(CAÑON CITY, Colo.) — Disability Law Colorado has released a report alleging dangerous conditions at Southern Peaks Regional Treatment Center in Cañon City, Colorado.
The Disability Law Colorado report claims excessive restraint and substandard conditions at the facility, which is a licensed psychiatric residential treatment center with a therapeutic designation by the Office of Behavioral Health for the state of Colorado.
“I feel bad for the kids who are still there and who are going there,” said Jayla Hunt, a 17-year-old who received care at the center.
The report released on Oct. 9 documents that Southern Peaks staff frequently restrain children, averaging 75 times per month, with some children reportedly getting hurt in the process.
Emily Harvey, co-legal director at Disability Law Colorado, stated, “Those numbers are more equivalent to some of our youth detention facilities…but at least those that are similarly licensed as mental health treatment facilities, those numbers are high in our mind.”
The report also highlights a lack of consistent treatment and substandard conditions, including metal beds, dark rooms, and raw or undercooked food.
Hunt compared the treatment center to correctional facilities, stating, “It needs to stop being run like a correctional facility… stop, just make it treatment.”
Katie Gallegos, Jayla’s mother, emphasized the need for change, saying, “These are kids who have experienced trauma or neurodivergent in some capacity, and they need to be treated as patients and not criminals or inmates.”
Disability Law Colorado is scheduling another visit to the center and ensuring the state’s licensing agency is aware of the report’s findings, as families continue to call for changes at Southern Peaks Regional Treatment Center.
FOX21 reached out to the center over a week ago, and we are still waiting to hear back.
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