Thousands of people with developmental delays placed in institutions suffered severe and relentless abuse at the hands of staff.
Those who made it through are called survivors, and on Wednesday they gathered at Georgian College in Barrie to celebrate what they call their freedom.
“I got hit by staff on the head, and they stepped on my legs,” recalled Marlane ‘Mickey’ McIntyre.
Mickey is a survivor and former resident of three institutions, including the Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia. “They hit you with wooden spoons and stuff. They weren’t very nice.”
It’s been 10 years since the doors were forever closed at the institute for developmentally disabled children.
In 2010, former residents filed a class-action lawsuit against the province alleging physical, sexual and emotional abuse by staff.
Three years later a settlement for $35 million was approved by the Ontario Superior Court.
A group of individuals decided to use some of the money to host the conference at Georgian College this week to bring confidence to survivors who refuse to be knocked down.
“We want to close a book in a way that says we are never, ever, going to go back there,” Empower Simcoe CEO Claudine Cousins said.
About 250 participants signed up for the first-ever conference, including support staff and over 50 survivors of institutions from across Ontario, including Harold, who was admitted to a centre at 11-years-old. Harold is an example of resilience and has since become a Special Olympian and bowling coach. “My speech at Queen’s Park, ‘Free at last, free at last, thank God I’m free at last!’”
