Acceptance is our Ultimate Goal

You would never build another orphanage for children.

It’s an outdated model of service.

We’ve found other ways to support children.

You would never consider building

Residential Schools again for First Nations People.

It’s an outdated model of service and we’ve found other

ways to respond to needs.



 By Rose Flaig, President, Community Living-Manitoba

I remember watching One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest a number of years ago and thinking, is this what happens to mentally and physically disabled people.  Society should be embarrassed!  Things may have changed somewhat since those days, but the essence of the story still rings true in many ways, even today. We like to believe that we no longer place mentally and physically disabled people in institutions, but the sad reality is we still do.  The topic of institutionalization is a sensitive one.  Some believe that institutions are best while others believe that there are other options. I have always been opposed to institutionalization.  I feel as though “locking” someone up against their will is a crime against humanity.

Historically, the institutionalization of people with disabilities was seen as an acceptable practice, however today institutions are viewed as places that isolate, alienate, and house people that are socially devalued.  Keep in mind, how can a practice that is known to harm people and to be inconsistent with human rights perspectives, continue into the 21^st century?  Institutions that developed in the early 17^th century served to protect society from physically, intellectually, and socially disabled individuals, people that were considered to be “mad”.  They had the idea that these “mad” individuals could be “cured or fixed” and when they were, they would be returned back into society.  We all know that it is impossible to cure many of these disabilities.

I recall being in middle school with a student who was mentally and physically disabled.  Today, she lives in a group home, coincidently, on the same street as my mom. She lives with three other adults in a nice house with a yard, she appears happy and well-adjusted.  When you think of the money that is spent running an institution, maintaining the building, insurance costs, supplies, etc., to me, it just makes more sense to spend that money on funding for group homes.  This is where society as a whole needs to change their views about disabled people.

There are important differences between the experiences of adults with mental disabilities and of those with physical disabilities, but there are also significant similarities.  Perhaps most fundamentally, people who have been designated by labels of mental or physical disability encounter comparable forms of stigma and prejudice that result in unequal treatment and discrimination (Gross & Hahn, 2004).  For mental disabilities, we know there are disorders like anxiety, depression and schizophrenia and for physical disabilities, we know that one can be paralyzed with a spinal cord injury, blind or suffer from arthritis. I believe that mental illnesses and physical disabilities go hand in hand. People living with a serious mental illness are at higher risk of experiencing a wide range of chronic physical conditions, sometimes, even just from the side effects of medication that they may be on, such as weight gain, which could lead to diabetes. Depression can lead to fatigue and render a person unable to even get out of bed. People living with chronic physical health conditions experience depression and anxiety at twice the rate of the general population (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2008).  Recognizing and diagnosing each person’s situation is the only way to determine the proper care they should receive.

We need more programs to make people understand what it means to be disabled, regardless of whether or not it is mental or physical. I believe it is everyone’s responsibility to become advocates, start by discussing the issue with friends and family.  We cannot just rely on the government to make changes; corporations need to help as well. Look at Canada Safeway, they hire mentally and physically disabled people, they may speak a little slower or not at all, walk with a limp or lack some coordination but after all, they are human beings just like you and me.  Mullaly (2007) explains, when looking at this issue from a social democratic viewpoint, they believe that a reduction in inequalities reduces feelings of isolation or alienation and creates a greater sense of belonging or social cohesion.  Acceptance should be our ultimate goal.

If British Columbia, Ontario, and Newfoundland have been able to close their institutions and function without them, why did the Government of Manitoba spend $40 million renovating the Manitoba Developmental Centre in Portage La Prairie? Would the money not have been better spent building support homes within the community to help care for people with disabilities and give them a life where they can live more comfortably?  In a perfect world, we would like to think that institutions don't need to exist, but the sad reality is that they will always be present somewhere in the world.  “It is a fact that many thousands of people remain trapped in institutions — confined to facilities and lifestyles not of their choosing” (Institution Watch, 2006, p.2).  When society frees themselves of the prejudices displayed towards people with disabilities and realize that they are humans, not to be locked up and hidden away, only then will we be free of institutions.

References:

Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario. (2008). The Relationship between Mental Health, Mental Illness and Chronic Physical Conditions. Retrieved from http://www.ontario.cmha.ca/admin_ver2/maps/cmha_chronic_disease_backgrounder.pdf

First People of Canada. (2006). Monitoring the progress toward a vision of full community living for all persons with intellectual disabilities: Institution Watch, 2 (1), 1-20.

Gross, B. H., & Hahn, H. (2004). Developing issues in the classification of mental and physical disabilities. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 15,130–134.

Mullaly, B. (2007). The New Structural Social Work (3^rd Edition), p. 123. Oxford University Press,

Opening Communities…Closing Institutions. Retrieved from http://www.aclmb.ca/Deinstitutionalization/MDC_Tabloid.pdf

Shauna Richardson