The Peer Self-Advocacy Program and the California Memorial Project will soon host its 24th Annual Remembrance Ceremony. This special gathering is an opportunity to come together in honor, reflection, and hope as we remember and uplift our peers with mental health, intellectual, and developmental disabilities who lived—or currently live—in state institutions and locked facilities. Too often, their lives, voices, experiences, and humanity have gone unseen, unheard, and forgotten. Please join us, either virtually or in-person, as we celebrate the strength, resilience, and humanity of our peers and continue advocating for communities where every person is respected, valued, included, and free to live with dignity, choice, and hope.
Learn more by visiting the link:
disabilityrightsca.org/event…
At the link, you will be able to access the virtual ceremony at the noted date and time below.
Virtual Ceremony
When: Monday September 21, 2026 at
1:00 PM
(ASL Interpreter, Spanish Language Interpreter and Live Captions available)
In-person at Manteca
When: Monday, September 21, 2026 at 10:30 AM
Where: Parkview Cemetery
3661 French Camp Road
Manteca, CA 95336
In-person at Stockton
When: Monday, September 21, 2026 at 10:30 AM
Where: Valley Mountain Regional Center (VMRC) (Memorial rock/water area)
702 N. Aurora St.
Stockton, CA 95202
In-person at Norwalk
When: Monday, September 21, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Where: DSH-Metropolitan James Hall Auditorium
11401 South Bloomfield Ave
Norwalk, CA 90650
In-Person at Patton
When: Monday, September 21, 2026 at 10:30 AM
Where: DSH-Patton
3102 Highland Ave
Patton, CA 92369
Together, we honor the memories of those lost, acknowledge the experiences of those currently living in institutions, and reaffirm our commitment to a future beyond stigma, discrimination, neglect, mistreatment, ignorance, and judgment.
As California continues to face growing reliance on involuntary hospitalization and forced treatment as responses to society’s challenges, it is more important than ever that we gather in solidarity to raise awareness, restore dignity, and advocate for the rights, freedom, and self-determination of all people.
#DisabilityRightsCA #CaliforniaMemorialProject #Virtual #IDD #StateInstitutions