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Commemorating the Story of Laconia State School

Commemorating the Story of Laconia State School. Eric Shaffer Katie McGrath Jennifer McIntosh Gina Colantuoni Holly Bisner Pat Martin. OBJECTIVES.

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Commemorating the Story of Laconia State School

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  1. Commemorating the Story of Laconia State School Eric Shaffer Katie McGrath Jennifer McIntosh Gina Colantuoni Holly Bisner Pat Martin

  2. OBJECTIVES • To honor the people who challenged the experts and the establishment to ultimately bring suit against the state on behalf of their families and friends at LSS. • To show that terrible things can happen when people with good intentions ignore the intrinsic value of each and every person.

  3. Who will benefit? • Former residents and their families as well as LSS staff hope to gain closure from their experience at LSS by sharing their story

  4. Who will benefit? • Parents of children with disabilities will use this video to make informed decisions in raising their child(ren). • Enlighten new parents on the value of inclusion and inspire them to view their child in a different light; not “disabled” but as one who can contribute to their community

  5. Who will benefit? • Training professionals in the field will also use this video to teach supporting staff and lead their school or agency in the right direction in encouraging individuals with disabilities to succeed.

  6. Who will benefit? • Educators will have a valuable tool to use while teaching the consequences of segregation and the benefits of community inclusion in History lessons

  7. LSS: A History Lesson “We can learn from history how past generations thought and acted, how they responded to the demands of their time and how they solved their problems… “We can learn by analogy, not by example, for our circumstances will always be different than theirs were… “The main thing history can teach us is that human actions have consequences and that certain choices, once made, cannot be undone. They foreclose the possibility of making other choices and thus they determine future events.” Gerda Lerner, historian

  8. LSS: A History Lesson Current History curriculums include: • American Revolutions and Wars • World Wars I and II • Women’s Rights Movement • Civil Rights Movement Disability Rights Movement?

  9. Building the TeamWe started with Leadership Members: • Eric Shaffer • Katie McGrath • Jennifer McIntosh • Holly Bisner • Gina Colatuoni • Pat Martin

  10. Building the TeamWe are grateful to the Leadership Faculty who helped us along the way: • Dennis Powers • Janet Williamson • Beth Dixon • …and the action group that sacrificed their reserved timeslot for us ;)

  11. Tracy Messer Gordon DuBois Freda Smith Don Shumway Pat Zambri Fritz Wetherbee Michael Shields Building the TeamWe asked the following people to help us:

  12. What have we done so far? Making Connections/Power Circle Janet Hunt; People First of NH needs help with the book they are making as former residents of LSS Significant Connections: Gordon DuBois primary archivist for LSS Fritz Wetherbee- prominent voice of NH

  13. What have we done so far? Wrote a general letter explaining our cause We can use it to send to connections as we need to.

  14. What have we done so far? 4 of us attended presentation at Area Agency of Greater Nashua by: Jeanne Cusson, Program Planning and Review Specialist at DHHS Brief overview of LSS timeline to Area Agency staff and others interested. There, we also met Patricia Zambri, training coordinator at AA. We received her name from Gordon Dubois and Eric Shaffer and found her to be another influential person who is passionate about this cause!

  15. What have we done so far? Attended a meeting at the DRC about a legislative apology for sterilizations • Gordon DuBois, Dick Cohen, and Freda Smith led a discussion on the merits of pursuing an apology through the legislature versus the Governor’s office.  • Assigned research into sterilizations that may have occurred at the State Hospital during the same era, and the history of the legislation that allowed these sterilizations.  • People First will reach out to members to see if anyone was affected by this practice.

  16. What have we done so far? • Most recently, Pat attended a Fritz Wetherbee book signing. • “Anything for the Laconia State School. I had a friend with a child there…” -in conversation with Pat.

  17. Research • “The State Boys Rebellion” by Michael D’Antonio • “Help Wanted” Video • “The Story of Pat” by St. Cyr • “Roots of Exclusion” by Charles Galloway • The Suitcase Exhibit- Stephen Litt - web designer www.suitcaseexhibit.org • Front Wards Back Wards • Tons of internet research on articles and other memorializing models

  18. Organization of Workflow • Conducted most of our discussions via email and over Leadership weekends • Set up a PBWiki site for collaboration and as a repository http://laconiastateschool.pbwiki.com/

  19. Deliverables • Letter to interested parties http://laconiastateschool.pbwiki.com/f/Letter_of_Interest.doc • Spreadsheet of important contacts http://laconiastateschool.pbwiki.com/f/LSS+Project.xls • Brochure to support ongoing efforts by CSNI, Gordon DuBois, Pat Zambri http://laconiastateschool.pbwiki.com/folder.php?folder=Pamphlet

  20. Challenges and Rewards • WHERE DO WE START? This is a huge project. It was difficult to imagine how we could produce any results in the time we had to work on it. • Depressing subject… At times it was difficult to continue with the research without feeling overwhelmed with sadness.

  21. Challenges and Rewards Distractions • Flu Season • Busy lifestyles • Personal priorities (work, family, school) • Childbirth: Congratulations Katie! At times it was difficult not to put our cause on the back burner as there’s always more pressing and urgent issues. However the clock is ticking, LSS needs to be officially commemorated before it is soon forgotten.

  22. Challenges and Rewards Inspiration- Some of the team will continue to work on this project going forward. Gratification and Empowerment- in knowing that our humble group had a chance to offer value to this ongoing effort. Learning Experience- not only about social injustice but the importance of making connections, commitment and passion when putting our minds to an ambitious project such as this.

  23. Summary Our efforts in the last few months focused on making connections and exploring options. While we would like to see a video documentary made, there are other avenues such as an interactive website and a book. In our small journey, we discovered that the idea of teaching the world about the Disability Movement, LSS specifically, is not new. People have tried in the past and faced barriers. It is our hope that we can collaborate everyone’s efforts and simply “get the ball rolling.”

  24. What’s Next? Funding, Funding, Funding • Researching the cost of a quality documentary • Reaching out to Human Service agencies and DD Council • Grants

  25. What’s Next? “Pitching” to potential voices • Dan Habib • Ken Burns • Bill Rogers (Front Ward, Back Ward) • Following up with Fritz Wetherbee • Send an e-mail after he has had time to go over the material we gave him (10 days)

  26. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Ideas, thoughts, name-drops, funding opportunities…

  27. Picture Slideshow

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