John,
I am sorry you don't have the means to get here,, because I totally agree with you , that a documentary should be done before the building gets torn down, I think the public needs to know what the hell went on in there and the abuse that we all suffered and maybe this would help others parents in aiding thier children now to not end up in places like this. We were kids, we weren't criminals, we were just kids and it breaks my hear t that we all had to endure this kind of treatment. But, I did meet the best of friends there, and I have never had any friends like the ones I had when I was there. I do keep in touch with a few of them and they are doing well in thier lives. The reason why places like this exist in this world is because there are adults who control kids minds and make them feel like they are all mentally screwed up & that we were a menance to sociiety and that we needed to be out of the public. I was told that I was not mentally stable to be out in the real world, that I had a personality disorder & had an out of control behavior. I skipped school for 4 days with a friend of mine and the next thing I know, I am locked up here. MY mother actually is the one who called DSS on me who called the courts and signed me away and awarded the state custody of me from the time I was 11 til I was 15yrs old. After I left there I had to go to a school for all girls in Arlington,Mass, it was runned by Nuns and there were a few regular staff members at the school, but, we lived in dorms and I had so much freedom and I didn't know what to do with it so I stayed in my room a lot cause that is what I was used to. I was finally able to go home but, the scars of Gaebler and St Germaine School still haunts me til this day. This society should be ashamed of themselves for what they did to us kids,...I will never get over what happened to me and what I witnessed being in Gaebler, but, I am grateful for one thing, the friends I made, they were the best...

Boiler 1220,
I just wanted to let you know that I drive by there all the time, I still live in Waltham..I was a couple months ago tooks,acutally went inside and OMG it's a friggin mess, the place is trashed, there is graffiti everywhere, and broken windows, and glass all over the floors, the toilets and sinks are ripped out and it's just horrible, there are rooms that I never knew existed the doors were always locked except for where us kids were allowed to go...I posted the pictures on my facebook cause I can't figure out how to get them on here,. Add me as a friend and you can see them, it's Michelle Woods-Godfroy...I am so glad that you are doing well in your life....

John,
hello, I have a really hard time myself trusting people, cause of what I went through as a child so I know ow you feel. You don't ever forget being in a place like this and the pain of it follows us for life. I took some pictures a couple months ago when I went there but, for some reason I can't seem to post them on here, so I am going to post them on my facebook. You look me up and add me as a friend if you have a facebook it's Michelle Woods-Godfroy...

To John,
Hello, when were you there? I was there 1982-19836, the ist room on the right is a boys room, and you are so right about the gym, and the tv room on Ward D. OMG!! I had the best time in that tv room with my boyfriend, we had the other kids on the ward look out for staff members so we could make out, it wasn't that often that they had the staff door open to the tv room so we lucked out. We used to play dodge ball a lot in the gym on our floor and just before we left we actually had a dance in the gym, I did meet the best friends there, meaning the kids,. I hope you are doing well......

To John,
Yes you were Kim C's boyfriend, she was my roomate and she was awesome, she carried around the Moody Blues Album cause she was so crazy about Justin.

Was There,
Hello, sorry it took me so long to get back to you. NO you canbasically contact any DSS office, but, it would be best if you contact the one that you were dealing with at the time of your stay there, also just to let you know, if u attened public scools at all after you left there then they will have a copy of your records from Gaebler as well. SInce the place has been closed, you will probably have a hard time getting them, but, it's the law and they have to give them to you, and if they say that you were never a patient there then that means they burned all the records or something, cause I tried getting them directly from Gaebler and they said they had no such patient by my name and Gaeble was till open when I tried to get them. soi I went through DSS, all I got those was papers stating I was there,nothing from Gaebler itself, I think they broke the law as we know they did a million times, but, I think they destroyed everyone's records which is against the law, I am trying to see another way of getting them. I actually just went to Gaebler today, cause I do live in Waltham and I went inside and OMG!! it's so scary, I toook pictures, I will try and put them on here if I can figure out how to do it....

