Tranquility Bay

Tranquility Bay was a residential treatment facility affiliated with World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS), located in Calabash Bay, Saint Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica.[1][2] The facility operated from 1997 to 2009 and received notoriety for its harsh and often abusive treatment of its students, eventually shutting down in 2009 after allegations of child abuse came to light through lawsuits and highly publicized student testimonies.[3][1]the adolescents reported violence to their parents, only to be ignored.[4]

Not to be confused with Tranquility Base.
Tranquility Bay
Location
Treasure Beach, Jamaica
Coordinates17°52′14″N 77°45′04″W
Information
School typeprivate
Motto"Working for the future of the world"
Established1997
DirectorJay Kay
AccreditationNorthwest Association of Accredited Schools
AffiliationWorld Wide Association of Specialty Programs

History

The director was Jay Kay, a college dropout with no training in child development who ran a mini-mart in San Diego,[3][5] and who is son of WWASPS president Ken Kay. The cost for one child ranged from $25,000 to $40,000 a year.[6] Tranquility Bay was generally acknowledged as the toughest of the WWASPS schools.[7] As with other WWASPS facilities, Tranquility Bay has been the subject of much controversy, including allegations of torture, unsanitary living conditions, unqualified employees, and denial of medical care;[8] these claims have been the subject of multiple lawsuits from former Tranquility Bay residents.[9]

In 1998 was the focus of a legal case after neighbors of a family reported parents to police for kidnapping and false imprisonment by sending him to Tranquility Bay.[10] Judge Ken Kawaichi denied the writ of habeas corpus due to lack of evidence of abuse at Tranquility bay.[11]

Tranquility Bay stated that it was dedicated to helping parents who are having difficulty with their children, whether they are doing drugs, breaking the law, or being disobedient or disrespectful. In 2003, Kay said "if I have kids, and they start giving me a problem, well, they are going straight in the program. If I had to, I'd pull the trigger without hesitation";[3] however, in 1999, Kay (who at that time was not working for WWASPS) said that the Tranquility Bay staff were "untrained", without "credentials of any kind", and that Tranquility Bay "could be leading these kids to long-term problems that we don't have a clue about because we're not going about it in the proper way".[12]

Children as young as 12 were admitted to Tranquility Bay, for reasons ranging from drug use to conflicts with a new stepmother.[12] From 2002 to 2005 the Government of the Cayman Islands sent some delinquent youth to Tranquility Bay; the government funded the students as they were located in Tranquility Bay.[13]

Tranquility Bay was shut down in January 2009,[1] after the case of Isaac Hersh gained national media and political attention and years of alleged abuse and torture came to light.[14] Many politicians, including Hillary Clinton, were involved in Isaac's release.

The "Cassie" episode of the A&E program Intervention, first shown in January 2011, features a young woman addicted to prescription painkillers who had been sent to Tranquility Bay as a child and blamed her father for not rescuing her.[15] In the episode, Cassie alleged that her fellow residents consumed "chemicals" so they would be sent to the hospital and would be able to talk to their parents regarding the abuse they were enduring. However, she alleged that when they vomited in response to the poison, rather than being sent to a hospital, they were restrained by staff face down in their own vomit.[16]

References
  1. "Good News: Bad Economy Killing Abusive Teen Programs". HuffPost. 2009-01-30. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  2. Home Page. Tranquility Bay. August 13, 2003. Retrieved on October 2, 2010. "Tranquility Bay, Calabash Bay P.A., St. Elizabeth, Jamaica 876-965-0003."
  3. Decca Aitkenhead, "The Last Resort", The Guardian, 29 June 2003.
  4. Aitkenhead, Decca (2003-06-29). "The last resort (part two)". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2023-09-23. Sure, he complained like hell at first,' he recalls fondly. 'Typical case of manipulation, just like they said in the handbook. He said the staff were mean and violent, they beat you, the food is terrible.
  5. "No More Nightmares at Tranquility Bay?"
  6. Rowe, Raphael (2004-12-07). "Tranquility Bay: The last resort". BBC News. Retrieved 2023-09-23. At a cost of between $25,000 (£13,000) and $40,000 (£20,800) a year, parents of unruly teenagers send their children here to learn how to behave.
  7. Weiner, Tim. "Parents Divided Over Jamaica Disciplinary Academy". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  8. TBFight.com: Tranquility Bay & WWASP website
  9. Green, Joanne (2006-06-22). "Rough Love". Miami New Times. Archived from the original on 2012-06-17. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
  10. Stryker, Jeff (1998-02-01). "Word for Word/Teen-Age Treatment Programs; Sorry to Wake You, Honey. They're Coming to Take You Away". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-23. After a neighbor filed a police report claiming that David had been kidnapped and falsely imprisoned, the Alameda County District Attorney's office petitioned to have David returned to California as a witness in his own case.
  11. "A war within the family". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2023-09-23. On Jan. 20, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Ken Kawaichi denied the writ of habeas corpus, noting that no evidence had been presented that David had been abused at Tranquility Bay.
  12. Tim Weiner, Parents Divided Over Jamaica Disciplinary Academy, The New York Times, June 17, 2003.
  13. Pioro, Basia. "Controversy surrounds Tranquility Bay Archived 2012-09-03 at the Wayback Machine." Caymanian Compass. Tuesday 13 July 2006. Retrieved on 9 August 2010.
  14. Danis, Kirsten (25 March 2008). "Jewish family sues Jamaican reform school for troubled teens". NY Daily News. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  15. "Cassie". Intervention. January 2011. A&E.
  16. "Jewish family sues Jamaican reform school for troubled teens". New York Daily News. 2008-03-25. Retrieved 2023-09-23.

Further reading
  • Art, Cindy. 2012. Trapped in Paradise, A Memoir. ISBN 978-1475192278. An account of an attendee's time at Tranquility Bay.
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