For decades, the Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in Anna, Illinois, has been accused of abuse and neglect of its residents with disabilities. It is one of Illinois’ nine state-run institutions for people with disabilities. Established in 1869, Choate and its surrounding community are finally facing a reckoning as the State of Illinois slowly works to downsize Choate. The developmental disabilities unit was to be closed by this past September 30, while a forensic unit will remain open.
The Arc of Illinois’ Executive Director, Samantha Alloway, shared a letter last week in which she told the transition story of a man who lived at Choate for almost fourteen years. Moving to the community was a challenging process for the man and his mother, she wrote.
“But what she later learned about her son’s final months at Choate is the part of this story we cannot ignore. Two months before his discharge, while plans for his return home were underway, he was sexually assaulted twice by a staff member.
He told no one. His mother shared that he was afraid and did not know how to speak about what had happened. After returning home, he began experiencing seizures he had never had before. His doctors eventually traced them to the trauma.
His mother’s words have stayed with me. No mother should have to fear for her child’s safety while he is in the care of an institution. No person should have to endure abuse in a place entrusted with their care.”
Today, after counseling, the man is living in the community.
“He started in a day program, then decided he wanted to work in the community. He took jobs at a gas station and a local pizza restaurant while searching for what he called his “dream job.” He found it at a resale shop, surrounded by the treasures he loves….
He cooks, gardens, organizes his own medications, and takes pride in his space. Most importantly, he says he no longer has to worry about what might happen to him.”
Institutional settings are not the same as living in one’s own home. However, Illinois has a great deal of work to do to ensure that disabled people have the supports we need to live in our community.
Alloway, Access Living’s President & CEO Karen Tamley, and Equip for Equality’s President & CEO Zena Naiditch, recently spoke out in the Chicago Tribune to support the downsizing of Choate.
“Conversations about closing the general developmental disability units at Choate Developmental Center and similar centers too often lose focus on the individuals central to the service system. Instead, the focus is on jobs and economic impacts on local communities. Although impacted employees and communities are important, we must focus on solutions that result in better outcomes and are consistent with what people with developmental disabilities actually want…
“The question is no longer whether Illinois should move toward community living. The question is whether we take this opportunity to do it right.”
Access Living remains firm in our conviction that Illinoisans with disabilities deserve real opportunities to live in the community. When we look at Choate, we know that having a place to live or work should not come at the cost of facing abuse, neglect or sexual assault. We urge the State of Illinois to continue to work with care and all deliberate speed towards ending the practice of housing people with disabilities in state-run institutions.