Hello Boiler,
I don't think that you know me, I was on Ward D, from 1982--1983, my boyfriend at the time was very strong though, he was on Ward B when he first got there and then went to Ward D when he became a pre-teen. What is your name? I am Michelle Woods, and I just went there today to try and get some clousure in my life and let me tell you, the place is so friggin scary, I knew exactly where I was went I went in, I did take some pictures and I will post them as soon as I figure out how to do it on here. I actually am still in contact with my ex-boyfriend, we are best friends. I have seen him a few times in the past couple months. All the walls have writing on them, and all the rooms are pretty damaged, but, you can make out the cafeteria, which is almost arcoss the door to the stairs that go upstairs to the Wards. I saw all the school rooms, the seclusion rooms on my Ward, and my bedroom on the Ward I was on. It's just so erie, and I can't believe that my mother put in there, I didn't need that kind of structure, actually none of his kids needed that kind of structure, getting locked in the shower, and the building,and when it was lock down all the bedroom doors would get locked. The staff members that were there when I was there, was, Willy,Suzanne,Jack,Melodee,Harvey,Joanna and a couple others that I can''t remember. I hated all the Dr's there, they always made me feel like there was something wrong with me physically cause I was overweight, and the pysche Dr's were crazy, I think they were worse then us kids, they made me out to be such a off the hook child, that had such a behavioral problem that I needed to be locked up. And they would give us medicine to keep all calm, I can't remember the name of it, but, it was like a thorazine. It's just horrible and an inhumane place for children, I man jails aren't even like this place. I hope that someday they tr this building down, cause I live in Waltham and I have most of my life and I drive by there all the time and it just brings back horrible memories. I hope that you are doing well in your life considering being here in that place, I am married, with 2 beautiful girls and I have a wonderful husband. Thank God for him...

If I am not mistaken that is how the seclusion rooms on the ward I was on looked like, I was on ward D...friggin god dam scary for any child, and the mentally world is horrible to kids, I mean jail is so much better then this place ever was..thank god it closed down, my boyfriend almost died in there because of physical abuse by a couple staff members,...thank god he was abkle to escape, I would be totally lost without him and until this day he is still in my life, thank god, cause he is the only person who can really understand me...

To Larry,
jJust to add one more thing, you need tto get the letter notorized as well when sending the requet for your records....I hope I was able to help you out in this matter....

To Larry,
You can get your records, I was there from 82-84 and I got my records, the problems is that they black out al l the staff's names who said what about you to whom and things like that, but, for the most part you can figure out for yourself. All you have to do is write to DSS and get them, you need to send a coy of your license or picture ID, a copy of your birth certificate to prove it's you and tell them the years your were at Gaebler and they by law have to send you a copy of your complete and total history there, I did it when I turned 21 or 22years old and I got them all, then aIso got all my records from DSS and everything with them and then I went to St.Germaine Lawrence School in Arlington,mass for a couple of years and I got all those recoeds too. If you have any problems, let me know, I will helpo you....

Yes, this is a seclusion room, and it's very scary, and the staff would leave you in there for hours, and if you didn't stop yelling and screaming then they would close the big door to the 2 room seclusion area so that even they couldn't hear you never mind the other children on the ward. My boyfirned at the time, was always being secluded, and he was so strong that they always had to call for help from the other wards, they treatd him like shit, and he was so abused mentally and physically in there. It's not a humane place for anyone..we were just kids, kids with ordinary problems like everyone else, but, soiciety and our parents chose to lock the doors & throw away the key. I can't even explain the fear of that room, yes i was in it, and yes, it did smell but, on my ward they did at least clean it up if a child had an accident.

I was a patient there in 1982-1984. I was on Ward D. I have to say that this is the picture of the recreation room, but, I am not a 100 percent sure. I am 40 now. This was a horrible place to put children. I remember my first day there and I had to have a physical and take all my clothes off and I refused so they took them off for me, they didn't sexually do anything toi me, but, I so felt violated. They don't let u have much things, you have to go ask the staff for things like,shampoo, toothepaste,toothbrush, and tampoons. I remember, Melanie,Jack, Willie and Suzanne and Harvey. Willie & Suzanne were the nice staff but, all the other's weren't. I think they understood us kids more than anyone there. I did meet the best friends there ever, and that is because they all understand each other. I have kept in contact with 3 of them. Let me just say this, the slamming down a child on the floor to seclude them and then call for help for all wards when they couldn't get the kid down was crazy, then they would throw us in the seclusion room,it was a small cold room with a metal bed. and a little window to see outside to. If you threatened to kill yourself, then they would come back in and take all your clothes off and leather restrain you to each post of the bed, and leave you there for ours naked. I also remember every morning being locked in the shower room, that was scary cause at any given time a staff member could go in there and rape one of us kids, and I am sure that sometimes that did happen, I don't know about it on my ward but, I did hear stories iof it happening. There was so much more to say but, there is just not enough time on here. There was really so much abuse in that place, between the lock downs,the drugs u were forced to take and how the staff treated you if they didn't like you, and among other things. but, I will say this, you were able to earn priviledges to go outside on nature walks with other kids from the other wards with the staff and to go outside at recess during school hours, and yes school was inside the building on the bottom floor and yes were also locked inside for school. Just a really unjust and humane place for any child, I mean jail is so much better than this place. All, I can say is that I am grateful to one boy who saved me from all the bad in that place and we are still together as friends. So, for all you people who keep going out there to take a look at Gaebler, what you see is not how it really was......