Download or read book Pennhurst State School and Hospital written by J. Gregory Pirmann and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2015-06-15 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For nearly 80 years, Pennhurst State School and Hospital was a reminder of how society viewed and treated people with intellectual disabilities. Over its existence, Pennhurst was home to more than 10,600 people. Many spent decades there, working to keep the institution running by performing various jobs. While some enjoyed the lives they had fashioned for themselves at Pennhurst, for many others, life there was crushing. Pennhurst also played a central role in the lives of its employees and in the rural Pennsylvania community where it was located. Controversy plagued the institution for its entire existence, and it is remembered primarily as a place where bad things happened. However, it was much more than that. This book provides a window into that separate world, reminding those who were part of it of what they saw and did there and giving those who know only what they have heard or seen a different picture of what Pennhurst truly was.
Download or read book Pennhurst and the Struggle for Disability Rights written by Dennis B. Downey and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2020-04-13 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conceived in the era of eugenics as a solution to what was termed the “problem of the feeble-minded,” state-operated institutions subjected people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to a life of compulsory incarceration. One of nearly 300 such facilities in the United States, Pennhurst State School and Hospital was initially hailed as a “model institution” but was later revealed to be a nightmare, where medical experimentation and physical and psychological abuse were rampant. At its peak, more than 3,500 residents were confined at Pennhurst, supervised by a staff of fewer than 600. Using a blended narrative of essays and first-person accounts, this history of Pennhurst examines the institution from its founding during an age of Progressive reform to its present-day exploitation as a controversial Halloween attraction. In doing so, it traces a decades-long battle to reform the abhorrent school and hospital and reveals its role as a catalyst for the disability rights movement. Beginning in the 1950s, parent-advocates, social workers, and attorneys joined forces to challenge the dehumanizing conditions at Pennhurst. Their groundbreaking advocacy, accelerated in 1968 by the explosive televised exposé Suffer the Little Children, laid the foundation for lawsuits that transformed American jurisprudence and ended mass institutionalization in the United States. As a result, Pennhurst became a symbolic force in the disability civil rights movement in America and around the world. Extensively researched and featuring the stories of survivors, parents, and advocates, this compelling history will appeal both to those with connections to Pennhurst and to anyone interested in the history of institutionalization and the disability rights movement.
Download or read book Ghosts of Mayflower written by Tamera Lawrence and published by . This book was released on 2012-10-01 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A nurse who gives invisible shots, a girl who likes to dart into corners and a man who still sits in the common room are just three of the spirits haunting the Pennhurst Asylum in Spring City, Pennsylvania. How do I know that? I have spent the past Halloween season working in the Mayflower building, 2nd floor and have witnessed the paranormal activity first hand. Over twenty-five years ago, Pennhurst State School and Mental Hospital was closed down due to resident abuse. Today Pennhurst has been turned into a Halloween attraction. I took a job as an orderly working in the Mayflower building, one of the most spiritually active of all the buildings. People are fascinated with Pennhurst and want to know more of its past and its present. Intrigued, I decided to do my own research. I have written a book bringing the past and present together to not just entertain, but also enlighten.
Download or read book Byberry State Hospital written by Hannah Karena Jones and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2013 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Looming on the outskirts of Philadelphia County since 1906, the mental hospital most commonly known as "Byberry" stood abandoned for 16 years before being demolished in 2006. At its peak in the 1960s, Byberry was home to more than 6,000 patients and employer to more than 800. With its own self-sustaining farm, bowling alleys, barbershop, ice cream parlor, federal post office, and baseball team, Byberry was a micro-community. Throughout its history, the hospital served as an educational institution for Philadelphia's medical, nursing, and psychology students; was the site of a World War II Civilian Public Service conscientious objector unit; and a volunteering hot spot for local churches, schools, and Girl and Boy Scout troops. This book provides an unprecedented window into the good, the bad, the unusual, and the forgotten history of Byberry.
