People, Not Patients: Life Stories from South Carolina's State Hospital
People, Not Patients is a project by Able South Carolina and Historic Columbia.
People, Not Patients is a groundbreaking collaboration between Able South Carolina and Historic Columbia, made possible by funding from SC Humanities. This project reframes the history of the South Carolina State Hospital—known as "Bull Street"—by centering the voices and dignity of its former residents. Moving beyond clinical case files, the initiative uses a disability justice lens to document the lived experiences of a diverse cross-section of people, including those with psychiatric, intellectual, and developmental disabilities. By utilizing audio recordings and photographs of former patients still living, and historical diaries and documentation of those who've passed, the project ensures these individuals are recognized for their humanity rather than their diagnoses. The project fills a critical gap in a history previously told only through medical and administrative records.
By elevating personal narratives, we are not just preserving history but correcting it. The project challenges the legacy of a system that historically removed "misunderstood" individuals from their communities, highlighting a pattern of segregation that prioritized institutionalization over autonomy and civil rights. This work remains urgent today, as South Carolina continues to rely on institutional settings for people with disabilities.
Ultimately, People, Not Patients serves as both a memorial to those who lived within the institution's walls and a call to action to ensure that such history is never repeated, reinforcing the truth that every patient was, first and foremost, a person.
People, Not Patients is an interactive, accessible booklet that can be printed or used digitally. Trigger Warning: The booklet contains ableist language and topics of death, harm, isolation, negligence, suicide, and harm to children.
How You Can Help
Our vision is to create a South Carolina that is a national model of equity and inclusion for all people with disabilities. This includes illuminating the truth of our painful past to develop a brighter future. We want you to be a part of this vision. Do you have a story you’d like to share about the institution on Bull Street? We want to hear from past residents, workers, and families impacted by the former state institution. Please contact us at [email protected] or by calling 1-800-681-6805 and share with us.
Interested in supporting our project? Please consider giving to Able SC to help us make this dream of telling the complete history a reality. Visit allable-sc.org.