Pennhurst



Pennhurst school/hospital was started up in 1908 and housed people both young and old. It was created to help people with physical and mental disabilities. Most children who were dropped off here by their parents, never saw them again. When patients came to stay they were then separated throughout the different buildings according to their intelligence level. All types of cases were there, severe cases like the patients that couldn't even move or roll over and would lie in the cribs there all day. There were also the less severe cases that were the patients that could almost completely function on their own. The care was never that good, but once the overcrowding of the place became apparent it was then that the care was said to be appalling when it came to the living facilities and the care and caretakers themselves. Just to get attention it is known that the patients would go as far as to wipe feces all over themselves. After being observed, and this behavior occurring and people/family members becoming aware of what was going on(the few that did) lawsuits were placed against the school/hospital. After this, when people that came to observe were there, it was made to look better than it was. They were to put on a show. Dress the patients in their own clothes, groomed and everything... the way it should be, but any other day was definitely not.

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The entire facility was eventually forced to be shut down in 1987 and the clients we moved to other facilities after a de-institutionalization process. This was done after further investigation of the facility was done and it was found out what was really going on there. There was a class-action case against the state school and they were found guilty of overall, violating patients constitutional rights. They had been beaten, sexually assaulted, and isolated for long periods of time which caused them to "regress farther and farther into a mentally disturbing state of mind, instead of being bettered by the school."

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The preservation of this beautiful institute is crucial. Though in this day in age, the school looks rundown and has seemingly become an open canvas for hundreds of graffiti artists, it is still important to remember it's a pivotal piece of history and was actually quite beautiful in it's day. The school is not open to tourists or visitors due to the fact that it's unstable inside and the floors are not much to rely on. But with a collection of people who care, and of course, a lot of money..Pennhurst has the potential to be an outstanding tourist attraction.

It is very important for people to know about an visit Pennhurst School/Hospital for many different reasons. When Pennhurst was in use the patients were mistreated terribly and nobody knew. "Shows" were put on for when the parents of the patients came to visit their children to make the place seem better than it was, because it was not good... that is if the parents even ever came back for the kids. This is horrible to think of and everyone should know about how people that were trying to better themselves and go for treatment were given and done just the opposite... out of deceit and mistreatment. Most of the time the patients didn't even know what was going on and could not even do anything about it which is that worse part of the entire thing. The patients were abused and taken advantage of due to their conditions and the circumstances were terrible. The whole idea of what happened here is absolutely horrendous and terrifying to think of! Everyone should know of what was done and happened here, it is part of history.