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Johnny Crescendo, traveling all the way from the United Kingdom, sings songs about the struggle to Free Our People from nursing homes and other institutions. Rhoda interprets in the background. |
| A statue of Florence Nightengale which stands in front of the nursing home. After the rally, protesters left stars of David, crescents and crosses at the foot of the statue in rememberance of those who have been sacrificed for this facilities existence, and the existence of so many smaller but similar insitutions and nursing homes across America. |
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The group gathered in front of Laguna Honda (erroneously named Laguna Honda Hospital. Although it is really a nursing home - it was once a hospital). Despite the spanish style architecture and fancy gardens, many residents live in 30 bed wards. They looked out from the windows and waived as we passed below. Only staff, it seemed, felt free enough to come outside. |
| Marchers headed up the steep hill on which Laguna Honda is located. Steve Gold and Bob Kafka exchange quips as the march wended it's way slowly forward. |
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ADAPT members from Texas and Kansas were just some of those who gathered to protest the City of San Francisco's insistence on rebuilding Laguna Honda Nursing Home. Rick Knight's sign "Willie Brown, Why Don't You Live at Laguna Honda?" refered to the Mayor of San Francisco's insititance on rebuilding the insititution instead of building regular housing and giving folks supports in their own homes. If Laguna Honda is so wonderful of these Medicaid recipients, why isn't it good enough for the Mayor (who lives elsewhere). |
| A service dog takes shelter from the drizzle as activists wait for all to arrive and the rally to start. "Free Our People", written on this protesters sign, was the theme of the day! |
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The crowd gathers in the park across the street from Laguna Honda for the rally. Steep slopes makeup the terrain in the part of San Francisco where the nursing home is located. |
| The group marched around the whole huge building before gathering in front for the end of the rally. The institutional police had large buses at the ready to take protesters to some other institutional facility. |
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Another protester sports a sign on the back of his wheelchair which reads "Willie Brown, listen to the Disability Community" refering to the fact that the Mayor and other power brokers refused to listen to disability organizations who all opposed there building of the facility, and who have pointed out many times that the bond package that was passed recently could be used to provide services in other ways besides rebuilding this huge facility. |
| Protesters wait for the elevators in the Muni Subway. Even as the crowd gathered, others were still coming up from the subway. Waiting in line is a great way to meet people from all over the country and share information about issues and strategies for dealing with these issues. |
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