Download or read book Abandoned Asylums written by Matt Van Der Velde and published by . This book was released on 2016-10-01 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abandoned Asylums takes readers on an unrestricted visual journey inside America's abandoned state hospitals, asylums, and psychiatric facilities, the institutions where countless stories and personal dramas played out behind locked doors and out of public sight. The images captured by photographer Matt Van der Velde are powerful, haunting and emotive. A sad and tragic reality that these once glorious historical institutions now sit vacant and forgotten as their futures are uncertain and threatened with the wrecking ball. Explore a private mental hospital that treated Marilyn Monroe and other celebrities seeking safe haven. Or look inside the seclusion cells at an asylum that once incarcerated the now-infamous Charles Manson. Or see the autopsy theater at a Government Hospital for the Insane that was the scene for some of America's very first lobotomy procedures. With a foreward by renowned expert Carla Yanni examining their evolution and subsequent fall from grace, accompanying writings by Matt Van der Velde detailing their respective histories, Abandoned Asylums will shine some light on the glorious, and sometimes infamous institutions that have for so long been shrouded in darkness.
Download or read book South Carolina State Hospital The Stories from Bull Street written by William Buchheit and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2020 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nearly two decades after it closed, the South Carolina State Hospital continues to hold a palpable mystique in Columbia and throughout the state. Founded in 1821 as the South Carolina Lunatic Asylum, it housed, fed and treated thousands of patients incapable of surviving on their own. The patient population in 1961 eclipsed 6,600, well above its listed capacity of 4,823, despite an operating budget that ranked forty-fifth out of the forty-eight states with such large public hospitals. By the mid-1990s, the patient population had fallen under 700, and the hospital had become a symbol of captivity, horror and chaos. Author William Buchheit details this history through the words and interviews of those who worked on the iconic campus.
Download or read book Northampton State Hospital written by J. Michael Moore and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2014-10-27 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Northampton State Hospital, established in 1856, was built with the optimistic spirit of humanitarian reform. For many years, it was run by Dr. Pliny Earle, a champion of treatment that combined individualized care with manual labor, religious worship, recreation, and amusement. This vision was overwhelmed as the hospital was called upon to care for ever-larger numbers of people with varying needs. By the mid-20th century, the hospital was an isolated small city, with hundreds of employees caring for more than 2,000 patients in overcrowded and inadequate conditions. It became a nationally important center of political and legal struggle over the role of state hospitals in the care of the mentally ill. After being gradually phased out, the hospital was closed in 1993, and the buildings, though listed in the National Register of Historic Places, were demolished in 2006. This volume brings to life the 135-year story of Northampton State Hospital through beautiful and haunting photographs drawn from the collections of Historic Northampton, the citys local history museum.
Download or read book Roland Johnson s Lost in a Desert World An Autobiography written by Karl Williams and published by . This book was released on 1999-06 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Roland Johnson's autobiography is the triumphant story of a man who rose above an intellectual disability and devastating abuse to become a prominent leader in the self-advocacy movement. As a child, Roland was sent away to live at the infamous Pennhurst State School in Pennsylvania, where he was sexually assaulted and forced to do unpaid manual labor. When he finally got out, he discovered the "real world" had no place for people like him - people who weren't considered normal or valuable by societal standards. Through a hospital counseling program, Roland ultimately began to find his voice. He discovered an ability to speak his truth and to fight for other people with disabilities. He would become president of Speaking for Ourselves and bring wide-scale awareness to the struggles faced by people with disabilities, as well as the unique gifts those same people have to offer. Lost in a Desert World brings you into Roland's life through his own voice and both encourages and challenges you to connect to your own humanity as a means of connecting with the humanity present in all people. Roland Johnson was a man of great courage, vision, and determination. He had an alternate kind of intelligence - one not based on what we call intellect. In Roland Johnson's world, understanding - one person for another - is the way of the future, the only route to true freedom. CRITICAL PRAISE "Roland Johnson has an important story to tell. In writing this truth-telling autobiography, he becomes a powerful witness to the cost of segregation and the hope of community." - Joseph P. Shapiro, author of No Pity: People with Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement "Roland Johnson was a friend and a hero of mine. He was a great pioneer of the frontier of human being. Read his book." - Justin Dart, father of the ADA, Americans With Disabilities Act, and Chairperson of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities under President Bush "Roland Johnson was a