NAME: Laurel Weber, Sister
LOVED ONE'S NAME: Matthew Weber
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Visiting the Canteen, Friendship Group, Parties, Singing at Church with Pastor Larry
YEARS AT LANTERMAN: 23
MY STORY: I am the sister and conservator of Matthew G. Weber, a resident of Lanterman. Matthew is 56 years old and has lived at LDC for the last 23 years. He came there in 1987 when he was 33 years old. This has been the greatest time of progress and stability in his life. He has a complex mental illness of schizoaffective disorder/bi-polar, and he’s psychotic with the intellectual capacity of about a 5-year old child.

Matthew suffers from bizarre verbalizations, sudden changes in emotion and behavioral episodes that require the monitoring of trained psychiatric technicians.

He has developed trusting relationships with many of the staff at Lanterman who have been there as long, or even longer than his 23 years. The doctors, psychiatric technicians, psychologists, the dentist and volunteers all know Matthew by name and he knows them.

At LDC Matthew is able to enjoy stable relationships (which have been necessary to manage his mental illness); a highly structured environment with training in the “activities of daily living”; group and learning activities, and he even works at a job on the campus. He waters plants. He earns a little money that he likes to spend on snacks at the campus “Canteen.” He walks the grounds freely, by himself. He walks to on-site church services where he likes to participate and sing. He can go anywhere at LDC safely and without risk of abuse or harm.

Matthew is very social and likes to talk to everyone he comes in contact with. He has been so blessed to do this safely at Lanterman. I am very concerned about my brother being forced into a community group home with a loss of his social support system, potential loss of structure, neglect and lack of supervision by trained psychiatric technicians. In a community setting he is vulnerable to ridicule and abuse by so-called “normal” people due to his psychosis.

Sadly, my older brother Matthew bounced around from community group homes and hospitals for 17 years—from the time he was 16 until he was 33 years-old—until he came to Lanterman. As one of our most vulnerable citizens he has experienced terrible neglect, emotional, physical and sexual abuse in his tragic life.

Matthew’s admission to LDC in 1987 began the greatest period of stability and professional care he had ever experienced. His behavior improved and his medication was adjusted with great improvement. He was able to reduce self-abusive behavior as well.

The services that my brother needs and receives at Lanterman are not readily available in the community. My experience and observation of group homes has been that there is rampant neglect and lack of accountability. The professional services found at Lanterman make the difference for Matthew’s wellbeing and safety, and these are the services listed in his IPP (Individual Program Plan) as being necessary for his life.

Please consider all alternatives to the closure of Lanterman Developmental Center. I believe ideas that have been considered are selling off parcels of the land; or making Lanterman a hub for services for the disabled. Lanterman has so much to offer in the way of specialized services for the disabled and medically fragile, including social services, dental and medical care. I urge you to do all you can to save Lanterman, or at least a portion of the property on which it resides for the sake our most fragile citizens.

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NAME: Dian Allison, Sister
LOVED ONE'S NAME: David Meyer
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Walking, moving, eating favorite foods
YEARS AT LANTERMAN: 64
MY STORY: My brother was committed to Lanterman in 1946, when he was 17. His admitting diagnosis was "Brain Fever," but we now know he is severely autistic.

David would find a way to get out, and would run pell-mell until he injured himself. My parents could not care for him, nor could any facility or school keep him safe. The decision to relinquish their parental rights nearly killed my parents and cast a shadow over our whole family.

At Lanterman, he is cared for by loving professionals on Residence 3, who understand him (he can neither talk nor vocalize, nor cry out in pain!) and consider him "family." As an R.N., I deeply admire their dedication and give them a nurse's highest praise: "I want YOU to take care of my brother!"

Truly, Lanterman is David's home. It would be unjust and cruel to tear him from professional caregivers who understand and accept his needs and his bizarre behavior, and place him in an unsafe, unfamiliar living situation.

There are many other residents at Lanterman, each with their own individual story that deserves to be told. Thank you for the opportunity to tell David's.

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NAME: Lynn Allan Losie, Mother
LOVED ONE'S NAME: Mark Losie
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Interaction with people at school, DC activities, and home
YEARS AT LANTERMAN: 25
MY STORY: Our son Mark has been a resident of Lanterman Developmental Center since October 1985, after a near-drowning accident before his second birthday. He is a profoundly disabled quadriplegic with a tracheostomy and gastrostomy tube and needs constant medical attention. We have been grateful for the excellent care he has received from resident doctors, dentists, nurses, respiratory therapists, nutritionists, occupational therapists, special education teachers, and psychiatric technicians. Although he is immobile, Mark has never suffered from bedsores or any other symptoms of neglect. He is able to receive occupational therapy for his spasticity and attend special education classes for mental stimulation, all in the same building where he resides. He also takes part in the special outdoor activities sponsored by Lanterman, and we are able to visit him 24 hours a day and bring him home once a week for visits.

Because Mark cannot swallow regularly, as a result of his condition, he needs to have his lungs suctioned frequently. He is also very susceptible to pneumonia. The highly trained and experienced staff at Lanterman is aware of his frailties and at the first sign of fever is able to summon his resident doctor for assessment. If the onset of pneumonia is diagnosed, Mark can immediately be transferred to the intensive care unit, in the same building where he resides, for intravenous antibiotics and other medical care.

This past year Mark coughed up a chunk of a phosphate substance, which had dislodged from his lungs and which then stuck in his tracheostomy tube, blocking his airway. His distress was immediately noticed by the staff at Lanterman, and his resident doctor was quickly able to remove his tracheostomy tube and clear his airway. Mark’s life depends on this level of medical care.

