We will not know what young Mr. Avila told his parents when they left him at the Rocky Mountain Academy in 1994, but it not difficult to understand that his parents would remember his final sentence forever.
Did he tell her that he loved them or did he threaten to do himself in?
Will they forever blame themselves why they didn't see the signals of a possible suicide attempt coming up.
When people walk the campus today they can still see the marks of the rope he used to hang himself from if they know where to look. It is left as part memory off but also warning against the consequences of being left there.
We do not know the circumstances that brought young Mr. Avila to the facility, but we do know that they were not suited to handle teenagers with emotional problems so huge that they could end up with suicide attempts.
Maybe the facility oversold themselves or the family pushed too their son too far when they forced him to participate in a program they could not in anyway fully understand what would include.
This tragedy should be a lesson to parents. You are not in control when you leave your child at the mercy of professionals in any program. Maybe they will succeed, maybe they will not. In this case they did not and it did cost young Mr. Avila his life.
Yet another young man did not reach adulthood and to live his life as he would have hopes for.
May he rest in peace.
Sources:
BOY HANGS HIMSELF IN DORMITORY, The Spokesman-Review - July 19, 1994
Victims in the 1990s, Fornits Wiki
