![Conscientious objectors (in white) attend to patients in the mental unit of Cleveland State Hospital during World War II. With 2,800 patients in 1945, the hospital was 600 over its capacity. “The hospital had a poor reputation with respect to patient care,” according to The Civilian Public Service Story at http://civilianpublicservice.org, “Workers had to fight cockroaches and filth in overcrowded wards, and [non-CPS] attendants controlled patients by shouting and beatings. The ‘incontinent and violent’ wards lacked sufficient supplies or activities for patients and experienced reports of injuries to patients and employees.”](http://emu.edu/now/crossroads/files/2012/04/Cleveland-Mental-Patients-640x370.jpg "Cleveland Mental Patients")
Striving for Love Amid Filth and Abuse
Why EMU Has a Heart for Mental Healthcare The first night at Western State Hospital in Staunton, Virginia, was horribly memorable. Emory Layman, assigned by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) to work as an attendant at the mental hospital during World War II, was shown to a bed in a cramped office, just off the noisy ...More
