Remembering the Disabled

Earlier this week, on Monday, September 19, 2011, a Remembrance Day ceremony was held at Sonoma Developmental Center in memory of everyone who has passed away while living at the Center and all state hospitals in California.

The event was hosted at the Gazebo on the SDC campus by Disability Rights California/Peer Self-Advocacy Unit, People First of California and California Network of Mental Health Clients.

In addition to a statewide moment of silence at 1:55 p.m. to honor those who have passed away in state hospitals and developmental centers, simultaneous events were also held at the following facilities:

• Agnews Historic Cemetery, Santa Clara
• California State University - Channel Islands, Camarillo
• Porterville Cemetery, Porterville
• Metropolitan State Hospital Auditorium, Norwalk
• Napa State Hospital, Napa
• Parkview Cemetery, Manteca
• Patton State Hospital, Patton
• Stockton Rural Cemetery, Stockton
• Ukiah Cemetery, Russian River Cemetery District, Ukiah

Remembrance Day ceremonies are part of The California Memorial Project, a collaborative effort between the Peer/Self-Advocacy Unit at Protection & Advocacy, Inc., the California Network of Mental Health Clients, and Capital People First, along with other local People First chapters. The objective is to remember and honor the thousands of people who have lived, who are still living, and who have died in state institutions by:

1. Restoring the cemeteries at the state institutions
2. Recording the stories of people who lived in the state institutions by decade
3. Documenting the history of the consumer/survivor movement in California

Staff, clients and the public are always invited and encouraged to attend the annual Remembrance Day ceremonies.