The Program is Netflix's latest hit documentary series that uncovers the truth about a WWASP-run school named Ivy Ridge which tormented and traumatised several children who attended this specialist program.
The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping is currently one of the top-rated series on Netflix as viewers desperately want to know where Robert Lichfield is now and what has happened to some of the other adults who worked at this school and assisted in the management of 'the program'.
One person of interest for several viewers is Amy Ritchie. Amy Ritchie was the Assistant Director of the Girls Program at Ivy Ridge. Katherine Kubler says in the documentary, "all of this happened under her watch." So where is Amy Ritchie now?
Who is Amy Ritchie?
In The Program, Amy Ritchie is first referenced in the first episode when Diana is talking about the punishments she was forced to endure when she refused to submit to the program and obey the teachers/enforcers.
Diana who spent 3.5 years in the program after she was sent away at the age of 15 revealed that it became a 'game' for the staff to see who could break her spirit of defiance. "It became a game with the staff members, like who was going to be the one to break Diana," she said as she revealed she was sent to "intervention" which was isolation. She revealed she was forced to carry a box all day for two weeks and wasn't allowed to set it down.
She then revealed that at one point she summoned some inner strength and held the box above her head. "I took the box and I was like dancing with it and making eye contact with Amy," she said explaining how she defied the Assistant Director.
The Netflix documentary then showed an image of Amy, but was unable to obtain any interview or video footage to support the times that she was referenced by the victims who participated in the program. In the show, it was revealed that she was involved in several abusive incidents and the survivors all spoke about their former leaders with anger and sadness.
Where is Amy Ritchie now?
The Sun reported that when Amy left Ivy Ridge she went to Sunset Bay Academy, another troubled teen facility which has been met with the same controversy and abuse allegations as Ivy Ridge. Ritchie's role at this facility was the Residential Program Director.
Additionally, the outlet suggested that it seems that Amy is now working at a psychiatric centre. The Sun said that state records show Amy Ritchie, "works as a mental health therapy aid at the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center in Ogdensburg, New York." A centre which is just a 15-minute drive from the abandoned Ivy Ridge campus featured in the Netflix series.
Speaking to The Sun, Justin Mason, a spokesperson for the New York Office of Mental Health (OMH), said they were unable to discuss any employees former or current who are working for their centres. A formal statement was offered that read, "OMH takes all allegations of abuse or neglect very seriously."
"All agency employees who have direct patient contact are thoroughly vetted, fingerprinted, undergo a criminal background check, and are cross-referenced against the Justice Center's Staff Exclusion List and the State’s Child Abuse Registry before they are hired," said the spokesperson.
