Willowbrook State School opened in 1947 and was located in Staten Island, New York. the first decade there were many outbreaks of hepatitis. Patients typically had hepatitis after being there for six months. Children were intentionally injected with the virus. There was a lack of hygiene. Patients shared toilets and diseases and also were curled up on the floor covered in feces. Many times patients were left in cages, crying and filthy. The patients were often physically and sexually abused by the attendings who were not required to have a background check. Those patients that werent locked away roamed the facilities and grounds unsupervised without anything to do for hours at a time. Many patients went days without food or human contact. Diana Buglioli started her first day at Willowbrook State School in 1969, she was given a heavy steel key that opened every door at the asylum. She began looking in the rooms and once she reached the last door she became frightened to see what was behind it. She opened the door to discovered forty children locked in a small room. She stated in her interview “Some smiling, some asking me my name. Others were silent, just looking at me. Some walked toward me, some were lying in wooden carts and some were sitting on the floor. Some were drooling, some were crying. … It was surreal and just wrong. But they all share one undeniable truth: They were all little children.”.
An ex- doctor of the facility called Geraldo Rivera and informed him of the living conditions of Willowbrook. In 1972, Geraldo Rivera exposed the facility of the horrific living conditions. He received a stolen key and began touring building 6. After first walking in Rivera stated, “ The doctor had warned me it would be bad… it was horrible”. There was 1 attendant to over 50 severely mentally retarded patients. It smelt of death and disease. “ This place isn’t a school, it’s a dark corner where we throw children that aren’t pretty to look at” say Geraldo. Robert Kennedy called this institution a “ snake pit” in 1965 when he visited. This institution was built for 4,000 people. It was housing over 6,000 patients. Bernard Carabello secretly met with Geraldo Rivera before he was released. Carabello was institutionalized when he was three years old for being misdiagnosed for being mentally retarded when in reality he had Cerebral Palsy. When Carabello was there he was neglected and abused. Bernard is now known as a hero to those who were in Willowbrook. In 2015, Geraldo Rivera created a fund for social work and the Disability studies at CSI. It provided lectures, public conferences, and ne publications which inform the public about the nature of mental illness.
As a result of Geraldo Rivera’s groundbreaking discovery, many local politicians were shocked and extremely angry. His discovery received national attention as well. Parents were unaware of the brutal treatment their children were enduring. Parents began filing class- action lawsuits in the United States District Court in March 1972. The laws stated that Willowbrook was breaking Constitutional rights. Some of the other statements in these lawsuits were that there was a lack of education for speech, inadequate medical treatments, lack of clothing and many others. The lawsuits asked for immediate improvement, such as providing clothing, rightful medical treatments, and additional staff. The Willowbrook Consent Decree was signed by Judge Orin Judd in 1975. Thus forcing Willowbrook to improve its facility. However Willowbrook State School closed its doors for the last time in September 1987.
The ‘ Willowbrook Mile’ was created about thirty years after the doors closed to help remember the tragic events that took place and Willowbrook and also to remind us that we are all human despite what abilities we may or may not have. It winds through the 383-acre grounds and has about ten kiosks throughout the walk telling the story of Willowbrook State School.