good and true man whose friendship I cherished. He was a teacher to many of us, and now this book will carry his voice across the country." - Gunnar Dybwad, internationally respected advocate and past president of the International League of Societies for Persons with Mental Handicaps "Roland is a man who accepted you for who you were. He was a friend to everyone and wanted to help people live their dreams and have control over their lives. It was an honor to have him as my friend." - Tia Nelis, Chair of the Board of Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE) "It is rare, even in fiction let alone autobiography, when an author's words leap off the page through the ear to awaken the reader's heart. I never knew Roland Johnson. But thanks to Karl Williams, I am able to know Roland's playful spirit, his soul full of knowing, the truth of his experience. Bravo to both." - Lucy Gwin, Mouth Magazine "... Intimate and vivid portrayal ... Roland Johnson's autobiography ... breaks new ground regarding the authenticity with which it projects his voice ... Karl Williams' preservation of Roland's words, and Roland's voice, his unique manner of speaking intact, shines new light on the meaning of 'speaking for ourselves.' ... (A) work of pioneering authenticity ..." - Melissa Probst, AAMR Journal "Lost In a Desert World is so good and Roland's talking is so much like him, it felt like I was in the same room with him again ... Loved every minute of it ... It made me want to reach out and hug him ..." - Robert Perske, Author
Download or read book Weird N J written by Mark Moran and published by Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.. This book was released on 2009-05 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores haunted places, local legends, crazy characters, and unusual roadside attractions found in New Jersey.
Download or read book Pennhurst Ghosts of Mayflower II written by Tamera Lawrence and published by Outskirts Press. This book was released on 2015-05-19 with total page 139 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ghost. The very word tempts the mind with lurid images of lost souls trapped in an alternate dimension. Many of us will never encounter a ghost or perhaps be aware of its presence. But that doesn’t mean they don’t exist – in fact, they do exist- in the battered walls of the Mayflower Hall, Pennhurst. With its morbid history, Pennhurst State School and Hospital left behind a tragic legacy of neglect and abuse. Opening in 1908, Pennhurst was created to isolate the mental and physically handicapped from “normal” society and institutionalize them. The most vulnerable lived at Pennhurst—children. Conditions quickly became strained by limited staff, overcrowding and lack of funding. Finally in the 1980’s, Pennhurst began closing its doors. Today the remnants of Pennhurst are hard to ignore with its towering fortress of crumbling buildings and rustic grounds. But during the Halloween season, Pennhurst Haunt offers several attractions for the curious or thrill seekers. Ghost Hunt is located in the Mayflower Hall. For several years, I have spent time in this dark, eerie building and have witnessed the paranormal first hand. This sequel to the original Ghosts of Mayflower offers a reader a chance to spend some time in one of the most haunted locations in Pennsylvania. And if you dare, please come visit us.
Download or read book Danvers State Hospital written by Katherine Anderson and Robert Duffy and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2018 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Danvers State Hospital revolutionized mental health care for more than a century, beginning in 1878. Today, it's buildings still have stories to tell. Perched high on the top of Hathorne Hill in what was once the village of Salem, Danvers State Insane Asylum was, for more than a century, a monument to modern psychiatry and the myriad advances in mental health treatment. From the time it opened its doors in 1878 until they were shuttered for good in 1992, the asylum represented decades of reform, the physical embodiment of the heroic visions of Dorothea Dix and Thomas Story Kirkbride. It would stand abandoned until 2005, when demolition began. Along with a dedicated group of private citizens, the Danvers Historical Society fought to preserve the Kirkbride structure, an effort that would result in the reuse of the administration building and two additional wings. Danvers has earned a unique place in history; the shell of the original Kirkbride building still stands overlooking the town. Though it has been changed drastically, the asylum's story continues as do efforts to memorialize it.
Download or read book Beechview written by Anna Loney and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2005 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Purportedly named for the many beech trees growing on its hillsides, Beechview was settled by Scotch-Irish and English pioneers in the late 1700s. This Pittsburgh neighborhood stretches along a broad ridge two and a half miles south of the Point. While Pittsburgh grew and developed into the political and economic center of the region, on the ridge, self-reliant farmers, miners, and shopkeepers maintained an easy interdependency. In 1905, Beechview separated from Union Township to become a borough. The broad ridge was graded and laid with trolley track, which brought commercial and residential development to the area. Beechview became a destination community for inner-city residents seeking relief from the crowded urban spaces. Hundreds of new families arrived, established businesses, and created a degree of prosperity for the community. Beechview merged with Pittsburgh in 1909, and today, it is a thriving and diverse neighborhood.
