Seven Hills families protest ruling
By Pierre Comtois
Groton Landmark, October 24, 2008
(Emphasis added by the Campaign)
GROTON -- Angered by a court ruling that could force their loved ones from a complete care facility into what they feel will be a less-hospitable group home environment, the families, friends and supporters of residents of Seven Hills at Groton gathered last Sunday to protest.
With some carrying signs reading "Sacrifice the most helpless?" and "Group homes are unsafe for the medically fragile" and "Help our loved ones stay in their Groton home," protesters marshaled their forces before the main entrance of the Seven Hills complex on Hillside Avenue then walked up Main Street past the Prescott School and back again, hoping to raise public awareness of their plight.
"I don't think services for these people should be cut because of budget reasons," said one woman, who declined to be identified. "These are the most vulnerable people in the commonwealth and they need to be protected."
Indeed, the fears of parents and family members of the severely disabled residents of Seven Hills were of the gravest sort. Some likened the state's seemingly cavalier treatment of their loved ones as "a death sentence."
Sparking Sunday's demonstration was a decade-old class-action lawsuit, called Rolland v. Patrick, whose outcome will require the state's Department of Mental Retardation (DMR) to remove 640 people across the commonwealth from facilities such as Seven Hills and to place them in group homes by 2012.
"The inclusion of our children in this class is an abrogation of our legal rights of guardianship and, in my personal opinion, rises to the level of a crime against humanity," said Louis Putterman, a parent of one of the residents slated for removal.
"The only conclusion I can reach is that the plaintiffs' attorneys are ideologues who would prefer to see an individual die 'in the community' than live with proper care in a skilled nursing facility," he said.
The extreme comparisons continued with Rep. Robert Hargraves evoking the memories of Nazi Germany's treatment of the unwanted.
"I will be there supporting this cause," Hargraves vowed, telling protesters that he knows first-hand what group homes are like and that his wife had long experience as a volunteer working with children like these.
"I can't help but think there is politics involved with this," Hargraves said. "It stinks."
Calling the effort to fight the court decision a "great cause," Hargraves said he would send a letter to Gov. Deval Patrick (who, according to Putterman, has so far refused to address the issue or reply to requests for help from desperate families) requesting action.
What has caught the ire of families of the disabled, however, is that they were never made aware of or consulted about the lawsuit or given an opportunity to opt out of any settlement if they did not want to be included.
As a result, they were taken by surprise by the decision and now face the prospect of having their beloved family members evicted from complete care facilities such as Seven Hills and moved into group homes where they will likely receive less-stringent care.
"We are a group of parents, guardians and family members of some of the most special, and the most vulnerable, people in our state," said Putterman. "We have lived with the anguish of our children's and sibling's conditions for many years, and that pain is never completely absent.
"But the situation that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has put us into, through its actions in the Rolland suit, goes beyond anything that we've experienced since we received the painful news of our children's conditions two or more decades ago," Putterman said.
"The grouping of our children together with the other 99 percent of those called 'mentally retarded,' is objectively absurd," Putterman continued. "Our children are in a skilled nursing facility because they have ongoing complex medical needs requiring a great deal of medical attention."
The Rev. Paul Ring led the group in prayer before marchers began their route down Main Street asking blessings for the minds and hearts of "those in authority" to see the way clear to intervene with people such as the residents of Seven Hills and not to see them as objects but as "viable human beings."
"Facilities like Seven Hills are the best place for our daughter," Edward Obi said as he and his wife, Pauline, walked with the crowd. "I don't know why this thing came up now. I can't see how our daughter can receive the same level of care in a group home as she does at Seven Hills. Before the court made its decision, it would have been good to seek out the opinion of people with these kinds of children. We should have been consulted."
Although only 31 residents of Seven Hills are currently on a list to be relocated, the families of 43 are appealing the Rolland decision. Families are sure that even if their relatives are not yet scheduled to be removed, such an eventuality is inevitable.
With the conclusion of the Oct. 19 march, families hoped that they will have attracted public attention to their situation and the severely disabled residents of facilities such as Seven Hills, who cannot speak for themselves. By perhaps embarrassing state officials, including the governor, some action might be taken to protect their loved ones.
Anyone interested in finding out more about their struggle should visit www.AvertRollandTragedy.org.
