The Florida Attorney General’s Office has announced that survivors of the Dozier School for Boys will at last be able to apply for compensation on Monday.
For 56 years, a local survivor has been eagerly anticipating this day.
Charles Deas Jr. has spent the last three months acquiring his formal paperwork detailing his two years at the infamous Dozier School for Boys in Mariana. The compensation measure was signed into law back in June.
Dramatic News Jax has been following his tale for almost two years while he waits to submit an application for compensation for the maltreatment he endured as a child at the state-run rehabilitation school.
They would defeat you. Deas stated, “They beat you with those leather straps while they had men holding you down.”
Over its 111-year history, Dozier was beset by allegations of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of school personnel.
On the school grounds, the bones of around fifty boys were discovered in 2015.
The abuse Deas endured had a profound effect on his life, just like it did for a great deal of other Dozier survivors.
He started abusing alcohol and narcotics, which resulted in multiple jail terms before he was able to kick the habit 27 years ago.
“I mean, I just couldn’t get life right after I left that place,” Deas remarked.
With his academic credentials in hand, all he needs to do now is wait for the notarization of his personal statement detailing his time at Dozier before he can formally claim for his portion of the $20 million compensation fund.
With an expected 400 survivors coming forward, state senator Tracy Davis (D-Jacksonville), one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said that it will be crucial for community leaders and survivors’ families to assist them in navigating the application process.
“Please get in touch with any of our elected offices if they know of any Okeechobee or Dozier survivors so we can support them,” Davis added. “I want as many of our Dozier and Okeechobee men involved with this once this application launches, and if they want the compensation, it’s there for them and I want them to get it.”
The number of survivors who apply will determine the precise amount of compensation that survivors like Deas will get.
Deas contends that accountability matters more than money, regardless of the quantity.
“They’re still looking into what happened to the babies who didn’t survive.” There were a lot of babies, you know. Fifty-one. “Fifty graves, dude,” Deas exclaimed. “I simply feel fortunate and appreciative that I’m not one of them.”
The deadline for survivors to submit their applications is December 31.
Most certainly, compensation will be given out in the upcoming year.
The webpage where the compensation application will be uploaded is available here.