Documents

Letter To A Kurn Hattin Survivors Mother

Survivors Suporting Survivors

The letter contained here was written to a 2019 survivor of Kurn Hattin and her mother after the following September 2020 excerpts by Anne Galloway of VT Digger were read by another Kurn Hattin survivor.

Horrified by the girl’s and her mother’s dehumanizing experience and Kurn Hattin Executive Director Stephen Harrison's unconscionable response, the fellow survivor woke up at 3;00 in the morning, wrote this letter, placed it in an envelope with $500 cash and drove four hours across three states to her advocates office to arrive when they opened in the morning so that the letter and its enclosure could be sent to the girl and her mother.

If you, or your daughter ever feel alone, please know that you are not alone. We are all survivors of Kurn Hattin. This money is, in some small way, to make up for what Kurn Hattin did not return to your daughter.

Your daughter will grow to be a strong, compassionate woman. Kurn Hattin should never be allowed to consume, nor to become her identity.

She has a life of her own to live in this world, to stand up tall, and to reserve her place in it. She has important meaningful things to do in life and in a way that only her unique expression of Creation will one day accomplish.

And when you just feel like plain crap and nothing else seems to work, then seek this remedy of Anne Frank:

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be."

The advocates initially stated they would be unable to forward the money to their client. The former Kurn Hattin resident refused to take it back as the intention had already put it out into the universe, and suggested that they just simply send the mother and her daughter the funds and left for home.

On the return drive, a message was received from the advocate:

"You made her day. She has .30 cents in her account until Thursday. She said to "thank the kind person so much and tell them I'm sorry for what they went through." She was so grateful. You continue to make a huge difference in people's lives in many ways and should feel good about that and proud. Thank you."

Assault With A Toothbrush & Death Threats
"The latest alleged abuse incident was in 2019 involving a 10-year-old girl in Department for Children and Families custody who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a peer with a toothbrush in the showers at Kurn Hattin, which were unsupervised, according to her mother, [REDACTED] [REDACTED]. Two other girls were also victimized for more than a year. The perpetrator told the other girls she would kill them if they told their caregiver. The girls were afraid to shower or talk about the incidents until the perpetrator left.

"The case was investigated by the Vermont State Police, according to Vermont Department of Public Safety spokesperson Adam Silverman, and the perpetrator and the two girls were removed by the Department for Children and Families. [REDACTED], the mother of the girl, reached out to Kurn Hattin and asked for her belongings, including all of her clothing, pictures, letters and holiday gifts from her family, and a stuffed animal she was fond of. Administrators did not respond to the request, nor did they offer any assistance to the family. "I live on Social Security and had to buy her new clothes," [REDACTED] said. "She had nothing.

"Freaked out by the trauma, her daughter, now 12, has threatened to commit suicide and [REDACTED] has rushed her to the ER more than once. "I've spent so many sleepless nights crying, afraid to wake up to find my child dead," she said.

"[REDACTED] is outraged that the administration didn't protect her daughter or express any remorse for the assaults. The houseparent remains at Kurn Hattin.

"Steve Harrison, who has served as executive director of Kurn Hattin since 2015, would not comment on the history of alleged abuses at the school in a statement placed on the front page website in July. He wrote that a query from the Brattleboro Reformer about the case "was the first time we had heard specifics about allegations from these years, and we were given no time to respond."

"As for allegations from 2019, he said "We followed all of the policies of DCF. That would be the extent of my comment."