General Inquiries info@calyouth.org. I had to confront the Blacks and the Whites. The California Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), previously known as the California Youth Authority (CYA), . Til this day, I still struggle with it. I did what the California Youth Authority said I needed to do. Edited and photographed by David William Reeve. Gladiator School: Stories from Inside YTS is an oral history of life inside Californias most notorious juvenile prison. Youre kind of small. Sharing stuff, talking, playing cards. I left with two other friends of mine who were in the same cottage in Ventura. The teacher used to read the newspaper to pretend he didnt see anything, but everywhere you look a guy is sitting next to a female. In this episode, 14-year old Luis Ortega arrives in Los Angeles, lonely and vulnerable, before looking to South Centrals notorious 38th Street Gang for protection. Getty Images offers exclusive rights-ready and premium royalty-free analog, HD, and 4K video of the highest quality. The Captain had been with the department since YTS opened. I had friends, but I couldnt relate to them. If you had a badge, you had the right to rape. You knock on the door one more time Ill beat your ass. One minute, I was a kid, then I did all this jail time, and I was back on the streets expected to perform as an adult!. Youth Authority: California: Directed by Gabriel London. So the kicked us out. A Law Was Meant to Free Sick or Aging Inmates. It took me a while to come to terms with this and the whole evolution that allowed this to happen. Working the graveyard shift, he becomes an unlikely father-figure to wards older than himself, as the facility faces closure from mounting costs and corruption. I broke down in the rack 1 time. Then covid hit and I havent been back. Some California Youth Authority juvenile prisons were known as "Gladiator Schools" by the wards who were incarcerated there. My whole mind was thinking about escape. Arrested 1983. David William Reeve is an independent writer and photographer who documents the lives of juveniles at risk. The Whites they were called Woods. Paso Robles, Nellis and Preston school were much harder places to do time in than YTS. This series will relay and respect their stories: Juvie told by the ones who were there. Youth Camps where you put in work and fight daily.. Crouch is a beast he went to the YA and came back a sav..They called that dude the Russian concussion I think . In this episode, Jaime Morales is an ambitious youngster making a name for himself on the streets of South East LA. The only types of people that you find in the different joints are victims or victimizers. I sliced my wrist and got under the blanket. May 2004 A Review of the California Youth Authority's Infrastructure. An oral history of stories from inside the California Youth Authority is documented by David Reeve (2019-2021). The California Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), previously known as the California Youth Authority (CYA), . I sliced him. I was a juvenile lifer. My Dad came every weekend and every holiday. End date 4/12/99 Thanx to all the counselors that believed in me,ie. I try to be positive. He told me whenever youre drunk, but you still want to drink, pour your beer out and put water in it. I didnt know what was wrong with me. The judge sentenced me until my 25th birthday. They were accepting murders. I took the knives out of her back, called for help, then called my Dad.. But for the Chicanos, they were already in gangs. Eventually, my Brother went to the Army; my Sister was married. Box , Stockton, 944-0501 Institution for 504 males. I dont get involved with anything illegal. Im a small guy, so I push the couch under the TV and reach up to turn it off. Thats when they would make us roll up our mattress, blanket, and sheets( roll yo shit up!!!) Since publishing the story The Closing of Californias Most Violent Juvenile Prison, survivors of YTS have come forward to tell stories of daily life inside. This series will relay and respect their stories: Juvie told by the ones who were there. You had to jump in water and get wet for 5 seconds, jump out,, than soap up, than jump back in to rinse off. I lost my family, my brother died, I became an uncle. The prison was closed in 2010 when the State had no other solution for the violence and mayhem there; a State Attorney called it an especially horrible place and hundreds of workers lost their jobs. Tim gave me hope and encourage me to go-to school and get my AA. I was one of them real one who didnt tell and I did the time for something I didnt even do. The time I served there would be the building blocks that developed many behaviors that I would have to unlearn as an adult to earn my freedom once more. I wanted to respond with absolute violence so bad and at the same time i internally didnt really want to hurt anyone. After discovering that his grandfather consulted for the prison, he tried to get a tour. He saved me he had all girls and he said working at yts gave him all the sons he could ever want. Gang affiliations defined enemies and allies on the street and in prison. I couldnt believe it. It helped me to see what life