FREE Screening of From Lives Apart to Lives Together: Oral Histories from Former Forest Haven Residents

 

Please join us for a FREE, in-person video screening of From Lives Apart to Lives Together: Oral Histories from Former Forest Haven Residents and a panel discussion featuring D.C. residents who lived at Forest Haven and local historian Bob Williams. Light refreshments will be provided.

 

When: Wednesday, March 1, 2023

2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

 

Where: DLA Piper

500 8th Street NW, Washington, DC 20004

(Gallery Place Metro Stop on Red, Green & Yellow Lines) 

 

For more information, contact Noah Beaufford at noah.beaufford@schooltalkdc.org or 202-317-1990.

 

Background: From Lives Apart to Lives Together is an oral history project that has been capturing the stories of former residents of Forest Haven, an institution created by Congress and operated by the District of Columbia from 1925 to 1991. It was where D.C. residents with intellectual disabilities were sent to live lives apart and separate from the community.

 

In the late 1970s, there was a constitutional class-action lawsuit brought against D.C. regarding the abuse, neglect, and death of individuals living at Forest Haven. An agreement was made in 1978 to close Forest Haven and relocate residents. Forest Haven officially closed in 1991. To this day, nearly 400 individuals are buried there.

 

This video project features the voices of D.C. residents telling their own stories about what it was like to live at Forest Haven. The project also highlights their journeys from isolation to inclusion.

 

 

Register HERE!