After Mark had his accident and needed to be released from the hospital, we didn't know where to turn. We couldn't care for him at home, but an institution for the developmentally disabled seemed an awful fate. But when we arrived at Lanterman, we were immediately embraced by a loving and experienced staff. There was a parent group to help us with this time of transition in our life, and we enjoyed the beautiful grounds and the special holiday activities. Lanterman became part of our family, and today, when we wheel Mark around the campus or back and forth to our car for trips home, he is greeted by name by staff members whose names we do not know.

There is a need for state institutions like Lanterman, and we hope that the legislature will see this and prevent its closure. Otherwise, we don't know what we'll do.

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NAME: Molly Long Grunbaum, Sister
LOVED ONE'S NAME: Jeanne Long
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Walking to the canteen for coffee, visiting the animals, rocking and listening to music, talking about my animals
YEARS AT LANTERMAN: 40+
MY STORY: My sister Jeanne was born profoundly retarded. My mother had suffered repeated miscarriages and was given DES before Jeanne's birth to prevent miscarriage; unfortunately, DES has since been shown to cause birth defects.

Now 58, Jeanne has lived at LDC since adolescence, growing from a restless, hyperactive, vision-impaired, communication challenged, erraticly behaved young woman to a more sedate, loving older woman. Still profoundly retarded, Jeanne requires 24/7 care, and becomes agitated and unhappy when she is away for any length of time from her Lanterman family.

We believe LDC offers the only proper medical treatment facility for someone like Jeanne, and that it would be inhumane to require Jeanne to move at her age, and that her level of care would suffer greatly. We support the continued operation of LDC by the current staff. Thank you.

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NAME: Angelique Felten, Psychiatric Technician
LOVED ONE'S NAME: People who live at LDC
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Spending my work days as a Psych Tech giving residents the care they deserve
MY STORY: I have worked at Lanterman since 1983. "Usually, terrible things that are done with the excuse that progress requires them are not really progress at all, but just terrible things." -- Russell Baker

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NAME: Martha Elaine Ayotte, Conservator/Sister
LOVED ONE'S NAME: Betty Jean Ledford
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Classroom/work; outdoors; trips in van; sodas at cafe; sitting quietly
MY STORY: I have a little sister. Her name is Betty Jean Ledford, a resident of Lanterman and we love her dearly. Betty is 60 years old, profoundly retarded and in need of trained, certified, specialized care. In 1959, when she was 9 years old, my parents reluctantly had to let her leave our family to get specialized care. They entrusted her to the developmental center system. Betty was at Fairview, then Camarillo and now Lanterman. We want at least part of Lanterman left open.

I am afraid that if Betty is placed in a community home with caregivers who have little training, she will die.

Betty has gran mal seizures that result in her not breathing. She has to be resuscitated immediately by paramedics when this happens. Betty has petit mal seizures that can be overlooked if the caregiver is not trained to recognize them.

She does not respond to pain, illness or danger. She is non-verbal and cannot express her needs. Betty is acutely aware of open or unlocked doors and can slip out quietly without anyone noticing. This leaves her vulnerable to traffic dangers, getting lost, or worse. Betty has no teeth and is in constant danger of choking. She needs a specially prepared, measured diet and supervision at meals. Betty takes many medications and has some allergic reactions. She searches for and ingests cigarette butts. Her gait is unsteady. Betty gets tired walking distances and requires a wheelchair to be available when this happens but needs to walk for exercise.

I trust the staff at Lanterman. They are Betty's family away from us and her constant support. They know her well and keep her healthy, safe, and engaged in activities. Betty loves going to her class and participates in paper shredding, going on field trips, earning tokens and using them in buying treats. Betty loves being outdoors (with sunscreen and a hat) but has to be watched so that she does not leave the group. Lanterman is the only safe place for her to be with the supervision of certified staff. This is what she needs.

What our family wants for Betty is for her to remain at some part of Lanterman that can be left open with the certified staff that know her. Given the exorbitant costs to the state involved with closing a development center, can't a part of Lanterman and staff be preserved for the fragile and elderly residents? If a continued Lanterman placement cannot happen in any form, we want her to go back to Fairview or another developmental center with the certified staff from Lanterman. If neither of these are options, our last, and most unhappy, resort is a community home only if a process is in place to ensure that ALL of the legally required services are in place before any move takes place and that the placement is approved by Betty's conservator and family.

We want to respect our parents' plans for Betty. They entrusted her to the state and the development center to be cared for properly. This is what she needs and deserves.

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NAME: Anthony Gonzalez, Son
LOVED ONE'S NAME: My Mother and Father
MY STORY: My mother and father are both not residents of Lanterman, but employees of this facility. They have both been working here ever since I was around 4-5 years old.

I may be only 17 but I've been inside Lanterman. I've been to the 4th of July shows, the little fairs and everything that happens there. I also came here to do community service hours for my school and I've witnessed some of the clients.

The facility must stay. The clients of LDC are used to the current employees. The employees are the closest thing the clients have to a family when their real families aren't there. Closing down the facility and transferring them to new areas may freak the clients out from the new people, new environment, new everything!

Though more than that, LDC has been providing families with joy, happiness, and smiles upon faces from their loving and caring workers to LDC 4th of July free firework show. Now is this something that should be closed down? To me, I even see that this decision to close Lanterman is a mistake and should stay for many years to come.

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