Becoming de-institutionalised
My younger sister Carolyn lives and works with people who have a range of special needs. Some of her friends have spent time in mental institutions or prison. Some in both. She told me about one person who had to become de-institutionalised – see if it reminds you of anything.
May (not her real name) had been in a mental hospital since her late teens when she had had a baby without the permission of her family. They decided she was insane (it was the late 1970s) and had the baby given up for adoption. May was so distressed by the forced removal of her baby that her family decided to section her. (Section means to get someone committed to hospital – at that time they needed a medical practitioner and a policeman ...
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