Great Circle Boys and Girls Town of Missouri

Kinda dry iykyk.

I currently go to Great Circle in Webster Groves. Most students/staff know me as Erin sadly, as I prefer Savannah/Sav above my birth name, Anyways, I started going to Great Circle in 7th grade and at first I wasn’t too fond of the school. I am now in 8th grade - my last year of middle school. Now, the second I enter the building I genuinely feel appreciated and welcome/comfortable for once.. My counselor/therapist Ms. Jen, and teacher, Ms. Beth are so great, and always help me through the hard times. I just love the school in general, and I honestly prefer school over my own house! I feel so safe there. I thank all staff and peers for making this school such a great place. This school over all is amazing. I highly recommend it. Great support, Friendly staff, Safe environment. All students are provided with what they need. Great school. Keep it up, GC.

-Erin/Savannah Amelong

My son had recently been there until I had to get him out of great circle due to lack of communication between staff, the rudeness to our whole family(as a parent you should not be cussed at and yelled at by cottage staff), on visit days we would drive a hour to learn our son wasnt even there, we witnessed staff pushing a girl out of her way to get to the cottage office, tell a kid that their family did not want them. I would not wish for any kid to be placed here. It was the worst experience and it did more damage to my son than good. He is currently recieving help somewhere else and doing amazing.

DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILDREN TO GREAT CIRCLE.

I was a resident at Great Circle for a total of only three days, but the horrors of the establishment were quickly bestowed upon me. The staff members are power-hungry, abusive and remorseless - seeing each patient as some kind of rabid, untrustworthy animal in need of subjugation. They will manipulate and punish your children by use of their authority, verbal and physical assault, unwarranted secrecy and psychological manipulation.
Despite suffering a debilitating migraine throughout my entire stay in the cottage, I was forced to perform chores, clean up my own vomit while staff members watched, and participate in various affairs that would be better referred to as a horrific excuse for 'treatment' and 'therapy'. I was denied the opportunity rest my eyes for longer than a few seconds, lie or even sit down throughout the day in spite of my continuous vomiting, lightheadedness and sensitivity to light and sound. I was reprimanded, yelled and cursed at for the mere reality of my deteriorating physical condition. Any attempt to stand up for your rights will result in one or more of your 'privileges' being taken away from you - that includes any contact to your loved ones for a certain period of time. Even without said restriction, you're not guaranteed a call to your family. If you're lucky enough to get one, a staff member is placed in your company and the entire conversation will be played over speakerphone.
The room I was placed in was not cleaned prior to my institutionalizing. A noticeable amount of dirt and debris was sprinkled about the concrete floor, and the fluorescent lights on the ceiling were blinding. It was completely empty aside from a twin bed, a locked closet, an unsanitary personal bathroom and one small, tightly barred window. It was a prison cell.
Only after hours of hysterical begging and pleading my mother to remove me was I released. Our visit was closely monitored, but I did not hold back. My autonomy and and sense of self-respect were not stripped away from me because I was able to flee in time. I was LUCKY.
Parents will be coerced into thinking that their child is safe. That their child is being treated with nothing but the utmost respect and dignity. That the terrible things your child is telling you about this place aren't even remotely true, not in the slightest. That you ought not believe your child, because, "Why would you? They're mentally ill, after all - that's why they're here."

My story isn't one of a kind. State-run psychiatric institutions are nothing more than glamorized prisons. Thousands of vulnerable children and adolescents nationwide are forced to call these detention centers their homes because they have nowhere else to go. The state is punishing your child for being ill - for suffering past trauma, neglect and mistreatment.

Think twice before shipping your child away.

It's terrible my baby sister has been there since she was 14 and she's 16 now, She is diagnosed with border line Autism she was sent their by her father without any concent of my mother, she's there for help, every since she has been there she has always been a victim of the female's in the cottages, she has had a fractured noes from being beaten she has been in a comma from being jumped,They never contacted us letting us know her situation at all, let alone there was no staff around to supervision in the cottages Staff workers are very careless, This is a nightmare don't send your children to them they are damaging our children they are not out what they make themselves out to be.