Willowbrook State School

Memorial
By Sky, Stephen, Amelia, and Kelsey
History of Willowbrook
Located on Staten Island, New York

A mental institution for people with

disabilities- mental, physical

Patients- 6,055

Staff- 4,000 (understaffed)

Years in operation- 1947-1987

State-supported institution
Medical Practices
“Short of Dachau, or a concentration camp in Germany where they were actually
burning people every day, they didn’t have to burn people here. They needed to
keep them alive because they needed to make money off them”. -
William Bronston- physician at Willowbrook State school

Patients were mistreated and often were given Thorazine (heavy tranquilizer).
Willowbrook under the Kennedy Administration
While doing a tour at Willowbrook, Senator Robert Kennedy saw the horrors and
harsh conditions of Willowbrook and labeled it as a “snake pit” due to the filthy
living conditions for children.

Because of the attention that was drawn to Willowbrook, a lawsuit was filed in
1972. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the patients at Willowbrook.

This led to the Willowbrook Consent Decree in 1975

Kennedys push
In 1963 in “Special Message to the Congress on
Mental Illness and Mental Retardation” he
announced his plan to move away from institutions
to community-based living and support systems.

While he had ambition this process is slow.

Disabled homes and Institutes
In America, the first home for disabled peoples was built in 1773 (Logsdon-Breakstone, 2012). Before these institutions
were an option, many disabled people would find themselves left to their own devices or put into jails (Logsdone-
Breakstone, 2012). By the 1800’s, American and European institutions are being overcrowded. However, by the mid-1800’s,
people were outing these institutions of their low quality standards. By the 1900’s the numbers for institutions was up to
18,000 (Logsdone-Breakstone, 2012). The conditions of these homes were usually unsavory and filled with abuse
allegations. By the 1970’s, there were many lawsuits against disability institutions. The history of disability institutes is dark,
but the future is bright.
The closure of Disabled Institutions
The reform of residential institutions for disabled people was accompanied by an increasing demand for people with
disabilities to live outside institutions in more natural communities.The courts have played an important role in establishing
minimum standards of care for people with developmental disabilities in the United States living in institutional settings.In
the 1970s, dozens of lawsuits were filed concerning the abusive conditions in the institutions of the nation, caused in part by
media presentations showing how existing institutions failed to meet even the most basic needs of the people they were
meant to serve.These legal proceedings ultimately led to the recognition of the constitutional rights of people with
developmental disabilities living in an institutional setting to protect and treat. The mistreatment can be seen as sexual
assault, neglect, and physical abuse. These accusations ultimately caused many of the current disability homes to shut
down.
Disability Rights Movement
The Disability Rights Movement is a global movement for equal opportunities and rights for people across
the disability spectrum. It includes access and security in physical environments, buildings and transport; "
equal opportunities for independent living, equity in employment, education and housing; and freedom
from discrimination, abuse, neglect and other violations. The movement for disability rights began in the
1960s in the United States and was encouraged by the civil rights movement. Through non- violent protests,
sit- in and " silent armies" in the background, the American Disability Act (ADA). With the support from such
a huge movement, many of the regulations and institutions are formed due to the pursuit of the ADA.
Connections Between Media and Reality:
American Horror Story
Popular TV show, American Horror Story, have come out with two specific seasons
revolving around those with disabilities; Asylum (season 2), and Freak Show (season
4). There are certain aspects about the show that somewhat accurately portray the
lives of disabled individuals, but there are many things dramatized or fictional for the
purpose of entertainment.

● Institutionalization: the thought that through harsh treatments used Briarcliff Asylum (AHS)

(shock treatment, lobotomy, sedatives, isolation) often caused

patients to become more traumatized than when they were originally
admitted.
● Unsanitary Conditions: Willowbrook patients were not only
extremely exposed to hepatitis, but were also kept in dirty rooms and
their bodies not cleaned regularly. AHS Briarcliff patients were
exposed to tuberculosis and kept in similar living conditions, resulting Willowbrook patients
in sickness and even death.
How the Media Portrays Mental Disabilities
Because many forms of media are used to entertain viewers, mental disabilities
are often dramatized for a “horror” effect.

● “Split”, a film by M. Night Shyamalan is about dissociative identity disorder (DID), and while DID is
sometimes difficult to deal with, those with DID are not monsters, or even dangerous most of the
time.
● “Psycho” a film by Alfred Hitchcock ends with an explanation as to why the main character (and
serial killer) is the way he is: DID. Again, DID does not always result in dangerous, “psychotic”
characteristics.

Due to the stigmas media has created, many are fearful of those with mental
disorders. Back when Willowbrook State School was running, these frightened
friends/family members would send their children away to institutes such as
Willowbrook. This could have simply been avoided with some basic understanding
on mental disabilities.
Why is any of this important?
Willowbrook patients (and other individuals who endured institutional
abuse) aren’t accurately recognized in today’s literature/media.

