EIGHT DOWN, 42 TO GO
by Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
November 15, 2000

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA--"Minnesota now serves as a model for Americans with
disabilities," Governor Jesse Ventura told a crowd of about 100 state
officials and disability rights advocates yesterday.

The group was celebrating the fact that Minnesota no longer places people
with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities in
institutions, opting instead for community-based living arrangements.

"This is a powerful example of what happens when we foster opportunities for
people to live as self-sufficiently as possible," Ventura said.

Minnesota is considered the largest state to have de-institutionalized
services for people with disabilities, by moving 4,700 people from
facilities into home towns and neighborhoods throughout the state over the
past 30 years. It joins the states of Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New
Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia, along with Washington, DC,
in achieving this goal.

The state still has some work to do. Two state offices are trying to decide
where best to serve five people who have mental retardation and mental
illness and are living in a nursing home and a mental health treatment
center.

Still, for thousands of people with disabilities and their allies, the event
marks a tremendous achievement for freedom.

"I'm glad that's gone and done with now," said RoDonna Freeman, president of
People First Minnesota during yesterday's celebration. Freeman had been
among those who lived in state-run institutions in the 1960s.
---
Distributed by:
Dave Reynolds, Editor
Inclusion Daily Express/Inclusion Weekly Review
[log in to unmask]
http://www.InclusionDaily.com
Check it out for two-weeks absolutely free!