Institutionalization: Upping the activism ante

From the Bizchut brochure

I am thrilled to share news of a concerted Bizchut campaign now underway. Its target: large, closed Israeli institutions housing a total of 16,700 residents with cognitive disabilities.

 The following is from their recent circular about it:

"We cannot abandon the residents of institutions, the weakest and most silenced population within the disability community. Bizchut is embarking upon a systematic exposure of the state of human rights in these facilities.

Your support for this project will enable us to expose and take action to correct violations of rights in three ways:

• Development of the MOSADOT app which will enable residents, relatives and professionals to submit complaints of violations of rights to Bizchut in real time.
• Institution WATCH Training - for activists who will carry out surprise visits to institutions: the team will include persons with disabilities, relatives and concerned citizens.
• Institution WATCH: Surprise Visits - Bizchut together with members of the Institution WATCH team will visit 20 institutions. Each visit will include preliminary collation of data on conditions in the facility, summary of findings after the visit, a report to the relevant government ministry and follow up on the violations exposed."

This is particularly welcome news for my husband and me. We are raising our 23 year old daughter at home despite the hardships that are rooted in a system favoring institutionalization. Citizens who, like our Chaya, suffer from multiple and severe disabilities are routinely separated from their families. 

The Bizchut logo 

That institution-bias results in generous funding for large, closed institutions coupled with meager assistance for families that keep their loved ones with disabilities at home.

Since we live in an "enlightened" age, the abuses that Bizchut has uncovered on its 2017 visits to those institutions may not strike many as alarming. Some may not even consider them deserving of a mention, let alone of an all-out campaign. And certainly not worthy of a visit to the Knesset like the one in session as I write.

Here are some examples:

• High functioning residents are often kept together with very low functioning ones. Some of them are very intelligent and articulate - as Bizchut activists found when conversing with them. There appeared to be no reason for them to be banished from mainstream society. When questioned, institution employees explained that a few of those residents had chronic health issues such as heart ailments or diabetes requiring medical monitoring!
• Residents were often found either sitting and staring into space around tables in bare rooms; at times there were several toys or puzzles on the table. Other residents were wandering around aimlessly. 
• Their rooms contained no personal effects, no photographs of family. Walls were bare both in rooms and public spaces. Some bathrooms had no soap, toilet paper, tooth-brushes toothpaste or any personal hygiene items.
• In some institutions, the structures were old and damaged and furnishings were dilapidated and broken. 
• In one facility, door handles to all rooms had been removed, staff members carried a standard handle with keys to give them access to those rooms but residents were barred from their own rooms without staff assistance. 
• In one facility several residents were missing teeth.

The list of critiques goes on and on. 

The director of one of those institutions wrote the Ministry of Health a detailed, itemized response. In every instance, he maintained that he and the staff were doing an exemplary job. The following are excerpted from his lengthy letter:

Regarding the inactivity/boredom complaint, he wrote:

• "The facility offers a structured program which we trust you [Bizchut] discerned"

On the teeth issue:

• "All residents receive annual dental exams... A dental technician periodically instructs the facility staff... Over the past 7 years, 15 residents have received implants..."

On the absence of door knobs:

• "There are some residents with 'challenging behavior' which necessitates the removal of door handles to protect them and prevent them from locking themselves inside their rooms"

I am proud to participate in this campaign. Looking forward to sharing a report on that soon!

UPDATE December 23, 2018: The update is here.