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Originally Posted by Sue Doe-Nym
Back in 1960, as part of my college major, I worked at Embreeville State Hospital in Chester County, PA, about an hour west of Philadelphia. At the time, I remember having an initial impression of disbelief that there were so many mentally ill patients housed there, many in total lockdown for their own protection. It certainly wasn’t a happy place, but they were all well cared for as far as medical and psychiatric treatment, medication, housing, nutrition, and all that one needs in order to exist. I learned a lot while there and certainly considered the training valuable. However, not too many years later, some brilliant politicians decided that mental hospitals were inhumane places, and one by one, they were closed, leaving the inmates to basically fend for themselves, which they were largely unable to do. My rendition of this is oversimplified, but that’s when the homeless problem gathered momentum, along with drug and alcohol addiction…..and that’s why we have a tale of two cities in many places, not just Laconia. JMO, of course.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SAMIAM
Sue, you are so right. A good example is the Laconia State School. In spite of abuse accusations the people there were at least housed, fed and given medical services. When they were sent out into the community they had no idea how to even care for themselves. The result was a disaster for Laconia .
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"Some brilliant politicians decided that mental hospitals were inhumane places"? Goodness, no. Mental institutions around the country were closed as a result of advocacy by the residents of the institutions and their families.
I'm afraid the idea that people were well cared for at the Laconia State School is a fantasy. For a more realistic perspective, see this film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UesOm2HTm2I
The Laconia State School closed in 1991 following a federal class-action lawsuit, Garrity v. Gallen. In that case, the court ruled that "the state was violating the civil rights of the residents by denying them rehabilitative treatment in the least restrictive environment possible." (
Foster's)
679 "feebleminded" people were forcibly sterilized there under a 1929 state law. Living conditions were not anything that you would tolerate for your family members today. According to a former resident, "Punishment for misbehavior included food deprivation, cold showers, being forced to stand outside wearing little or no clothing, being hit on the head with a board and being pushed and prodded with sharp objects."
Boston.com: "The school was supposed to be a training institution, but during testimony in the 1980 trial, witnesses said it was a human warehouse where residents were often left alone to sit naked in their feces and urine. Staff prodded residents with hatpins, burned them with cigarettes, and kicked them. They also shut off the water at night, forcing anyone who was thirsty to drink from the toilets."