If you had Paris Hilton morphing into a political warrioress on your bingo card for 2024, you are about to be a big winner. Ms. Hilton has been busy this year lobbying for legislation that would provide greater oversight of short-term residential facilities that provide treatment to minors with substance abuse and behavioral issues.
Our former RedState colleague Jeff Charles, who can now be found on the pages of our sister site Townhall, previously reported on Hilton's lobbying efforts for a California bill that would "bring some much-needed transparency and accountability to youth treatment facilities in the state."
Per Jeff:
The bill, SB 1043, was authored by Republican State Sen. Shannon Grove and coauthored by Democratic lawmakers and is, in part, a response to the horrific experiences Hilton and many others have faced in the “troubled teen industry.”
The proposed legislation would provide more oversight over youth treatment facilities while also compelling them to be more open about their disciplinary policies.
Hilton explained at the time that although such facilities “disguise themselves as emotional growth schools, wilderness camps, these are just names that they put and they have false advertising and people have no idea what’s happening behind closed doors.”
She, herself, knows exactly what's going on, as she experienced such abuse when, as a teenager, she was put into a residential treatment facility after her parents became concerned about her clubbing and partying.
Hilton described her traumatic, life-changing experiences when she took her crusade national and testified in front of Congress this past summer.
The heiress spoke about the time she spent as a child in youth residential facilities, often referred to collectively as the “troubled teen industry.” The 43-year-old told the committee how she was ripped from her bed at home at 16 and taken to the first of four facilities she would end up staying in.
Hilton has previously revealed that her parents sent her to these facilities after she started clubbing and partying at 15.
“These programs promised healing, growth and support, but instead, did not allow me to speak, move freely or even look out a window for two years,” Hilton told the panel.
“I was force-fed medications and sexually abused by the staff. I was violently restrained and dragged down hallways, stripped naked and thrown into solitary confinement.”
Hilton would cope with the abuse she endured in these facilities by pretending to be someone else, she told The Independent last year.
“I was in so much pain that I created this Barbie doll fantasy life,” Hilton said. “It was a character I put on as a mask to protect myself.”
Paris Hilton was back on Capitol Hill this week to urge the House of Representatives to pass the "Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act," which was approved unanimously last week by the U.S. Senate. Hilton said she was "in tears" when the bill passed the Senate and called it "such a monumental moment" for those like her, who had been working hard to get the law passed.
"It just makes me proud to know that every single senator recognized the urgency of this issue and supported something that I've worked so hard for," Hilton said.
Now, the fight for passage goes to the GOP-led House, and Hilton is keeping the pressure on lawmakers with a letter on the importance of passing the bill this year:
"When the U.S. Senate came together in a rare show of unity to pass the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act unanimously on Wednesday December 11th, it was one of the best moments of my life," the letter continued. "It was proof that when we listen to survivors and put politics aside, we can create real, meaningful change. But this journey isn’t over. I can’t celebrate until this bill becomes law, and now it’s up to the U.S. House of Representatives to finish what the Senate started."
Paris Hilton says she got a call from House Majority Leader Steve Scalise tonight telling her that the Stop Institutional Child Abuse bill will be on the floor for a vote tomorrow evening. pic.twitter.com/2BxgmHPT01
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) December 17, 2024
It's refreshing to see someone from the Hollywood set using their celebrity for the purpose of doing good. Instead of the social media rage quits, threats of leaving the country, and patronizing climate lectures her peers are prone to of late, Paris Hilton is using her platform to actually help others. And not just others: children, the most vulnerable part of our population.
California has a governor's race coming up — just saying.
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