Fifty years ago, Geraldo Rivera’s exposé revealing horrific conditions at the Willowbrook State School in Staten Island shocked the nation and forever changed the treatment of people with disabilities across the country. The Developmental Disabilities Planning Council’s (DDPC) half-hour documentary, The Path Forward: Remembering Willowbrook, highlights the story of Willowbrook as told by its key players, lessons learned, and positive change that resulted.
A screening and open discussion about this 2023 documentary, produced by the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council will take place on Wednesday, Apr. 26 from 6:00pm to 7:30pm via Zoom. Pre-register for free.
The screening will be followed by brief comments from Vicky Hiffa, Acting Executive Director of the NYS Developmental Disabilities Planning Council and one of the DDPC co-producers of the documentary. These will lead into an open discussion forum about the film and the efforts to ensure that what happened at Willowbrook can never happen again.
This Zoom event is open to everyone. People with disabilities, their families and friends, advocates, students, and professionals in the field are encouraged to register. Contact Willowbrook@csi.cuny.edu with any questions. This is a CC CLUE event for CSI/CUNY students.
This event is sponsored by the Willowbrook Legacy Project and the Disability Studies Program, The College of Staten Island/CUNY.
By CSI Willowbrook
