The 2022-2023 Laurier Milton Lecture Series will once again be
in-person at the FirstOntario Arts Centre Milton (MinMaxx Hall).
Join
Dr. Kate Rossiter, a Laurier researcher who
worked alongside survivors of the Huronia Regional Centre and film
maker Barri Cohen to discuss the documentary Unloved:
Huronia’s Forgotten Children. The documentary details Barri’s quest to discover the
fate of her disabled brothers, and uncovers an institution's shocking history
of neglect and abuse. Viewers of the film will come away with an understanding and a new appreciation about the
perils of incarceration within care organizations.
Through Rossiter’s careful work, Laurier is in possession of
most of Huronia's remaining artifacts,that are featured in the film. Cohen and
Rossiter will present their experiences of working with the artifacts and
Rossiter will share the digital archive she has created. They will share how a
growing awareness about the dehumanization that can occur in institutional care
settings, created through the documentary and the archive, can prevent
institutional violence.
Wilfrid Laurier University Associate Professor and Chair of
the Department of Community Health, Dr. Kate Rossiter studies the effects of institutional violence through
her research on the former Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia, Ontario,
Canada’s first and largest residential facility for people with intellectual
disabilities. She is the co-author of Punishing Conditions:
Institutional Violence and Disability, and curates the Recounting Huronia Community Archive.