When Sean Sullivan was 19 years old, he was ordered by the Connecticut Department of Correction to attend the Elan School.

“I can’t even say it was my second chance,” Sullivan said. “It was my last chance.”

And, he said, his two years in the program saved his life.

A business owner and triathlete who lives in Boston, Sullivan attended the Elan School from 1996 to 1998. Abused at home as a child, he said he had extreme anger issues, had been jailed more than 20 times and was facing more jail time for an armed robbery conviction before he was ordered to Maine.

Elan, he said, is learning “about dealing with the hardest day of your life every day because, you know what? We know how to deal with the easy days.” Elan, he said, taught him the coping skills he needed to deal with the bad days.

The staff teaches students how to deal with stressful situations, providing skills to help students react in more socially acceptable ways than acting out or being violent, Sullivan said, through clear expectations for behavior and responsibilities. He said he found that structure important in focusing his anger and tempering his violence.

A member of the school’s cross-country team, Sullivan occasionally returns to the school to practice with the team because he believes so firmly in the school’s methods and mission.

When he arrived at Elan, Sullivan said he was determined to turn his life around but “there were times when I doubted myself. I doubted everything. At one time I left and, although I didn’t have to, chose to come back” because the structure and campus requirement for self-control was so important.

Sullivan admits that after leaving Elan at 21, he had trouble transitioning to college and work, but said once he re-focused on the skills he learned at Elan, he was able to pursue a successful future.

“Elan gives you that fight to get back up,” Sullivan said. “Whatever is thrown at you, you feel like you can handle it.”

To read more stories about the Elan School and students’ experiences there, visit sunjournal.com/elan.

To view posts regarding Elan School’s closure, go to:

Thank you Reddit. You helped shut down the Elan School. I'm deeply thankful to this entire community. If you want to know more about this place, AMA.
by inIAmA