was like, even though everything had changed. A beef had started with Echo Park. By Sunday morning, my Dad comes home barefoot. Visit davidreeve.net for more. I was sipping on water and then one of my homeboys says, Lets go. I couldnt see outside, but they can see in. It went from a handful of us in that unit to 30, 40 of us. Jason Velebit #71230 Publication Type. People were lenient. Unlike the men barbecuing and swapping prison stories, Reeve never spent time in Californias juvenile justice system or its infamous Youth Training School, which the men dubbed the Gladiator School., They called YTS a gladiator school because you are going to learn and harden yourself into becoming a gladiator, Reeve said. At least eight times in the last three years, unruly . They can be found under the bound volumes inventory of the Youth Authority and the Office of the Secretary of State. I was able to write a book about my experience to help with the PTSD. Gladiator school.. The California Youth Authority was known as "Gladiator School." You could do all the smashing you wanted to. In one fight, the former CYA ward said he was given two black eyes. I went to my room and got a toothbrush, put a razor blade on the toothbrush, and went to the laundry room where Sam was. I aint gonna lie. After a number of violent incidents that included themurder of a counselorin 1996 the state began scrutinizing the prison, he said. We get into a gun battle. Closed in 2010, Youth Training School (also known as Heman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility) had a reputation for mayhem, violence, and murder that earned it the name Gladiator School. 201 waterman rd ione ca 95640. The stuff that we suffer through is worse than anything Ive ever read in any books, I went to prison after prison afterwards and believe my mind, through all the trials and tribulations of CYA, was shaped and forged to be the calloused, hardened, scarred mind that has not been in trouble In over 20 years now, but still sees the world through clouded, broken eyes. Youre fighting fires with somebody whos watching your back. I went to Camp Karl Holton and it was more peaceful. If you were a female you went to Ventura. Karl Holton Drug and Alcohol Abuse Treatment Center, Box 21 '5002, Stockton 95213-9002, (209) 944-6551 . 3. I was a teenager, so I knew everything. Eighty years after California created separate incarceration facilities to spare teenagers from being locked up alongside adults, the state has pledged to begin the shutdown . Reeve lives 20 minutes from YTS, also known as the Heman G. Stark Correctional Facility. But in Fire Camp youre not just with your race, now its a buddy system. In August of 1996 a counselor was killed in YTS (Youth Training School) in Chino, California. God must of new I needed an Angel because I demanded to be transferred back to ts or chad. I barely made it, but Im here taking care of my 5 kids. Coming of age,puberty. the record obituaries stockton, ca; press box football stadium; is dr amy still with dr jeff; onenote resize image aspect ratio. You can always tell who the ringleaders and shot callers are. And he died on Friday, Aug 13, 2021. It was so hard working. The system worked for me. Through his interviews and research, hes heard of teachers who were abused, inmates who had to fight to protect themselves andguards who abused inmatesand set up Friday night fights between wards. Mrs. Vicky Contreras. Got my ged. A Volkswagen passes by slowly, then takes off. The sweat lodge became the church for people who wanted to self-identify as Native Americans or as indigenous people from anywhere. or. My first day was going through the orientation process. An oral history of stories from inside the California Youth Authority is documented by David Reeve (2019-2021). At Fire Camp, somebody stole my shoes and money, and nobody would admit to it. I was one of the few of my friends that had a dad. I just lost it. Missing earlier happy times wanting to be accepted what Got me there by joining 18st gang. This is not YA. I did not want to hurt this guy. I wanted to show them how to make life work for them like I had done. Hello I was in the Californias Authority I was it Preston does a lawsuit going on about four awards that were there and can receive relief. They left me like that for two days in the hole. Key findings of the survey include: 9-in-10 young people say mental health is a priority, but only 4-in-10 rate their own mental health highly. Riots kicked off every week. Finally, in November 2004, a consent decree was ordered as part of the settlement of a lawsuit, Farrell v. Harper, which detailed nightmarishly unconstitutional conditions in the CYA facilities, and laid down a list of mandated reforms. Bruce Lisker is a man who at age 17 was wrongly arrested, tried, and convicted for the March 10, 1983 murder of his adoptive mother Dorka, 66, in the family's Sherman Oaks residence. In this episode, Jeff (aka Huerito) is short timing when he leaves the comfort of Ventura Youth Correctional Facility to arrive at Fire Camp. She said, I cant believe this happened to me. Her whole body was shaking. I knew my Dad was going to be there. I went to live with my Mom