HOMOSASSA, Fla. — Survivors of the Dozier and Okeechobee state-run reform schools in Florida endured years of abuse.
This year, Florida lawmakers passed a new law, after years of efforts, allowing survivors to seek compensation. Months after its passage, some survivors expressed concerns over potential delays during a meeting with state leaders.
One survivor in the Tampa Bay area said time is essential for its existing survivors.
"The reason it's time-sensitive is because of our age," Charles Fudge said. "We don't know when God's going to call us home, so a lot of us is not in great health."
The 76-year-old was only 12 years old when he endured abuse.
Fudge said he was sent to Dozier after skipping school and smoking cigarettes. On his third day at the school, he was abused.
"I live with that today, tomorrow, until God calls me home, I'll live with that," Fudge said from his home.
Fudge's story is among several other survivors who were raped, beaten and tortured. Some have died.
Fudge and other survivors recently met with aides of the state attorney general and looked over copies of the proposed applications.
As News Service of Florida reported earlier in the week, the three-page application includes a blank space to provide a “brief description of the physical, mental, or sexual abuse you were forced to endure while confined” at the reform schools. That mirrors part of the new law creating the compensation program and outlining eligibility for compensation. Applicants also have to provide records proving they attended the schools during the relevant years, and the applications must be notarized.
In addition, many of the men who attended the meeting expressed concern about potential delays in finalizing the application process, in part because only survivors — not their heirs or estates — are eligible to apply for compensation.
Some survivors, now much older, have health concerns, including Fudge who said he has had a heart attack before and on a number of medications. Cecil Gardner, another survivor, has shared he has cancer.
"If some other attorney wants to have a hearing, then that could delay the process," Fudge said.
However, Fudge he is pleased with how the meeting with aides went. He said survivors want some justice in the form of the compensation and allow that to fulfill the rest of their lives after so much time was taken from the trauma of their abuses.
Once applications are finalized and open, survivors have until the end of the year to submit an application. The money from the program is expected to be distributed by June of next year.