03/29/2026
Check this out!
As we honor Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, our page banner now reflects this year’s theme: “We’re Here: Then, Now, Always.” It’s a reminder that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have always been part of Indiana’s communities—contributing, belonging, and shaping our shared history.
This cover photo's images include Hoosiers with disabilities from both past and present. Beginning on the left is Thomas “Tommy” Hancock, born in 1945 at General Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, his birth mother an Evansville native. Tommy Hancock entered the world in 1945 weighing just two pounds and spent his early years surrounded by people who loved him deeply. When institutionalization separated Tommy from his caregiver, Edith, she continued visiting him for years, documenting his life with tenderness, grief, and unwavering hope.
Tommy’s story—tender, painful, and profoundly human— reflects a past when people with disabilities were segregated, silenced, and denied opportunities. It also reminds us that love and dignity endured even in the hardest circumstances. Today, as we continue building a more inclusive Indiana, we carry forward the promise that every person has worth, every life is valued and every voice belongs.
As part of , we invite you to learn more about the “Then” of Indiana’s disability history by reading Tommy’s story (what we know of from his scrapbook), beautifully written by Jane E. Harlan‑Simmons. It’s a powerful reminder of why inclusion, community living, and respect must continue—now and always.
https://www.indianadisabilityhistory.org/items/show/163