Comments

Beautiful

What parts of Dan's (the first Dan) comments are not true? At the risk of "pretending to be an expert," I feel the need to clarify an earlier comment I made elsewhere on this site. I mentioned three incidents of violence involving people with mental illness. I don't want anyone to think that violence is common, or that most mentally ill people are violent. We ALL have the potential to become violent . The episodes I mentioned were noteworthy because of their rarity, not because they were typical. Those few events happened in the course of 25 years of work, and contact with hundreds of patients. Most days had no violence, and most of the "violence" that did occur was very minor and very brief, and involved no real danger.

I think that it is so much more beautiful now then it was in its prime. Amazing the difference when absent of human presence.

A humbling scene...

You have a really wonderful job. I love your camera and your perspective of shots. You are a true artist.

This is the most beautiful building that I have seen thus far in your gallery.

I really don't understand what some people find surprising about there being a beautiful fireplace in a psychiatric hospital. Would it be surprising in a hospital for people with cancer or heart disease? Does having a mental illness destroy one's ability to recognize and appreciate beauty? I think I must have read the comments wrong, and not recognized facetiousness.

I love the color of the pictures. Very aniqued and faded. It really brings out the beauty of the picture.

Are you going to any more places in southwest PA? I live 30 miles from Pittsburgh and could do some research for you as to some more places in that area. I know one right off the top of my head: Livermore, a famous local legend. Get back to me if you want. My email is arose_is4ever@hotmail.com

"Crazy people?" I'll just leave it alone... I've done group activities with people who have Alzheimers, and sometimes using a familiar toy or other object gets people talking and sharing memories, and from there you can help them better understand the present. Look at how many people saw this picture and immediately said, "oh, I had one of those!" Or it might have been used in play therapy, if some of the patients were young children. Or it came from a visitor's waiting room, or an employee's child forgot it after visiting the employee at work. There are so many possible explanations, and no reason at all to find it "weird."

If there were any really lonely people that died in the hospital here, they sure weren't lonely in death. Too little too late. It's sad, some people don't matter until they die.

It makes your heart drop.
Makes you wonder what happened to the owner of the stuffed animal.

Carolina, I hope for your sake AND mine you never stand behind my car, if you know what I mean.

It looks amused.

For some patients, like Jessie, life in the hospital was better than life at home. I've worked with patients whose old records stated that the only way their family could "manage" them was to keep them locked in a room or in a shed in the backyard. One person was even tied to a tree.