Out of Sight, not Out of Mind

Myths
Reality
“The belief amongst
local residents was
that Monyhull was
full of potentially
dangerous people.”
“I remember we’d
be playing and we’d
hear an alarm go
off. Then we’d all
run off screaming
because we thought
someone had
escaped.”
“As young lads, we were scared of
it. It was a bit of a dare to go over
there and mess about in the grounds.
There was no danger - just that myth
that it was a mental hospital and you
kept away.”
• There was
no alarm for
residents
escaping. If an
alarm went off
they were testing
the fire alarm.
• Most of the
residents were
not kept in locked
wards and were
not a danger to
anybody.
• Staff brought
their families
along to events
at the hospital
and children were
always welcomed.
“From my school
we used to take
harvest gifts to some
of the homes. The
kids would sit there
having a drink with
the residents. That
was great to break
down these barriers of
ignorance.”
“I was helping a
group of young people
to understand that
people with learning
disabilities aren’t
scary. It was OK to
say hello. That was
really positive.”