disability

In 1972, Geraldo Rivera with the help of Dr. Michael Wilkin of Staten Island's Willowbrook State School gained access to the institution and filmed the deplorable conditions the residents were living in. Now 25 years later the documentary reflects on four survivors of Staten Island's Willowbrook State School and their families. The family members give testimonials on how it felt to discover that their child had a disability, leave their loved ones in an institution, and the quality of care and services provided. The film also focuses on the progress made by the members that now live in group homes and the quality of their lives.

According to the narrator Danny Aiello “Staten Island's Willowbrook State School had over 5000 residents. It was called a school, but fewer than 20% of the residence attended classes. In 1969 there were cut back because New York State instituted a hiring freeze and Willowbrook lost 600 employees. In 1972 the mental hygiene budget was cut from 600 million to 580 million and they lost an additional 200 employees. The resident to staff ratio should have been 4-1 but dropped to 30-40 to 1. Residents shared the same toilet and contracted the same diseases. Average feeding times should have been 20-30 min was reduced to 2-3 min. Residents were not capable of feeding themselves a meal because there was no one to show them how. Within 6 months of admission most residents suffered from parasite and Pneumonia, 100 percent of the residence had hepatitis.”

A combination of overcrowding, state budget cuts, and indifference resulted in inhumane conditions. Geraldo recounts the shocking smell upon first entering the institutions, it “smelled of disease, death, filth, urine and feces” he calls it ''the defining moment of ...

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...e must treat people like an individual. All nondisabled people must recognize that people with disabilities are not a separate category of humans.

This movie had made an advocate out of me. Historically, we have been taught that people with disabilities are different and do not belong among us, because they are incompetent, cannot contribute to society or that they are dangerous. We’re still living with the legacy of people with disabilities being segregated, made invisible and devalued. The messages about people with disabilities need to be changed. There needs to be more integration of people with disabilities into our culture to balance out the message. Because of our history of abandonment and initialization, fear and stigma impact our choices more than they would if acceptance, community integration, and resources were a bigger part of our history.