From my experiences with institutions and with life “on the outside,” there are some things that I know to be true:
- I’ve never met anyone who would choose to live in an institution once they have moved out.
- Putting people away because they have a disability is wrong.
- People with disabilities want to be friends and neighbors and coworkers with lots of different kinds of people, not just other people with disabilities.
- People who have lived in institutions all of their lives don’t know how to make choices because they are not given the opportunity. We need to teach people how to make decisions and allow them to fail, too.
- Community living is not always easy, perfect or safe, but at least the people who live in the community are free.
If you are talking about closing institution, make sure you are asking and listening to the right people – those who live there and have lived there in the past. They know the truth about these places.