in Walnut, California, with her boyfriend and my two younger Brothers and a baby Sister, with a different dad. California Education Authority Kim Rigg, Superintendent of Education P.O. It was there that minors would harden themselves for survival, only to be returned to the streets more troubled and volatile than when they arrived. He had six months to go. Legislation transferred all three schools, placed under the jurisdiction of the Department of Institutions in 1921 (ch. In this episode, Adrin (not his real name) ascends the ranks of La Eme The Mexican Mafia as he trades violence as currency in seeking shelter from the swelling corruption he witnesses within the California Youth Authority. I got those keys on my belt and felt, my god, how things have changed. They like to flaunt themselves, and if you get caught peter-gazing, its rough for you. Everybody was doing sexual activity. It seemed like bad behavior was expected and respected. My neighbor who I spent half the night talking to through the vent died that night in his cell. When I went to the hole, they stripped me down took all my clothes off. Photo by Peter Maiden We have returned to the situation of 50 years Messy Marv. Reports Say California Youth Authority Facilities Provide 'Inadequate' Health Care, Mental Health Services. The state closed the facility in 2010, tocut costs, it said. Nations First Standalone Prison Campus Celebrates Graduation, $2.1 Million Grant Will Expand First AmeriCorps Program for Formerly Incarcerated People, Inmate shuffle: How California bounces around its mentally ill prisoners, In Wrongful Death Settlement, Family of Shaylene Graves Will Get $3.5 Million and a Platform to Urge CAs Prison Officials to Implement Policies That Better Protect Women in Custody, System-Impacted Youth Leaders Push for LA County to Fund Youth Justice Reimagined. In Ventura you were allowed to write letters. I didnt want to fight and get more time but I had to do something. Records concerning juveniles are restricted. If the Blacks are on one side of the shower, then you dont go in the shower at all. You never wash your hair because youre vulnerable when your eyes are closed. School Type: Youth Authority Facilities: Educational Program Type: Information Not Available Website. His father, known locally as Mexican Bob died in 2019. We were teenagers then. I said, Come here, man. Shoulder to shoulder we hugged each other It worked. Im sure it fucked us up worse. You cant show any fear. It felt permanent., During the tour, Reeve snapped photos for what would become the first installment of Gladiator School.. The California Youth Authority no longer exists because it was the most brutal and abusive environment known to any juvenile detention facility in the United States of . There was a student aid in art class. Theoretically, that was accomplished. A doctor came in to be sure my cuffs were not too tight. We had to run a lot. AKA Crouch October 18, 2013. I started reading and educating myself on the Bible. YA made me the person that I am. In my eyes, Im just a person that tried to survive. at like 3 a.m until whenever. So, it was just my Dad and me. The courts figured I was still in Walnut, but I stayed with him. I was listening. I heard the door open the heard them cover her mouth and rape her. Totally messed him up and he had nightmares and began using drugs to quell his memories. These men who survived should tell their stories any way they can. They called me down to the security office and issued me a full set of keys for the institution. He gave me the paperwork a basic state application that included a physical exam, a background investigation, and a medical exam. Before we go to eat dinner, we go to the living room to watch TV for an hour. Reading all these comments brought back memories, I was at Preston and yts they saved my life i was a active gang member and was giving a chance when i was at yts i was in the automotive trade and was selected to go to Fred c Nellis to work on county vehicles..i was driving County cars and trucks we fixed them. He died within a minute. Sucks but its true. People have very tough decisions to make about criminal justice, juvenile justice and prison reform, but prisons remain a huge source of mystery, so what fuels those decisions, Reeve said. He punched me in my ribs. Rafael "Al" Losno Jr. came to prison during the era when phrases like "battle gyms and gladiator schools" were the norm. The High School at N.A.Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility in Stockton was stripped of its accreditation in May 2005 by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Criminal Justice Journalism in the Public Interest, a mind-numbing level of controversy and scandal, phasing out the states youth prison system, Gladiator School: Stories from Inside YTS, signed into law on Sept. 30, legislationto close, What Really Happened To My Kids? Somebody went inside my locker and stole my Tres Flowers! Featured image: Chris (aka Savage) told the story of being sent to The Hole in Gladiator School for hiding a shank under his mattress as a youth, when the prison broke out into a riot. And the whole tier was Smokey. They interviewed everybody. They left me there. Tim later explained to me I reminded him of an abused animal, ready to attack anything that got close to me. CHICO The minor convicted of attacking a 71-year-old woman at the Chico High School track was sentenced to four years and six months in the Butte County Juvenile Hall on Thursday. Everybodys watching TV and Im sitting on the couch. ELO-Program Enrichment Specialist will work with an assigned group of students, student to staff ratio is contingent upon CDC guidelines and grant requirements. Getty Images offers exclusive rights-ready and premium royalty-free analog, HD, and 4K video of the highest quality. On December 1, 1979, I was in a Christmas parade riding my lowrider bike; I came home and nobody was there. I was screaming and crying. the author helped turn the entire CYA into a single school district and hired a superintendent of education to manage this aspect of the program. More details about California Youth Authority According to our records, this business is located at 31 E Channel St Ste 112 in Stockton (in San Joaquin County), California 95202, the location GPS coordinates are: 37.9548822 (latitude), -121.2910291 (longitude). When his desire to fit in with the gang leads to murder, Luis sheds his need for protection by fighting for survival in YTS. He worked at the TWA call center that was a vocational training program for the airline. School: Stark (Herman G.) Youth Training CDS Code: 36 32060 3638459 School Address . My mom was covered in blood. Gavin Newsom has announced the proposed closure of the state's three youth detention centers including the one in Ventura County in the . It was in the newspaper. I learned So much but got Negatively influenced because all there was is negativity going on around everywhere , Back then CYA was worser than Prison. I heard footsteps and keys the officers carry a lot of keys. Losno Says Goodbye. If the governor's plan is approved by the state legislature, it would end the brutal legacy of a youth prison system in California that once housed as many as 10,000 youth and teens. Riot during shower time in CYA. He looked tough. These were juveniles. The murder that I committed was against some regular person. The next day you go to school and you see a girl wearing Nikes that they dont sell in the commissary, beautiful Air Jordans. My mouth was hanging open. Learned how get up go to work at the trade I learned(plumbing). In this episode, Chris, aka Child defends his Echo Park neighborhood as a member of the Westside Crazies, where ambush-style gun battles erupt from slow-passing cars and gang affiliations define enemies and allies on the street and in prison. This has repercussions throughout the whole youth authority, statewide. My transition back into society was rough. After spending almost three decades inside California's toughest penitentiaries, Losno paroled from San Quentin this June as a changed man. I got the gun. I went on a good 6 year tour. On August 9, 1996, Youth Counselor Baker, who was also assigned to C/D Company at the facility, worked a 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. shift, as shift coordinator. He would leave me money. I sliced him. I was the drag shovel, meaning I was at the end of the line and I carried the medicine and the toilet paper in a backpack. 531 Followers. 89 F3738:271, ODC 2:9(3-8) Department of Youth Authority Records Fred C. Nelles School for Boys (Whittier State School) 16 years to life. Membership Inquiries membership@calyouth.org. The anger I felt, the violence, the heartlessness, the cages, the smell, the water, the blood, the impact of being shot by beanbag guns, the riots, 1 one 1s, broken hands, the tension in the air just before it kicks off, staff assaults, drugs, alcohol, death. by Fat Back. Since publishing the story The Closing of Californias Most Violent Juvenile Prison, survivors of YTS have come forward to tell stories of daily life inside. Its not allowed. Lets steal a car.. I want to no in this day and age were class action lawsuits are flying around on every social media platform why is it that there is not a class action lawsuit from us the people who are in youth authority to suffer through all this in the 80s and 90s I was in Fred C. Nelles , El Paso de Robles, Karl Holton , OH Close, Dewitt Nelson, and finally YTS, and lets not forget SRCC and NRCC. We got really close. Im looking around, but nobody knows nothing. When youre a Black Hand in the Mexican Mafia, you cannot theres no rape. Conviction overturned 2009. He refused to take me to medical. I was tired. Was there medical experimentation going on at that facility in the 1970s. Criminal penalty. They shot me with this rubber bullet that knocked me to the floor then took me to the hole. Remember what they taught us? I looked at him and he looked at me, and I didnt even care. In the past, young people were locked in cages for school and recreation, and held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. I felt I needed to go along to get the older gang members approval. She just disappeared one day. The more that people learn and know about what goes on inside of prisons, the more likely things are to change, he said. Cold as