Unforgotten: Twenty-Five Years After Willowbrook

Good documentary. Very sad reality.

I was employed as a teacher at Willowbrook in the early 70's. I never witnessed the living conditions portrayed. I did hear about them. Filming didn't lie. I worked there with children who were higher functioning yet significantly disabled academically. Watching the reality of this facility, I was humbly reminded that it was a significant springboard to why I went on to further education. Soon after, Herald Rivera completed his investigation which i understand contributed to its closure. Where did they all go?

This movie is very brief about a serious subject of neglect it was good to hear what the few families had to say about finding out that their kids were declining in health but at times it was like when someone can be accused of child abuse themself as a parent for feeling guilty for allowing the hygiene issues to be ignored. It would have been nice to see what doctors say about the medical situations because getting diagnosed as retarded isn't technically approved as of the 70's when the health care movement started, before then a person could have depression or be bipolar and get charged as criminals because the public was afraid about being physically sporatic that could injure others nearby. So these kids that grew up to be adults are more towards the side of being physically weak or not able to do stuff for themself and Aspergers isn't retarded either it's just more about not having enough nutrients during being born so parts of the body compensate by surviving and not being a stillborn. So this is really tough because it gets expensive but it shouldn't be debated if the person with a disability has the same spirit or motivation that has thoughts or interacts with their towns and stuff. I just would have liked to see more pictures of the building itself.

I first learned of a place called the Willowbrook State School on Staten Island in the documentary Cropsey. Willowbrook was once the largest institution for the mentally disabled in the world. But unfortunately Willowbrook was much more than that, it was a place where society's unwanted could be left and forgotten.The tragedy that was Willowbrook first came to light in 1965 when Robert Kennedy called the institution a "snake pit" and nothing was done to correct the problems at it and other State run facilities for the handicapped. In 1972 Geraldo Rivera did an expose on the institution Willowbrook: The Last Great Disgrace for ABC news that exposed the worst of the problems: overcrowding, underfunding, nothing for the patients to do, lack of staff, rampant filth and disease. He compared the New York system with the much more progressive system in California which was moving away from the institutional setting to regional centers and group homes.In 1982 Rivera revisited Willowbrook for the news show 20/20 to find that not much had really changed. Willowbrook was forced to finally close its doors in 1987 after another wave of public outcry. Unforgotten by Jack and Danny Fisher gives the viewer a glimpse of the changes that have occurred in our treatment of the mentally disabled in the years since Willowbrook closed. It is by turns a documentary of dispair but oddly one filled with hope. Things are getting better but not at the pace we could have hoped for. The film follows the journey of several families as they try to put there lives back together and rehabilitate the members of their families that had been placed in the institution.This is an important film to watch for anyone interested in the gains that have been made in the care of the disabled. It provides a window into the lives that most of us don't see. It shows that everyone is important for society to function and it helps to redefine the concept of who is normal. It does all of this with great compassion.The standard definition DVD that I was provided includes the documentary which runs for about an hour amd the two Rivera exposes for ABC news. The news segments should be watched prior to the documentary to get a better appreciation of how things were and to give the viewer an example of how much things have changed.Well worth the time.

Loved it

What happened at Willowbrook was deplorable. Obvious example of what happens in a facility where too little staffing to handle all the individualized needs of those who live there. Not to minimize anything that occurred there, but it is like most situations in history; we learn from the past. Hopefully. The result of Willowbrook's closing was smaller institutions, then group homes, then smaller group homes, apartments, and even individualized homes. Teaching individuals how to care for themselves to the most extent possible, caring about what the person likes and creating a life for them based on their wants. I worked for an agency for close to 25 years and anyone I hired I told them two important things. One -- every time you walk into this house you must remember you are walking into someone else's home and you are to show the utmost respect. Two-- your job is to work yourself out of a job. You are to teach the people who live here as much as you can so they can one day live on their own where they do not need you any longer. That was the goal -- TO MAKE THE PEOPLE LIVING THERE AS INDEPENDENT AS POSSIBLE.

This amazing film takes me back to when I first saw the shocking Geraldo report - as a UK counsellor at AHRC Camp Catskill in Liberty NY (1988). Many of our Camp guests had previously been at Willowbrook. This wonderfully put together film reminds us of just how far things have progressed in the care of those with special needs and learning difficulties and the hardship that families went through having to place their children/siblings into such an institution like Willowbrook. Although much progress has been made in the residential care of these special individuals I feel the film reaffirms the message that the process is ever on-going to create normal lives for special needs individuals and their families. Whilst set in the USA this film serves to remind us of the appalling conditions that existed all over the world in these type of huge institutions. Even today things haven't changed in some countries. A powerful film - would highly recommend watching it.

This is a great classroom resource or teaching material for community development workshops. It revisits Geraldo Rivera's expose of the inhumane practices of Willowbrook, a large institution for people with intellectual and mental health challenges. It also highlights several people whose lives were compromised by their time in the insitution, and shows us that science makes mistakes when it comes to discerning who is fit and who is not.This is an important insight, given that large insitutions are NOT a thing of the past. Texas in particular seems to think they're a great idea, and it's not that long ago that a scandal broke when it some of the workers in one of Texas' insitutions were actually running a gambling/fight club, using residents as forced combatants. If this video included a bit more information on the current practices of mental health professionals and large institutions, it would be a stronger case, but even as it stands, it is a powerful indictment of institutionalization.