focused on preparing us for adult life, teaching us essential skills like filing taxes, balancing checkbooks, and preparing for job interviews. We even had a talent show! This place, and the counselors within it, gave me something to believe in – myself. I’m thankful and grateful for the support they provided, as I doubt I would have made it without them.
I’m sorry that others had a difficult time.
I myself can only speak well of it and how it impacted my life.
I was placed here in 1982. I was 14. This was at the 597 N. Dekum address. At the time, there were 45-50 girls there. I was one of 2 who had never done drugs or prostitution. Most of my felonious education came from the 15 months I spent here. The closest I ever came to starting to smoke cigarettes was here. I also came close to being trapped and molested in the shower by 3 other girls in my dorm (Dorm 3), one of whom was a “leader” meaning someone who’d been there a while and was getting ready to be released. After I was released, my behavior became a lot worse than before I went in. So much for “help”.
Ol’ Villa St Rose. ROSEMONT. Lock up for teenage girls. I was there from 1982ish to 1984. 3 floors of about 30ish of us on each floor. Teachers Mrs. Sullivan, Bill (math) & Fred. I also remember David Staat. Martha, Wendy & Pat, she had a hugiant nose.
Renee Howard, DeeDee Devore, Sophia Kampe, Lynn Barnhouse, Liz Bolger, Sara Boardman just to name a few. We never, I never stayed in good contact with any of them.
I was here and am currently seeing a therapist. Does anyone know if I can get copies of my own mental health or medical records that were there if it’s even possible? I was in Spong dorm in 2005. I was 15.