helpless forgotten insane reduced to the extremist states of degradation and misery these were the conditions of the mentally ill in the early 19th century I tell what I have seen wrote dorothia dicks as she came upon the inhumane treatment of the insane thrown in prison as criminals lacking a voice for themselves abandoned by Society until dorotha dicks vocalized this forgotten Injustice and became a voice for the [Music] Mad dorothia dicks a tenacious and persevering woman was not one to let an issue be suppressed after fighting the shocking conditions of prisoners confined at a local jail she quickly became a crusader for the prison and Asylum reform but at the time a strong stigma enveloped the mentally ill and they were viewed as animals with lack of control and in every way criminals erasing this mindset and convincing the public and government officials that the mentally ill were indeed not criminals will be a taxing and arduous Endeavor she became one of the many female activists of her time which were seen as frivolous roles in society by men though this often impeded on her her ability to share her cause widely it could not cease her passion to fight for the rights of the mentally ill her stamina courage intelligence and compassion allowed her to fulfill a role in her lifetime that few others could ever take on I mean I think all of us you know really resonate when there have been strong women in positions where they have fought for what they believed in I think for all women having Role Models people that they can look up to who said hey whatever I'm seeing isn't right and I want to be part of the solution dorthia Dix's compassion for the needy and sick started from an early age she was born on April 4th 1802 into the miserable home of Joseph and Mary dicks located in Hampton Maine the dixes were impoverished and ill and had no means to take care of children so dorothia assumed a motherly role for her younger siblings her early life of caring for her siblings had still in her a compassion for the needy that had surpassed everyone around her after a childhood filled with neglect and tragedy 12-year-old Dix ran away to her wealthy grandmother who agreed to raise her ambitiously at 14 years of age she opened a school for children even developing her own curriculum and passionately taught for many years until she developed tuberculosis and it was imperative for the school to be closed but even this early in age age doria's stubborn and tenacious attitude was clearly evident through her grandmother's proper upbringing Dix blossomed into a serious proper and persuasive lady she then became an active member of her church and served the community often she once said in a world where there was so much to be done I felt strongly impressed that there must be something for me to do but at the age of 40 Dix's true calling was finally Unearthed Dix was asked to substitute a Sunday school class for women at East Cambridge prison she was immediately appalled at the conditions that awaited her there the women were held together cramped and lacking supplies to suffice for their very basic needs completely mad individuals were confined with only mildly Disturbed patients she felt compelled to help them but the war waged against the mistreatment of the insane was a silent one so speaking out against this horror would be difficult through the encouragement of her friend William Channing Dix decided to visit and document the mistreatment occurring in these prisons dorothia then visited the Worchester State lunatic Hospital one of only two in the state of Massachusetts and recorded what she saw in detailed writing second she visited La alm's House near Boston again she jotted down what she saw she was unsure of the purpose of her notes from the hospitals at the time but knew it was important to do so she wrote to jail Keepers and Alms House operators Gathering interviews and journaling her observations as her notes grew she began to see their purpose unfold she would write a memorial to the Massachusetts legislator to request that the state would fund a new Asylum that would help establish proper housing and care for the insane Dortha filled her Memorial with moving words that conjured up compassion and even the most dignified and hardened of legislator she battled the views on the mentally ill with words powerful raw and harsh standing up for the Forgotten but once again she was held back by the societal restraints of being a woman she was not permitted to present her Memorial to the state but Dix would not let all her work be wasted that easily she insisted that legislator Samuel how present the memorial in her place when it was presented it was so moving that a bill was created to expand Worchester Asylum and $65,000 was given to do so she had successfully won over the legislators but the public and jail Keepers were quick to criticize her findings nevertheless she stood firm to her cause and was even backed by state senator Charles suner his testimony gave her the credibility and confidence to continue her Crusade for the mentally ill she decided to broaden her work and travel to New England and New York once again she carried her Mighty pen and notebook repeating her process through various alms houses and asylums though New York already had a movement for the mentally ill at the time her presence there helped keep it moving and she helped finalize the plan to build an asylum there and expand a pre-existing one while Dix did work to improve the asylums and prisons she also battled the stigma of the insane mental illness in that time was seen as anything that was intolerable by the community or families of the patient though many thought there to be no hope for The Afflicted doroth ahead of her time believed that mental illness should be viewed from a medical standpoint as something that can be cured by care and medication and not by strange and violent remedies she spoke about this in her Memorial to the legislator of Massachusetts depicting a large minority of those who were suffering from torture in so-called medical treatment Dix's idea about the mentally ill was revolutionary and sparked the idea that the mentally ill were indeed human beings all deserving of right the news of Dix's revolution spread like wildfire Across the Nation as she continued to travel to asylums throughout America she broke barriers for all women making such a dangerous Journey alone and once said I Am Naturally timid and diffident like all my sex but in order to carry out my purposes I know that it is necessary to go and encounter dangers she went on to travel to Rhode Island New Jersey Pennsylvania Ohio Indiana Maryland Illinois and Virginia gaining supporters wherever she ventured from this first journey she traveled more than 10,000 miles visiting 18 state prisons 300 County jails and over 500 alms houses and asylums she also successfully established three asylums with over $110,000 to do so though this feat seemed almost unimaginable for a woman in that time to accomplish Dix continued to expand her Crusade tirelessly finally in 1847 she then decided to take her cause to the National level she would make a plea to the Congress and the president himself this proved very difficult for dicks as a Bill had to be introduced and passed then reviewed by three different chambers with conflicted interests though she had success in every other previous plea she felt anxious about this time and knew she would have to gather support at every opportunity in June 1848 Dix presented her Memorial to the Congress the memorial stated a plea for 5 million acres to be used to build asylums in many states though it took 6 years for her to be successful due to the lawmaker's preoccupation she was finally able to Rally The Divided Congress together and a bill was passed when the President Franklin Pierce however received the bill he vetoed it the already exhausted dicks could not continue after such a failure and traveled to England to rest Dix's passion for the mentally ill could not be quieted though and soon she was busy once again sweeping her Crusade across Europe she reached out to the mentally ill in country after country expanding her cause internationally a failure in America had soon transformed into success worldwide dorothia dicks was a beacon of light into many problems of her era she became a lifelong servant to many and paved the way for women to be able to lead I think I'm standing on the shoulders of women like Dorthy ad dicts she led the Crusade for the lowliest of society her work transformed the mindset on the mentally ill and changed the Health Care system on all aspects of Behavioral Health she spoke for the voiceless uncovered the Forgotten and took a stand for the rights of the mentally ill [Music]