Originally posted June 2, 2013

I wrote this post thirteen years ago. It is still relevant today. The “Inmates” of these New York State Insane Asylums / State Hospitals were not criminals, (with the exception of the two State Hospitals / Prisons for the Criminally Insane: Matteawan and Dannemora). They were just people who needed help with nowhere to go. Sounds like today. 150 years ago, we at least tried to put these people in a safer place rather than leaving them on the streets or living on the county poor farms where women and children were raped and abused. The state built these hospitals with good intentions, then they tore them down with good intentions, and where are we now? People are still living on the streets. If and when the state ever decides to build these hospitals again, there must be strict guidelines to follow. No more than 150 to 200 patients per asylum. Good, qualified doctors, nurses, and aides who are well trained and well paid, not “the Patricks’ and Bridgets” who just got off the boat and needed a place to live and work. We’ve all seen the videos of low paid, unqualified, cruel nursing home staff who beat up the elderly. This is not a job for everyone and I’m sure that cruel and inhumane treatment happened in state hospitals as well. This is unacceptable! Some people may never recover from their illnesses but the great majority that will recover with medication, outpatient counseling, and guidance, should be able to leave the hospital and live their lives. Not like 150 years ago when you could never get out. I have waited for the release of my great-grandmother’s medical records who died at Willard 98 years ago. I think I will not be alive to ever see them. The release of anonymous burials and long forgotten medical records are in the hands of New York State. Let’s hope after all these years they will do the right thing. Below is the original post. Thank you.

I am the first to admit that I didn’t have a clue about what mental illness really is, and I have never claimed to be an expert on this issue, because I am not. When I discovered that my great-grandmother was sent to Willard State Hospital at the end of her life, it made my stomach flip and I felt overwhelming sadness. I remember reading her obituary over and over again to see if I had read it correctly. I even asked myself, could there be another state hospital at Willard that wasn’t a mental institution? Did she really die there? Why was she sent there? What was her diagnoses? Before I lose your attention, let me explain who was sent to Willard so that you will no longer be uneducated, unaware, or uninformed. Anyone who was not considered “normal” was sent to Willard including the elderly with Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. Remember, there really were no nursing homes until the 1950s. Others were Hearing Impaired, had Developmental Disabilities, were Trauma Victims including Victims of Domestic Violence and Rape (back then they called it “Seducer’s Victim”), had PTSD (Soldier’s Heart & Shell Shock), Menopausal Women, Depression, Anxiety Disorders, Brain Injuries, Stroke Victims, Epilepsy, Neurological Disorders, Psychiatric Disorders, and some were locked up because of their sexual orientation, personal beliefs, and religious beliefs.

You have to ask yourself, why are we so ignorant on this issue? Why are we receiving the great majority of mental health information from television commercials put out by the pharmaceutical companies and Dr. Phil? God Bless Him! Why is the jail at Riker’s Island being used as the largest mental health facility in the country? This is how we used to treat the mentally ill 150 years ago. When we pay our taxes which is a huge burden on the people of New York State, we assume that the people appointed to these high paying positions are actually doing their jobs and taking care of the people they are supposed to be advocating for; those who need the most help. Obviously, this is not the case and this abuse of the public trust needs to end.

Are burial records available to the public? Yes, but you would have to sit in the town clerk’s office and pull out each record that applies to that county’s particular state hospital or custodial institution. If you post their names online, you run the risk of being charged $10,000 for each violation, or each person. It would be much easier to record this information from each institution’s burial ledgers. Is it ridiculous that the Office of Mental Health classified burial records from state facilities as medical records? Yes. Were they really protecting the identities of former patients? No. In every correspondence that I received, it was made crystal clear that this was done to protect the families because some may find it offensive. Not only has the OMH insulted families and descendants of these people who were buried in anonymous graves, they have contributed to the stigma. They need to step out of the way, focus on the living, and hand over the burial ledgers to cemetery groups and responsible volunteers who will get the job done at NO cost to the state. Our ancestors and our families have nothing to be ashamed of! That would be like being ashamed of heart disease or diabetes. Putting names on a memorial, headstone, or list, should not be offensive to anyone, unless, of course, you are ignorant.

“I Got A Name” by Jim Croce

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VIDEO They’re Buried Where? by Seth Voorhees

The list of these former New York State Hospitals includes but is not limited to: Binghamton, Buffalo, Central Islip, Dannemora, Edgewood, Gowanda, Hudson River, Kings Park, Long Island, Manhattan, Matteawan, Middletown, Mohansic, Pilgrim, Rochester, St. Lawrence, Syracuse, Utica, and Willard. 

The Feeble-Minded and Epileptic Custodial Institutions of New York includes but is not limited to: Craig Colony for Epileptics, Letchworth Village for Epileptics & Developmentally Disabled, Newark State School for Developmentally Disabled Women, Rome State School for Developmentally Disabled Adults & Children, and Syracuse State School for Developmentally Disabled Children. There may be more.