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From the March, 1999 issue of Mouth magazine. Testimony, Part 2 photos by John W. Olson     I think they set it up this way because if decent and humane care were available, they think we would all want it and it would be more expensive. The net result is that nursing home and other institutional care becomes a punishment for the disabled and impoverished.   Barbara V., Ohio, nursing home survivor Nothing there helped my mental state. I was just confined. They discounted me as a human being Bill S., Arkansas, mental institution survivor My family was talked into putting me away as a child. I would never have gotten out alive had I not been a fighter. Cassie J., Pennsylvania, mental institution survivor   Being in a nursing home, I know that everything should be done to keep families together and keep people at home, not in nursing homes. Pat A., Michigan, nursing home resident   Medicaid pays for this cruelty. It's your taxpayer dollar at work. America should know what it's getting for that money. Winifred B., Texas, nursing home survivor   I was put in a nursing home because my family didn't think I could manage on my own. It was like surviving a concentration camp. One staff guy beat up patients. I saw it. I'd like to see the whole Congress in nursing homes. They pay for it, let them live there. Beverly H., Pennsylvania   I've been forced to live in a nursing homes and then later in a mental hospital. In both places, the term 'non-compliant' is a biggie. You didn't wanted to get branded as 'non-compliant'. In both those institutions, you didn't have the right to say, 'no.' Sean N., New Jersey   My son is in the mental health system, damaged by neuroleptic drugs. I see people, helpless victims, caught in the system or thrown away by their relatives. They are truly damaged with dystonia, tardive dyskinesia, akathisia, seizures, memory loss. They are given drugs for just about any reason at the hand of someone who has the power to shut them up. They wonder if this is where they are going to die. I have no answers for them when they ask what will happen to them. Linda V., California   Freedom Clearinghouse is a project of Free Hand Press, publisher of Mouth magazine. Website developed by Cliffwood Organic Works. Website hosted by DIMENET. | E-mail | Home |