The Kidnapping of Shannon Brown

Shannon is a 26 year-old high school graduate that originally transferred to the Chattanooga area to attend college. But the nursing home that lied to get her in their control has never attempted to make good on their promise.

"They don't even have an accessible van," said Shannon, who has had to remain in bed for three months because the nursing home cannot transport her or her wheelchair anywhere to get the wheelchair repaired.

Sunbridge treats Shannon as a "cash crop" denying her use of the phone and failing to give her messages of support from the world outside her prison. But they never fail to collect money from the State of Tennessee, which funnels 95 percent of public funds to the nursing home industry, giving people no choice to live in the community.

The State of Tennessee likewise has failed its citizens with disabilities pandering to the nursing home industry that is the fourth largest lobby in our state. Although mandated to serve people in the "least restrictive environment," Tennessee never asked why a 26 year old is incarcerated in a rural nursing home.

But Shannon is a fighter. Recently she struggled to attend a meeting in Washington DC with disability rights advocates and was determined not to return to Sunbridge. "I can't handle Sunbridge, they won't even let me paint," said Shannon, "I will go anywhere."

Shannon entered a hospital and insisted on being transferred to another facility, any place but the Sunbridge Nursing Home. But the Fort Sanders Hospital in Knoxville ignored the demands of Shannon and contacted the rural South Pittsburgh Nursing Home.

"No other professional would send a person back to an abusive situation," said Judy Neal, a disability rights advocate for ADAPT and program director of the Memphis Center for Independent Living. "Women and children often need protection, but people with disabilities are medical commodities that can be traded like chattel above the individual's needs and loud protests."