fuck out on that bench in a thin jumpsuit in the cage to get air outside. Due to the fact that I was locked up so many times, its hard for me. Sir, why did you hit me? I was crying. She called Youth Authority and said, if something happens to my son, Im going to sue you guys. They called from Sacramento and they transferred me. Youth Training School (known formally as Heman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility) had a reputation for mayhem, violence, and murder that earned it the name Gladiator School. California Dept of the Youth Authority. For me, seeing that in Ventura, seeing her shaking, seeing the lights go out thats somebodys daughter. Programs for young offenders. I wrote in the letter, I know what happened.. But man, I seen some crazy ass shit in all the institutions I visited! N A Chaderjian High School is located within the N.A. Approximately 1-in-3 young people say they . Ibwas there forba couple years. Funny thing about any institution is guys will try you. There were no rules. When I got out of ADX Colorado, they gave me an ATM card and flew me to South America. I was not the only one. Sentenced till I turned 25. You either take mess or you dont. Kids bullied by other kids and beat to a pulp.. People stabbed hit in the face with locks. She would have sex with guys in exchange for $100 worth of commissary. #77766 (1996 to 2005) SRCC, Fred C. Nelles, HeMan G. Starks YA BABY !!!! Why would I suffer out here? Instead, Some Are Left to Die in Prison. Once I went to prison and became who I was, honestly, I had so much anger. He had fought with my homeboy so when he came at me I just put out a knife and stabbed him. He spent 22 monthsat YTS before returning as an adult, working as aVocational Instructor, and later as an Institutional Gang Investigator. To my brothers, He made excellent money. We were fighting this fire near the Grapevine; it was really cold. Seen grown men guards beat up little kids like men seen doctors prescribed my friends psych meds and fuck em up. Everyone else was just associates. The California Youth Authority is confronted with various challenges that call for a fresh examination of its facility needs: (1) an aging infrastructure with housing-related and other deficiencies; (2) demands for special facilities, as a result of state, federal, and court mandates to deliver mental health and education . It was weird being back on the units Sacramento, kern, owens, paharo, American, Tuolumne my old cells, the visiting hall, where I would see my family cry ass they left all the crazy shit came back. According to . Ben Lomond Youth Conservation Camp. I figured I was going to parole from there. I would love to see a lawsuit where we are the victors not the victims of a broke, violent system that should have been extinguished long ago. Something started happening with me. I made an announcement. I went straight into the street life and didnt care about anything. The Youth Authority had been created in 1941 (ch. I wasnt embarrassed. Lisker told Reeve there were five to 10 assaults a day. Because I wanted to be macho and do what the gang says? It's called Gladiator School for a reason, when the worst of the worst kids are too young for Prison they are sent to Youth Authority. We took off and were hanging out inside an apartment building nearby. 3 An oral history of stories from inside the California Youth Authority is documented by David Reeve (2019-2021). Youre going to come with me and have 5 minutes to talk to her.. But it really hit hard right here in YTS. All future Diplomas from this Stockton CYA facility will not carry the WASC accreditation. They knew we had food. in preston, a 90 day observation could turn into a 10 year stay depending on how old you was. Shed give you a list of what to buy her from the store. An eventful time of my life for sure.got after it the whole time and came thru good as one can be If you said you were Indian, we believed you.. Upon his release, he was deported to South America where he earns $6 a day working in the fields. Tracy to Cedar to Greenbrier and spent most my time in the Rack. My first week at YTS, I have a picture of my Dad who came to visit me. Kids hang themselves. I went to prison in Atwater, CA in Terre Haute, Indiana in Oklahoma too. Uncover why California Youth Authority is the best company for you. The happiest day of my life was when I got out of prison. Chris, aka Child, defended his Echo Park neighborhood as a member of the Westside Crazies in his youth. Northern California Youth Center, Stockton, CA Includes four institutions. These places were atrocious. The Nazi Lowriders were barely coming up. Nobody said anything. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 62558 1992-1993 juniper ,buckeye shatout to the staff and to all the people who believed in me .my counselor senior oficer and my bakery supervisor . He bothered some people. They wanted to see us develop stamina. The Closing of Californias Most Violent Juvenile PrisonWe couldnt show fearRemember what they taught us?How soon will I know?The only way outWe were not afraid to dieThat Hell they put me inFifty-five fightsLost in the HallsPutting in workThe last watchThe white horse.