HOMOSASSA, Fla. — After years of voicing stories of horror and abuse, survivors of the former Dozier School for Boys will now be eligible for compensation.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed off on a legislative plan Friday to create a $20 million fund for former students of the state-run reform school in Marianna and another facility in Okeechobee.
For survivors, it's a long time coming.
At his Citrus County home, 76-year-old Charles Fudge has collected dozens of photos, portraits of men who share fellowship in trauma.
“We started having reunions to where we can all talk about the abuse that we had endured,” Fudge said.
The group calls themselves “The White House Boys,” among hundreds of survivors of the school, where troubled kids were sent for an education, but instead were mentally, physically and sexually abused.
“I was taken down to what was called 'the white house' by a six-foot-tall, 200-pound man and was given 31 licks with a leather strap on my backside,” Fudge recalled.
“It was just unbelievable how someone could do that to a 12 -year-old child,” he added. Fudge grew up in Bradenton and was sent to the school for skipping class and smoking cigarettes.
For years Fudge and other survivors have made trips to Tallahassee, sharing the horrific stories still present in their minds and seeking justice for themselves and those who’ve already passed.
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“Knowing that this bill passed before I pass away is a relief,” Fudge said. "My hope is that there's never a child ever abused like we were."
Survivors who attended the school from 1940-1975 will be eligible for compensation. An application process will require victims to submit reasonable proof they attended the school and have a notarized letter documenting the abuse they underwent.
It’s unclear how many former students from that era are still alive. Fudge estimates it could be around 400.