Download or read book Tewksbury State Hospital written by Ashlynn Rickord Werner and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2021-05-24 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Opened on May 1, 1854, the State Almshouse at Tewksbury was a venture by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to provide economical care for state paupers. Originally intended to accommodate 500 residents, by the end of 1854 the almshouse had admitted well over 2,200 paupers, thus necessitating future expansion. Although the virtue of the institution was called into question in 1883 by Gov. Benjamin Butler, who decried Supt. Thomas J. Marsh, the almshouse would continue to serve the destitute of the commonwealth for years to come. The name would later be changed to Tewksbury State Hospital to reflect the inclusion of the mentally ill, the sick, and those suffering from infectious disease as patients. Today, the hospital remains operational in providing specialized care in the Thomas J. Saunders Building while also serving as host to various governmental agencies and community organizations like the Public Health Museum on its historic campus. Although many of the early structures were demolished in the 1970s, the Tewksbury State Hospital remains an active institution brimming with architectural beauty and a rich public health history.
Download or read book Norwich State Hospital written by Christine M. Rockledge and published by Arcadia Publishing Library Editions. This book was released on 2018-10-15 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Norwich State Hospital (NSH), established in 1904, was more than just a series of mortar and brick buildings to house and treat persons suffering from mental illness. For nearly 100 years, generations of people dedicated their careers and lives to developing NSH as a humanitarian community for mental illness rehabilitation. NSH gained international attention from some of the world's most renowned psychiatrists for being the first state hospital to boast a brand-new state-of-the-art building to house all occupational therapies under one roof. Although NSH closed in 1996, the structure has continued to be one of Connecticut's most notable historical landmarks, despite its ongoing demolition and redevelopment. Today, Norwich State Hospital is still alive in the timeless, emotional memories employees and family members share of what it was like to work and grow up in a place where employees were not just employees and patients were not just patients; they were family.
Download or read book Christmas in Purgatory written by Burton Blatt and published by . This book was released on 1966 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Dixmont State Hospital written by Mark Benton and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2006-09-06 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pittsburgh natives have recognized Dixmont State Hospital by its towering boiler house smokestack that stood prominently along busy Route 65. It has been a topic of curiosity, urban exploration, ghost hunts, and historical research; but prior to its closing in 1984, Dixmont State Hospital stood as a refuge to the mentally ill for three counties in western Pennsylvania. A majestic study in the Kirkbride design of asylum architecture, Dixmont was originally built by the Western Pennsylvania Hospital in 1859 as a private venture before being bought by the commonwealth. It was named for famed mental health care reformer Dorothea Dix, who was instrumental in choosing the hospitals sitea site chosen for its tranquility and its view of the Ohio River. Dixmont was completely razed in January 2006 to make way for a multi-parcel commercial endeavor. But for those who spent time there, Dixmont was a vibrant community within a community. Through historic photographs, Dixmont State Hospital opens up this world that was off limits to the general public but was alive with festivals, celebrations, and the successful treatment of patients.
Download or read book Harrisburg State Hospital written by Phillip N. Thomas and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2013 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In rare historical photos, discover the story of the hospital, her caretakers, and those cared for at Harrisburg State Hospital for over 150 years. Harrisburg State Hospital opened in 1851 as the Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital, the first public institution in the state. Situated atop a hill overlooking the Susquehanna River, the original building was an early example of a Kirkbride design hospital. The facility closed in 2006 after serving the commonwealth for 155 years. Harrisburg State Hospital: Pennsylvania's First Public Asylum presents a pictorial history of the hospital from the first year of only 12 patients through the peak of state care, when the population reached over 2,500 in the 1950s. Harrisburg State Hospital was an innovative leader in the treatment of the mentally ill, pioneering new methods of therapy even before they were common practice. It was a community and a home for those whom society could not otherwise care for.
