Mental health, 1970 September 03
Item — video: 34
Scope and Contents
New community-based treatment for mental illness. 02:11.
Louise Degn's note: The patient-rights movement, along with other social movements, was beginning to gain ground in the mid to late 1960s. In response to a federal law, states were closing down large, centralized hospitals which had warehoused mentally ill patients for years and moving them to smaller, community-based facilities. I am struck at the naivete of the statement in my stand-up, quoting Sue Motz, saying that a woman hospitalized for 24 years could soon return home simply because she's now being treated in a community facility. This illustrated the great hope people place in these new treatments. People could not have realized in 1970 that the under-funding of these community treatment centers and the tightening of federal commitment laws would contribute to the vast homeless problem that surfaced in the 1980s. One aspect of the patient-rights movement, though, had not yet materialized in 1970 as we were given free access to film the patients' faces without consent forms. The stand-up is outside the facility at the Salt Lake County government complex on 21st South and State Street. Original script available.
Louise Degn's note: The patient-rights movement, along with other social movements, was beginning to gain ground in the mid to late 1960s. In response to a federal law, states were closing down large, centralized hospitals which had warehoused mentally ill patients for years and moving them to smaller, community-based facilities. I am struck at the naivete of the statement in my stand-up, quoting Sue Motz, saying that a woman hospitalized for 24 years could soon return home simply because she's now being treated in a community facility. This illustrated the great hope people place in these new treatments. People could not have realized in 1970 that the under-funding of these community treatment centers and the tightening of federal commitment laws would contribute to the vast homeless problem that surfaced in the 1980s. One aspect of the patient-rights movement, though, had not yet materialized in 1970 as we were given free access to film the patients' faces without consent forms. The stand-up is outside the facility at the Salt Lake County government complex on 21st South and State Street. Original script available.
Dates
- 1970 September 03
Conditions Governing Access
Materials must be used on-site; no use of original material, access copies will be made available for viewing. Five business days advanced notice required. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law, condition of the material, or by donor.
Extent
From the Collection: 58 DVD
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Creator
- From the Collection: Degn, Louise (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections Repository
Contact:
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu