January 2007 marked the 35^th anniversary of Geraldo Rivera’s historic expose' on the conditions at Willowbrook State School for the Mentally Retarded located on Staten Island. The term "historic" should not be used lightly. Willowbrook and the resulting aftershock rippled across New York State and the entire nation. Suddenly, people began to become aware of institutional conditions. Gradually, with Rivera’s expose', the public began to understand that institutions were substandard prisons to which people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities were confined without having ever committed a crime. It was how society told them and their parents that they were third class citizens.

Rivera’s expose' galvanized a movement which had been building ever since the end of the Second World War. That movement was led by many of NYSARC’s founders. They were parents of children with intellectual and other developmental disabilities. Their aim was to make their children first class citizens, not third class citizens. And, when Willowbrook was brought into the living room of almost every American by Rivera’s expose', the shocking reality of what these parents were fighting came into those living rooms as well.

The 35 years since Geraldo Rivera’s expose' have seen phenomenal progress on behalf of children and adults with intellectual disabilities. That progress, measured against the course of human history, saw these individuals emerge out of the dark ages in the matter of a few relatively short decades. It was, in large part, the force of Rivera’s expose' and the horrific images it forced the public and public officials to face which account for what NYSARC’s parents and so many others were able to achieve.

Now the institutions are largely a part of the past. Today, Organizations like NYSARC, Inc. are committed to helping people enjoy healthy, rewarding lives as members of their community. NYSARC, Inc. Chapters bring staff, families and the community together to encourage dreams and respond to each person’s life choices by offering high quality services, resources and supports.

There are still issues to deal with and challenges ahead. But it is hard not to be optimistic about the future when we look back and see how far and fast we have emerged. Geraldo Rivera’s expose' was historic and indeed is perhaps the central part of NYSARC’s own history as advocates, parents, family members and people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities.