Although it took just a few minutes for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the Joy Evans Therapeutic Recreation Center on Monday, it took a decades-long struggle to get there.
Joy Evans was just 18 years old when she died in the care of the former Forest Haven Asylum, a D.C.-run facility for the mentally challenged in Laurel, Maryland. The woman’s family brought a lawsuit against the city in 1976, and it evolved into a class action involving several families who claimed deplorable conditions at Forest Haven and a lack of care of its patients.
Forest Haven was eventually closed and patients were moved to other facilities in the city or elsewhere.
A commitment by a number of city officials, including former mayor and Ward 5 Council member Vincent Gray, gained steam over the years and culminated with the new center being opened at 3030 G St. SE, in the Fairlawn neighborhood of D.C.
“We are delivering a $40 million project (with) 37,000 square feet on seven-and-a-half acres of land,” Bowser said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony, adding that Joy Evans’ life “brought much needed attention to the change that was needed.”
Members of her family were on hand Monday to watch the ribbon cutting.
“This day is fantastic,” said Carol Cunningham, the sister of Joy Evans. “My parents went through a lot. My sister went through a lot.”
Cunningham said she’s happy the center will be available to help others with special needs.
“It’s a beautiful thing,” Cunningham said. “People with disabilities will be helped. Senior citizens will be helped.”
The center will bring together several D.C. agencies to provide comprehensive recreational and therapeutic programming. It will be an evolution of D.C.’s service system that will provide dignified cognitive opportunities for those with intellectual disabilities.
And it will also offer a series of comprehensive programs and services — such as leisure, life skills development, sports, aquatics, field trips, summer camps, special events and more — all in the name of Joy Evans.
“Her legacy will live on in this new groundbreaking facility,” Bowser said.
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