Ivy Ridge survivors gather in Ogdensburg & Oswegatchie to raise awareness, take healing step

Apr. 28—OSWEGATCHIE — Academy at Ivy Ridge survivors rallied to protest against institutional child abuse on Saturday afternoon. The demonstration started in front of Ogdensburg City Hall, then moved to the threshold of the former Ivy Ridge campus on State Route 37 in the town of Oswegatchie.

The rally was organized and attended by people from around the United States who were sent to Ivy Ridge as teens, detained there against their will, and systematically subjected to physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Ivy Ridge operated from 2001 to 2009, advertising itself as a place where parents could get help for troubled teens. Many survivors have said they were treated in such a heinous manner that no one believed them until the Netflix three-part docuseries "The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping" put a new spotlight on Ivy Ridge when it debuted in March.

"The Program" talks about the physical, mental and sexual abuse the miniseries director and others who went there experienced at the hands of staff. They had been sent there by their parents and detained against their will until they either "graduated" or were pulled out by their families. A New York attorney general's investigation determined Ivy Ridge's curriculum had no educational value and the diplomas issued were bogus, eventually leading to the program's closure.

Rob Pedersen, a New Jersey resident who was sent there from 2003 to 2004, was a coordinator of Saturday's protest. He also admins a Facebook group where Ivy Ridge survivors share their stories and information about the former staffers who abused them. He called the rally a unifying event that he hopes brings more awareness to centers like Ivy Ridge that continue to operate today.

"My brothers and sisters are still behind closed doors with no one listening," Pedersen said in front of City Hall.

He noted that Saturday is the one-year anniversary of the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, bill HR 9558, being introduced in Congress. It's since been sent to committees and still sits there today. The bill has bipartisan support from 97 co-sponsors. North Country Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, is not among them.

State Assemblyman Scott Gray, R-Watertown, attended the event on Saturday to show support. Pedersen said he believes in Gray's commitment to further their cause of ending institutional child abuse. On Friday night, a group of survivors gathered and went bowling at the Ogdensburg Bowl. Pedersen said Gray showed up, unannounced with no press, to meet with them and express support. He also bowled with the group.

"He's been a voice for us and to spread awareness," Pedersen said.

Gray said he shares goals with the group of survivor advocates. He wants to make sure the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASP) that ran the school are stopped from doing it again. "It's a shared mission between these folks and the legislative end," Gray said. He added that he wants to see legal safeguard put in place "to make sure this never happens again."

When the rally moved to the former Ivy Ridge, an event that already came with a lot of emotion say that spark grow more intense. The group was allowed to stand on the driveway but did not go farther than a wire across the driveway. A half dozen state troopers stood by but left the protesters alone.

Some survivors, upon approaching the threshold, started tearing up. One woman started hyperventilating and needed help standing. Another survivor tried to comfort her by saying, "We can leave! You can leave this time!"

Chris Webb of Dallas, Texas was sent to Ivy Ridge from 2004 to 2005. It was his first time back at Ivy Ridge since he was sent back home. He experienced complicated emotions as he spoke, going back and forth between laughing and choking up, sometimes both at the same time.

"In this moment, it's a little scary to look at it," he said, adding that he's felt lots of anger since leaving there as a teen.

"I'm trying to let go of that anger," he said was a big reason for wanting to go back to the site.

Katie Szita of Frederick, Md. Made the trek to Oswegatchie. She was at Ivy Ridge from March 8, 2002 to June 12, 2003. She was the 12th girl student at Ivy Ridge. She recalled an incident during her detention there that happened on what had been dubbed "Chef Appreciation Day." She said the teens that day were served cow liver with Brussels sprouts, and the meat made her throw up. An Ivy Ridge staff member then forced her to eat her own vomit. She said she wrote to her parents about two days later where she told them what happened but it fell on deaf ears. That was something she came to encounter often when she would talk about the level of abuse that happened there.

"People didn't believe me," she said.

When "The Program" came out, that changed.

"I now feel a sense of validation. [Ivy Ridge staff] took away our basic human rights, my voice. This is getting our voices back," Szita said.

She said uniting with other survivors and having their collective experience has brought them all together as a family.

"I'm grateful for my Ivy Ridge family. These are my siblings. I love each and every one of them," Szita said.

St. Lawrence County law enforcement officials are conducting criminal investigations of the abuse allegations made against Ivy Ridge staff members. District Attorney Gary M. Pasqua and Sheriff Patrick "Rick" Engle are encouraging survivors who were abused there to come forward. Their respective offices can be reached at 315-379-2225 and 315-379-2222.