Documentary reflection

Choose one documentary to watch and consider the following: How you might feel if one of your close family members were institutionalized at a facility such as Pennhurst or Willow brook.

Why do you think most people today are unfamiliar with the history of these institutions?

Do you think the staff and doctors at Willowbrook or Pennhurst were just as much victims of the institution as the residents? Why or why not?

What do you think were the biggest factors that contributed to the horrible conditions and abuses at Willowbrook or Pennhurst?

Pennhurst: The Shame of Pennsylvania

Links to an external site.

Unforgotten: Twenty-Five Years After Willowbrook