Aliya demands changes at Vista Maria after sexual abuse
It’s no wonder Aliya’s anger issues won’t go away.
In 2018-2019, while attending Vista Maria’s residential treatment facility for at-risk girls in Dearborn Heights, Aliya said she suffered physical and sexual abuse at age 13.
“They used to throw us on the ground and smash our faces into the cement,” Aliya said on the “More Than Just Luck” podcast hosted by author and Detroit businessman Greg Wier.
“They would twist our arm behind our back, my hand was touching the back of my neck. They’d pick us up and put us on the wall, dangling there. My feet were off the f—ing ground and I’m screaming and crying, like you’re going to break my shoulder.
“They wouldn’t stop. They thought it was funny. They’d laugh.”
Voices Unmuted exposes Vista Maria
“Voices Unmuted” has documented more than 20 stories of physical, psychological and sexual abuse, unsafe conditions and negligence at Vista Maria.
A civil lawsuit filed in Wayne County Circuit Court in April, 2026, named six direct plaintiffs who say they were abused as minors while living at the facility from 2000 and 2025. More than 100 former residents have come forward this year.
“I can’t cry about this any more,” Aliya said. “I’m so angry and haven’t been like myself. I don’t even know who I am if that makes any sense. I want to be someone else.”
Watch Voices Unmuted Podcast Series
Now 21, Aliya said she remembers like it was yesterday when she was inappropriately touched “below my waist” by a staff member at Vista Maria.
“I know what happened, he knows what happened,” Aliya said. “He can deny it all he wants but I’ll never forget his face or his greasy ass hand and that smirky smile. I promise you, if I seen that motherf—– today, I would f—-ing kill him, swear to God.”
‘I remember screaming, crying’
Aliya said the staff member never touched her again.
“It was a one-time thing,” Aliya said. “You feel like you’re not there. I had to leave my body. I remember screaming, crying to him, ‘Please stop.’ I curled up in the corner and just lay there all night.”
Aliya has a child of her own now and wants to make a difference in the lives of other survivors.
“I’ll sleep better at night when I know that this is not happening to any other girl,” Aliya said. “I don’t want to be a caseworker or anything like that.
“I just want to advocate for girls that feel like they don’t have voices when they really do. You just have to find them.”
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