Housemates – people banding together to share a living space. What could be more normal? Back in the 1970s, it wasn’t; or not for the 100,000 people deemed “sub-normal” and, under the feeble-minded (control) bill of 1912, segregated and put into institutions – often for life.
Two groups of young people challenged this situation: residents of one of those institutions, Cardiff’s Ely hospital, and students from the city’s university. Together, they brought about a revolution that resulted in the closure of about 90-plus institutions and the creation of a model of supported living that today is copied around the world.