The story of Willowbrook has slowly disappeared as time passed. Many

people today aren’t aware of Willowbrook’s existence, let alone the
horrors that the patients experienced.

The youth especially rely on media to get their information, so if all they
see is American Horror Story or other works that inaccurately describe
institutions, they become unaware that similar situations have taken
place in our country.

Our Willowbrook memorial will honor the victims and be a public place
for everyone, disabled and abled, to enjoy.
 Other Memorials
-The Berlin memorial to the disabled victims of the Nazis was
especially designed to accommodate disabled people moving
through it’s space.
-Our memorial will be accessible.
-It will be accessible to wheelchair users.
-The plaque will be half in Braille and one half in print.
-The plaque will be written in a way which will make it accessible
to readers at all levels of literacy.
What Will It Cost?
-It is estimated that the memorial itself will cost around $21.65 million.
-The names of the survivors will be crowdsourced via voluntary information from
survivors and their families.
-The cost of the fundraising race and fair will be covered by private donations to begin
with, but revenue from the first event should, in time, pay for further ones.
How Will This Uplift the Disabled Community?

-The memorial itself will provide education to the general public on the abuses that went
on at Willowbrook.
- For survivors and members of the disabled community, it will provide a sense of
closure. With the added elements of the annual run and fair, the memorial will become a
living memorial because the funds that these events raise will also go to the enrichment of
the whole disabled community in Staten Island.
-The events themselves will also foster an atmosphere of fun and joy that will increase
bonding and understanding between the disabled and abled communities. However, it is
very important that disabled people are in decision-making positions at all levels in the
festival, run, and memorial committees.
Sky’s Sources
“College of Staten Island Breaks Ground on The Willowbrook Mile.” AHRC New York City, 15 Nov. 2018,
www.ahrcnyc.org/news/college-staten-island-breaks-ground-willowbrook-mile/.

Padnani, Amy. “Willowbrook Survivors Recollect Dark Days.” SILive.com, SILive.com, 7 May 2010,
www.silive.com/news/2010/05/willowbrook_survivors_recollec_1.html.

“Figure 2f from: Irimia R, Gottschling M (2016) Taxonomic Revision of Rochefortia Sw. (Ehretiaceae, Boraginales). Biodiversity Data
Journal 4: e7720. Https://Doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.4.e7720.” doi:10.3897/bdj.4.e7720.figure2f.

“‘Exposé of Willowbrook State School’ - Geraldo Rivera - WABC-TV.” Nellie Bly's "Ten Days in a Madhouse" | Undercover
Reporting, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, dlib.nyu.edu/undercover/expose-willowbrook-state-school-geraldo-rivera-
wabc-tv.

“The Duality of Medicine: The Willowbrook State School Experiments.” The Review and Debates at NYU,
www.thereviewatnyu.com/all/2016/2/20/the-duality-of-medicine-the-willowbrook-state-school-experiments.
Stephen’s Citing
“A Short History of the Disability Rights Movement.” Meriah Nichols, 1 Nov. 2018, www.meriahnichols.com/a-short-history-

of-the-disability-rights-movement/.

Disability History Timeline. University of Minnesota Duluth,

www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/tbacig/studproj/is3099/pplfrst/Untitled1.html.

Logsdon-Breakstone, Savannah. “Disability History 101.” Disabilityrightnow, 23 Apr. 2012,

disabilityrightnow.wordpress.com/tag/disability-history/.

“Reform of Institutions and Closings of Institutions.” Disability Justice, disabilityjustice.org/reform-and-closing-of-institutions/.

Amelia’s Work Cited
“10 Facts behind American Horror Story: Asylum.” Den of Geek, 5 Feb. 2013, www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/american-horror-
story-asylum/55915/10-facts-behind-american-horror-story-asylum.

Murphy, Ryan. American Horror Story: Asylum: La Seconda Stagione Completa. American Horror Story: Asylum, Twentieth
Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2014.

bchadda, /. “AHS Asylum Truths #9: Mental Illness and Institutionalization in the 1950's.” Lots of Words, 21 Feb. 2015,
biancajchadda.wordpress.com/tag/the-similarities-between-willowbrook-state-school-and-briarcliffe-in-american-horror-
story/.

FilmRise. “Unforgotten: Twenty-Five Years After Willowbrook.” YouTube, YouTube, 15 May 2014,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcjRIZFQcUY&t=2640s.

Rose, Steve. “From Split to Psycho: Why Cinema Fails Dissociative Identity Disorder.” The Guardian, Guardian News and
Media, 12 Jan. 2017, www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jan/12/cinema-dissociative-personality-disorder-split-james-mcavoy.
 Kelsey Harrison
Works Cited

•Eddy, Melissa, “Monument Seeks to End Silence on Killings of the Disabled by the Nazis”, Berlin Journal, The
New York Times, September 2, 2014.
•Jost, Daniel, “Monumental Prices”, Landscape Architecture Magazine, landsarchitecturemagazine.org
•”The Inflation Calculator,” https://westegg.com/inflation/infl.cgi