Mental Institutions in Eastern Europe

In Eastern Europe, doctors commonly advise people to give their children up if they are born with any sort of special need.  These children are placed in orphanages, some good, some bad, until the age of 4 or 5 years old.  At that point, they are transferred to a mental institution to spend the rest of their life.  These mental institutions are not like mental health facilities in the United States.  The conditions are terrible.

In 2008, Ann Curry of the Today Show, went to Serbia and investigated their mental institutions and saw many children who had been left there.  This is the sort of place Eileen would go if she is not adopted.  We are not going to let that happen!  To see Ann Curry's reports and learn about eastern european mental institutions, click the links below.

• Serbia's horrific institutions a relic of the past: Mentally disabled kids, adults given no hope for recovery, poor treatment 
• Behind closed doors: An unprecedented look inside Serbia's mental institutions