Kriti Mehrotra
If there’s only one way we can ever describe Hannah Archuleta, it will have to be as resilient, considering everything she has endured over the past few years. After all, as carefully explored in HBO Max’s ‘Teen Torture, Inc.,’ she is a survivor of Turn-Around Ranch, which falls under the bracket of the so-called troubled teen industry known for using “tough love” as a way to treat youths.
Hannah Archuleta Faced One Trauma After Another in 2019
It was October 22, 2019, when Colorado native Hannah featured in a segment of ‘Dr. Phil’ alongside her parents as they were worried about her, only for him to recommend Utah’s Turn-Around Ranch. The truth is this 17-year-old had just learned her mother was terminally ill with liver failure, so she was acting out as a way to deal with her heartbreak, unaware it would turn her life upside down. That’s because, after filming, she was immediately transported to the facility and was initially told she could not have any contact with her parents when that’s all she wanted, knowing her mother had limited time.
However, the worst part for Hannah came two weeks later when a ranch hand allegedly touched her inappropriately, just for her to not say anything in fear of making things worse. But alas, it happened again around late November or December, with him ostensibly going as far as to grab her private areas, so she informed a fellow female staff member in the hopes of receiving some help.
Little did Hannah know this would only make things worse – per her accounts, she experienced retaliation in the form of added work and stress after she spoke up. “I was required to spend extra time picking up horse manure, walking in circles around a horse corral, and sitting at a desk facing a wall for hours,” she has since claimed. “I also had to do forced labor outside in below-freezing temperatures, and sleep on a wooden plank with no pillow.” This apparently continued until around mid-December, that is, until she was rescued by her parents after she’d told them of the alleged abuse in a letter.
Hannah Archuleta Has Gone Down the Legal Route
It was in early 2021 that Hannah gathered the courage to file a lawsuit against Turn-Around Ranch after getting inspired by Paris Hilton’s campaign to expose the industry with the example of the alleged abuse she herself endured at Provo Canyon School as a teen. The former actually alleged negligent hiring and supervision at the ranch, along with assault, battery, plus intentional infliction of emotional distress, for which she sought compensatory and punitive damages. Her court filings also claim the family did report the abuse to the authorities, yet nothing became of it, which is further driving their legal efforts.
“No child should suffer abuse and no child should ever be sent to these ranches,” Hannah once told reporters. “I am here today to spread the message to every parent in America. Do not send your children to these places or endorse them. Love your children and teach them the ways of life with your own heart and soul.” Unfortunately, her lawsuit was dismissed, but she has since been encouraging her fellow survivors to speak up so as to bring real change, and she is also supporting various bills across different states that put proper regulations in place to protect youths. She prefers to keep her personal life away from the limelight these days, but she is still fighting her fight in other ways.
