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Willowbrook
It was in1972 when a young reporter and lawyer by the name of Geraldo Rivera got a tip that Willowbrook State School on Staten island was overcrowding and under budget. What he did not know that Willowbrook was not a school. It was a mental institution.
History of Willowbrook
The constructing of the building started in 1938 and completed in 1942. The building itself sits on a 375-acre land. First, it was the United States Army Hospital during World War II. In 1947 the New York State Department of Mental Hygiene took over the building and called it Willowbrook State School.
During the 1960s, it housed over 6000 disable children who were left by the parents who could not take care of their children because of their cognitive behavior. They thought if they were house in a particular school until they will get better; unfortunately, it did not get better.
Willowbrook was understaffed, and the pay was good, but it was a lot of stress to take care of each one and give them the necessary attention.
