Heather:
How we soon forget the political correctness of yesteryear. Today, Aids, Drug Addiction,Homelessness, etc., are sociably acceptable entitlements. But when Asbury was termed a dumping ground for a lump sum group of escaped mental patients, society was in denial about the social ills of yesterday.
Many patients yesterday are the same today, only we have come to terms with our problems some what, with respect to the diseases that afflict many of us who have friends and or family members who had shelter and some safety to recover in Asbury back in the day.
So yes, Asbury was a dumping ground for many who have helped us understand how to deal with the many diseases of yesteryear lumped together as mental illness. Asbury was a pioneer in the field and today many facilities housed here are "sociably Acceptable," thank God. There are always 2 sides to every story/
Shangazi
I don't know what the percentage is, but yes, back in the 70s and 80s
they did release a lot of mental patients into Asbury, to live in
halfway and boarding houses, when hospitals closed around the state.
You used to see more of them wandering around on Kingsley Avenue. The
following is a section from an article on Ocean Grove from the June
04 issue of NJ Monthly magazine, with some statistics about Ocean
Grove and Asbury:
"But in the recession of the early 1980s, the small hotels and
boardinghouses that had been buoyed by a bustling tourist trade faced
ruin. By the decade's end, they found an unlikely savior in the state
of New Jersey, which was looking to house patients soon to be
released from nearby Marlboro Psychiatric Hospital. Where city
dwellers once pursued holy leisure, the former patients now drifted
virtually without supervision. Herbert G. Herbst, founder of the
Jersey Shore Arts Center at Ocean Grove and a 30-year resident,
remembers walking into one of the larger hotels and finding the front
desk covered with pills. "The medications were all over," he
says, "and the patients helped themselves to whatever they wanted. We
had close to 500 mental patients in Ocean Grove and 900 or so in
Asbury Park." "
So there you go.
--- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, "cathryn.be" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
> 20 years ago I had been told that 25% of people in A.P. were from
> mental institutions and the person quoted was someone notable from
the
> area but I don't know where the information first came from. but
it's
> been said for a very long time so... I agree it'd be interesting to
> hear from an 'old-timer' if there is any truth to it. (note: I had
> not heard it quoted as "escaped lunatics" "transported" to the
area.
> that's really something else.)
>
> Cathryn.
>
> On 4/15/05, Skip Bernstein <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > Were it true (my God talk about urban legends), the lunatics
could not have
> > been escapees; rather the idiots in government having such
authority. Even
> > in 'pay to play' land the pieces just don't add up,
i.e. 'escaped lunatics'
> > being transported, very oxymoronic!
> >
> > Skip Bernstein
> > 732-542-2688
> > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > http://JerseyShoreRocks.com
> > http://JerseyShoreGourmet.com
> > Http://JerseyShoreToday.com
> > Http://JerseyShoreWines.com
> > Http://aDogsBreakfast.com
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "dfsavgny" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > To: <AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com>
> > Sent: Friday, April 15, 2005 12:59 PM
> > Subject: [AsburyPark] Re: escaped mental patients
> >
> >
> > >
> > >
> > > --- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, Corey Maccaro
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > > wrote:
> > >> Is it true that escaped lunatics were dropped off in AP
during the
> > > race riots, or is this just an urban legend?
> > >>
> > >>
> > >
> > > Yes, and we are now running this forum.
> > >
> > > Sorry, but I couldn't resist. I don't know, but I heard
similar rumors
> > > as well. Perhaps one of the old timers can verify.
> > >
> >
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