About the Project
One of The Consortium’s main efforts is document the stories of people who lived and worked at Polk Center, once the largest institution for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Pennsylvania. The Venango County institution opened in 1897 and closed in 2023.
Through outreach, preservation, storytelling, public events, and media, the Consortium highlights the advocacy that helped launch the de-institutionalization movement and build home- and community-based services in Western Pennsylvania. The Consortium works closely with Heinz History Center on this effort.
The Consortium’s Voices of Change multimedia project features the oral histories of Kate Bayer, a former teacher; Shirley Pickens, a retired superintendent; Ginny Pribanic and Carol Pursehouse, sisters of a long-time resident; Leroy Hammond and Carl Lando, former residents; and Randy Gorske, who served on Polk’s human rights committee.
The Consortium holds copies of videos about Polk Center, including “From Wrongs to Rights” (2013), a short film produced by United Way of Allegheny County about the 1970s Arc Allegheny advocacy that exposed abuses at Polk Center that resulted in the firing of the superintendent.
In 2023, the Consortium engaged David Grabias, a Hollywood producer and writer, to create a short film about the closing of Polk Center: “Polk Center 1897-2023: A Reflection.“
The Consortium serves as a liaison with Pennsylvania’s Office of Developmental Programs (part of the Department of Human Services) to advocate for the donation selected Polk Center artifacts to Heinz History Center so these items remain in Western Pennsylvania and are accessible to the public through exhibits and storytelling.
In 2018, and 2023, the Consortium held large public events discuss the ongoing effort to end segregation of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in facilities and to highlight new directions in the provision of home- and community-based services. These events – “Let’s Not Repeat the Past” (2018) and “Transforming Community Living” (2023) – were attended by people with disabilities, families, disability services professionals, archivists, historians, elected officials, policy makers, and educators.
