When Hunter Rainer saw that Utah regulators had revoked the license for Provo Canyon School’s girls program this week, the words did not feel real at first.
The 40-year-old, who was assigned female at birth and was sent to the Springville facility's girls campus in 2000, said he read the news repeatedly before it sank in.
"I was overcome with relief. Disbelief. It didn't feel real," Rainer told Newsweek.
For years, former residents of Provo Canyon School have alleged abuse, neglect and mistreatment at the facility. This week, Utah's Department of Health and Human Services revoked the license for the Springville girls campus, citing failures related to client health and safety. The program was ordered to cease operations by August 6 unless the decision is successfully appealed.
The closure marks a significant moment in the decades-long debate surrounding one of the country's best-known residential treatment facilities, where former student Paris Hilton has said she experienced abuse as a teenager and later became a leading advocate for reform of the troubled teen industry.
For Rainer, however, the story is deeply personal.
"I have fought for decades against Provo Canyon School," he said. "And finally, finally. Someone listened."
Arriving at Provo Canyon School
Rainer described growing up in an abusive and neglectful household, where he was frequently bullied and struggled to find stability. He said he was repeatedly taken to treatment programs before eventually being sent to Utah.
Rainer said he was taken from home in the middle of the night by private transporters, a practice survivors often refer to as being "gooned."
He recalled waking up to find strangers in his room and being told he was leaving immediately.
"I just knew that the moment I passed through those doors nothing in my life would ever be the same," he said. "That I wouldn't be safe. And that nothing good was coming."
Rainer said he remembers nearly every detail of his arrival, including being assigned a number: 303.
"It was written on everything you own," he said. "Even engraved into the frames of my glasses. You were nothing but a number and a last name."
Life Inside Provo Canyon School
Rainer described daily life at the facility as rigid, repetitive and heavily controlled.
Students were expected to move in lines, follow strict rules and progress through a level-based system. He recalled cleaning assignments, school classes, therapy sessions and constant supervision.
"I felt like I was in a dream," he said. "A nightmare honestly."
Rainer also described intake procedures, medical examinations and disciplinary practices that he said left lasting emotional scars.
Universal Health Services (UHS), which owns and operates Provo Canyon School, told Newsweek it could not comment on an individual resident's care due to privacy laws. The company noted that the Springville campus did not open until 2009 and said the facility attended by Rainer in 2000 was acquired by UHS later that year from a previous owner.
UHS said it implemented changes following the acquisition and that "thousands of residents have successfully completed treatment" at Provo Canyon School during the past 25 years.
Why Utah Ordered the Girls Program to Close
The closure order follows a state investigation into the Springville girls campus.
According to Utah officials, regulators found multiple violations, including failures to protect clients from harm, incidents involving neglect, unnecessary restraints and concerns relating to staffing and oversight. The state revoked the facility's license this week and ordered services to end by August 6.
The action applies only to the Springville girls campus. The separate boys program remains open.
School officials have disputed the state's decision. A UHS spokesperson told Newsweek: "The Springville Campus has never previously faced a licensure revocation action since its opening. We disagree with the state's decision to revoke Springville Campus license and are evaluating all available legal and administrative options, including an appeal. As this is an ongoing matter, we are limited in what we can say at this time. Our priority remains providing safe, high-quality care and support for adolescents and their families, and we remain committed to serving those in need."
Paris Hilton’s Role In The Debate
Although allegations concerning Provo Canyon School extend back decades, national attention intensified after Paris Hilton publicly described her experiences at the facility in 2020.
Hilton has alleged that she was abused during her time at the school in the late 1990s and has since testified before lawmakers, campaigned for stronger oversight of youth treatment facilities and supported lawsuits brought by former students and their families.
“For more than 50 years, children came forward with stories of abuse, neglect, and trauma,” Hilton said in a statement provided on Tuesday. “Today, the state confirmed what survivors have known all along: Provo Canyon School failed the children in its care.
“I was one of those children. I know what it feels like to cry for help and believe no one is coming. Today, children still inside that facility know someone is finally coming to protect them.”
Rainer told Newsweek that Hilton's involvement helped bring attention to concerns that many former students had long been voicing.
"People have been screaming about what goes on there for decades," he said. "Only when Paris Hilton spoke up did anyone listen."
Lasting Impacts
More than 20 years after leaving Provo Canyon School, Rainer, who is now a husband and father, says he still experiences the effects of his time there.
"Even if my brain knows I'm safe, my body doesn't feel safe," he said.
Rainer said he has spent years working to heal from the physical and emotional impacts he associates with his time at the facility. Still, he said the closure provides something that many survivors have been denied for years: acknowledgment.
"To be afforded the opportunity to not just heal, but to grieve," he said. "Because I don't believe any of us have truly been able to grieve knowing it was still operating."
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Rebecca Flood and Emma Lee-Sang