DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. – With a new billboard now staring back at Vista Maria’s campus and survivors gathering nearby Thursday morning, a long-running fight over accountability at the Dearborn Heights facility moved into an even more public phase, one aimed as much at Lansing as it is at the institution itself.
“It needs to be heard all over the world: trauma doesn’t have an expiration date. Neither should justice,” said Moose Scheib, an attorney involved in the civil case against Vista Maria.
Survivors of abuse at Vista Maria, joined by their attorneys, rallied along West Warren Avenue, pushing for changes to Michigan’s statute of limitations for sexual assault cases. Under current Michigan law, survivors who were assaulted as minors generally have until age 28 to pursue certain criminal charges, while adults have a limited window to report.
“There is no expiration date on healing -- there’s no expiration date on fixing things,” said Linda Malone, a survivor of Vista Maria who missed the deadline due to Michigan’s statute of limitations. “There’s no expiration date on getting over it.”
“It has to happen. It’s necessary. It’s needed. Our children, the most vulnerable, need to be protected,” said Ayanna Neal, an attorney also involved in the effort.
Survivors and their advocates argue that time limits don’t match the reality of trauma -- especially for children in institutional settings. They say the deadlines have kept many former Vista Maria residents from pursuing justice.
“Michigan law tells us that we took too long. I ask you how can a clock run out on a child who was never given a chance to understand what happened to them,” Vista Maria survivor Toni Bare said. “I didn’t have the voice then that I have now.”
Bare, who drove from Illinois to attend the rally, said she was abused at Vista Maria over 30 years ago.
“I don’t want this happening to anyone else, but then I found out that Michigan says, ‘Wait a minute, oh, you’re 46. You were supposed to heal when you were 28 years old or before,’” she said. “Whether you were at Vista Maria or somewhere else, whether you’ve told your story 100 times or never whispered it, I want you to hear me today: you are believed, you are not alone, and what happened to you matters.”
The gathering unveiled a billboard, just steps from the Vista Maria campus, meant to serve as a visible reminder to other survivors.
“When people drive past this billboard, some will see words,” Bare said. “Others will see memories they spent years trying to bury… and somewhere, someone will see it and realize for the first time, ‘I’m not the only one.’”
‘Pure Hell:’ previous allegations into Vista Maria
The Investigators on Local 4 began digging into allegations at the facility in 2025 after a teenager went missing from the campus.
Police records showed hundreds of calls for service in roughly a year, and state documents described a range of violations and complaints, including staffing issues, training concerns, and allegations of physical and sexual assault.
“It took me a lot out of me to come forward today about what happened to me,” said Michelle Rehahn, who said she lived at Vista Maria from 2014 to 2017.
Rehahn said her time at the facility was defined by trauma.
“Being in that place from 14 years old to 18 was pure hell,” she said. “Men would come into my room and molest me… They physically did sh*t to me at age 14 that I shouldn’t have had done -- I was a minor.”
Another survivor, Sarina Jensen, said she was severely beaten during her time at Vista Maria and said she was locked in her room “for days” at a time.
“It would take [staff] at least 45 minutes to days to respond to our room so we would urinate or go to the bathroom on ourselves,” she said.
Vista Maria discontinues residential program
Vista Maria has made major operational changes since Local 4 began investigating.
The organization permanently laid off more than 150 employees and discontinued its residential youth mental health programming in December 2025.
A previous letter from CEO Kathleen Regan said in part, “Vista Maria is committed to supporting each affected team member with compassion, transparency, and available transition assistance during this difficult time.”
Regan also addressed some of the allegations in a previous interview with Local 4.
“Reading those allegations kills us, and that’s why you’ve seen a lot of terminations coming out of Vista Maria, because safety is sacred to us,” Regan said.
Vista Maria has said it is not shutting down entirely and that other services, including foster care and independent living, would continue.
But some survivors still say they would like to see the campus closed entirely.
“It should be demolished wall by wall, brick by brick,” said Christian Edwards, who said she was at Vista Maria beginning in 2010 for about a year and nine months. “I want to be one of the people holding one of the sledgehammers to some of the walls.”
Edwards, who said she endured verbal, physical and sexual abuse at Vista Maria said the process of coming forward has been painful but said “at the end of it, I hope I can see the rainbow.”
New allegation: Vista Maria caused former resident’s death
As the push to lawmakers builds, a new allegation has also surfaced.
“We’re here to speak up for the girls who were victimized at Vista Maria first and foremost,” said Scheib. “Some of the girls didn’t make it out of Vista Maria, including Angelica, whose mother I represent.”
The mother of Angelica Harvey told Local 4 that her daughter died Dec. 24, 2014, while in Vista Maria’s care. She said she has sought information for more than a decade about the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s death.
“She was more than a case file or statistic. She was a daughter, a child with hopes, dreams, and a future that was cut short,” Monique Harvey told Local 4.
In a statement provided to Local 4 regarding the lawsuit and new allegation, Vista Maria told Local 4:
“Vista Maria has been formally notified of the lawsuit and is reviewing the allegations.
We take matters involving the safety and well-being of youth very seriously, and we will address these claims through the legal process.
Because of privacy and confidentiality laws, we cannot comment on specific individuals or circumstances.
We remain fully committed to transparency within the bounds of the law, cooperation with appropriate authorities, and continued support for the youth and families we serve.”
Vista Maria