About Us

We are the parents, relatives, guardians, and friends of the residents at Southbury Training School (STS). Since 1953, our focus has been on the welfare of our loved ones.

Advocates for I/DD Individuals
Crisis situation:

• In 1986, while Connecticut was negotiating a consent decree with the Department of Justice that prohibited new admissions to STS until it was terminated in 2009, the Connecticut legislature inserted a provision prohibiting new admissions to STS into an appropriations bill. That law is still in effect.
  
• Nearly 2000 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) in Connecticut are waiting for suitable and permanent places to live, some for as long as 25 years. 
• Approximately 100 of these individuals need immediate placement and over 800 require placement within a year, but those placements aren’t happening.
• Younger families struggle to find long-term care and living solutions for their I/DD children, particularly children with behavioral issues.
• Nearly 300 I/DD individuals are living in nursing homes, which are not staffed to provide appropriate care.
• Many who live in the community are too disabled or ill for community care to be appropriate.

Advocates for STS
STS can be part of the solution to this crisis. STS has highly trained staff who understand the needs of individuals with I/DD, particularly those who are severely disabled. STS residents receive expert services through state-of-the-art medical and dental facilities. They live in group-home cottage residences within a beautiful country setting and they enjoy activities within the Southbury community and beyond.
It’s time for the Southbury Training School to reopen its doors to new residents who have waited too long for an appropriate home, and who are in desperate need of the services STS provides.

Our Goal
​is to persuade
Connecticut
​lawmakers
to agree

Understand Olmstead

The Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. L. C. has been frequently misrepresented as a mandate for inclusion, a simple, one-sided declaration that all individuals with I/DD must live in community-based settings.  In fact, Olmstead guarantees choice for all individuals, their parents, and guardians. There is no mandate to deny access to institutions, to close institutions, nor to place at risk any individuals who need and choose institutional care.

Advocates for Our Members
We provide:

• Education, news and resources to keep members informed on issues affecting I/DD individuals.
• Partnership with VOR, a national organization that advocates for high quality care and human rights for I/DD individuals throughout the US.
• Advocacy to CT lawmakers to support STS as a solution for I/DD individuals who desperately need the care STS provides.
  
• Social events, hosted at STS, such as holiday parties, music and movement sessions and summer concerts, and holiday gifts.

Come Join Us
We need your support.
Please help us influence lawmakers to open admissions to Southbury Training School so that this state-of-the-art, modern-day facility can continue to provide long-term quality of life and care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Connecticut.

How to Stay Informed
STS guardians are encouraged to join the
Home and School Association

Board of Directors
Home and School Association
​of the Southbury Training School

Martha Dwyer President/Secretary
​​Hugo Dwyer ​Treasurer
​John Hirschauer ​Vice President
​Rose Petruzzi
​Kyrie Stillman

Emeritus

Anne Eaton
Ann Dougherty
​Diana Mennone