Anne Fracht Appointed to Special Commission on State Institutions

On April 19th, HPOD's Self-Advocacy Associate, Anne Fracht, was sworn in as a member of the Special Commission on State Institutions nominated by the Commissioner of the Department of Developmental Services. This first-of-its-kind commission, led by persons with disabilities, will undertake historical human rights work, including identifying the names of thousands of people buried anonymously in institutional graves. The Special Commission was created through a budget amendment backed by a coalition of disability rights organizations and adopted by the Massachusetts state legislature in July 2022. 

Massachusetts was the birthplace of institutionalization for persons with disabilities in the United States. First envisioned as a means to provide public education to children with disabilities who were barred from schools, by the last 19th century, scientists, doctors, educators, and policymakers had created an intricate network of  segregation that not only removed persons with disabilities from their communities but also furthered eugenical policies that sought more broadly to eliminate persons with disabilities from society through means such as forced sterilization. Disability rights activists and their allies in recent decades have succeeded in advocating for the closure of many institutions and also have succeeded in memorializing these sites. Yet, some sites contain unmarked graves of former residents and their legacy looms large over how services for persons with disabilities are delivered to this day. 

The Special Commission will grapple with this enduring legacy, helping institution survivors to tell their stories and issuing a report on its findings in June 2025. The 17-member Special Commission will be co-chaired by Matthew Millett, an athlete who has served on the Special Olympics of Massachusetts' board as well as the Northeast Arc's "Arc Tank" competition panel of experts, and Evelyn Mateo, who serves on the advisory board of Options Clubhouse in Marlborough and also works there as a peer specialist. Joining them as members are staunch disability rights advocates, including Katherine Benson, who has published several books on Massachusetts institutions; June Sauvageau, the CEO of Northeast Independent Living Program; Rania Kelly, co-chair of MassFamilies' board of directors; Reggie Clark, a prominent self-advocate and survivor of the Walter E. Fernald State School; and Alex Green, an historian and lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government as well as a current HPOD fellow. 

The Commission's first meeting is scheduled for June 1st at 3pm.